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From the Vietnam War Memorial, its only a short walk to the famous Lincoln Memorial. Here is a classic image looking down the reflecting pool.
It seems there is always something going on in the middle of the National Mall. While we visited, there was a world folk art festival going on, with items, food, and entertainment from all over the world. This is an example of a delivery truck from Pakistan.
We had to make a stop at the National Archives, especially after seeing National Treasure. The room where the main documents for viewing is very dimly lit and no flash is allowed because the light deteriorates the documents. It is still amazing to see the original items in person. Below is one of a very few original copies of the Magna Carta from 1297. This document was heavily used in the creation of the constitution.
Below is the Bill of Rights.
Here is the original Constitution of the United States.
This is the most famous building of the Smithsonian Institute, know as the Smithsonian Castle.
Across the mall from the castle is the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. One of the great things about Washington DC is that all the places to see there are completely free, so it is no big deal to see many places in a day even if you can't spend many hours to take it all in.
The gem and minerals part of the museum is really neat, and we spent some time there looking at the amazing gems, etc., including the famous Hope Diamond.
At the Museum of art, we saw many original famous paintings, below is Van Gogh's self portrait.
Next was the Air and Space Museum.
In the below image you get many "firsts" in air and space. At the top is a copy of Explorer 1, America's first space satellite. On the left is the original Spirit of St. Louis, first solo across the Atlantic. The orange craft is the original X1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier. The lower item is the original Space Ship One, first private craft to fly in space, 3 times in 3 weeks. An incredible amount of history in on image.
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