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| Washington DC |
| Even though DC is the capital of the United States, it's actually a very small city, both in area and population. DC's population is only around 600,000 people, but if you include the metropolitan area which is DC's suburbs of Maryland and Virginia, the area has a population of several million people. As a local, I never really had any interest in DC, but finally one day I took the time to explore the capital and rediscovered what a great city this is. |
| On the upper left photo is a view of the downtown area of Washington DC. You can see that DC looks like a small city surrounded by forests and that it lacks a significant skyline. By federal law, no building in Washington DC can exceed the Washington Monument in height, so all structures must be lower than 555 feet. This is why you'll see higher buildings immediately outside DC in Crystal City Virginia. The Washington Monument is one of the many icons that represent the capital. Other famous places that are also used are the US capitol building seen above and the White House to the left. |
| On the upper left is a statue of Abraham Lincoln one of Washington's most famous memorials. On the right is a picture of the Washington Monument, standing at 555 feet and 5/8th of an inch tall. |
| The two photos above are both from the National Mall. The National Mall is where the Washington Monument and US Capitol building are located. Between these buildings are many museums. The first photo is the Smithsonian Castle and this serves as the information center for all the other Smithsonian museums nearby. On the right is a picture of a botanical garden also found in the National Mall. |
| The smithsonians in DC are considered the best museums in the country. On the left is a photo I took of a painting inside the Renwick art gallery. On the right is the National Gallery of Art, which is also in the National Mall. |
| The smithsonian museum above has always been my favorite since I was a little kid. You can see exhibits from all types of animals both living and extinct. The upper right and bottom left are both fossils reconstructed in the museum. The bottom right photo is from the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, and it's a Soviet made spacecraft. |
| Above is the National Cathedral in northwest DC, it was voted one of the top three most beautiful buildings in the United States. The architecture of the cathedral was very impressive with its huge arches, gargoyles and stained glass windows. The church started construction decades ago and finally was finished in the 1990s. The national cathedral is the 2nd largest cathedral in the United States, and the 6th largest in the world. |
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| Although Washington DC isn't located on the ocean, it does have the Potomac river. The photo on the upper left is a small building located in the world war 2 memorial not too far from the river. On the right is the Jefferson Memorial again but at night. These photos were taken in the springtime when the weather was finally warming up. There were hundreds of people out enjoying the nice weather and many school field trips visiting the monuments at the time. |
| Both the late spring and the fall are great times for visiting Washington DC. In the early spring the foliage isn't green yet, but the weather is usually pretty warm and the capital has the annual Cherry Blossom festival. On the left are some blooms in late March during the very beginning of the festival. The photo on the right was also taken during the festival. A couple enjoys the warm weather underneath the flags surrounding the Washington Monument. |
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| At one point Washington DC had the highest crime rates in the country. Violent crime has seen a significant decline but DC still tops the statistics as one of the more crime ridden cities in America. Almost all of these problems take place in Southeast DC, with the remaining parts being very safe and popular among both travelers and locals. The nicest part of DC is known as Georgetown. The district where many people come to go shopping in the daytime or to the more upscale bars and restaurants at night. Above are two pictures showing people and K street in Georgetown. |
| Washington DC also has a nice waterfront in the Georgetown area where many people pull right up in their yachts. You're allowed to drink here in roped off areas along the boardwalk or drink in your boat if you bring your own alcohol. The upper left photo is the waterfront area, on the right are pictures of people's yachts parked in the Potomac river. When I used to go out at night, I almost always went to Adam's Morgan which is a large strip of bars & clubs and is more casual. Lately I've been enjoying Claredon Virginia or Georgetown DC, both are much nicer areas and I think have a better crowd. Below are two photos of me and some friends during my 27th birthday in June 08 in Georgetown. |
| The Kennedy Center in Washington DC serves as both a memorial to President John F. Kennedy as well as a center of performing arts. Many plays, operas, concerts and other events take place at the Kennedy Center. On the left is a statue of President Kennedy in the Grand Foyer Room. On the right are actors during a Russian Opera. |
| These surrounding photos are all from the 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival and were taken in late March. All of these trees were donated to the United States in 1912 by Japan as a gesture of friendship. The traditions continues on today, with USA even returning some trees after some were destroyed by heavy flooding in Japan. Above you can see tourists walking along the tidal basin underneath a canopy of cherry blossoms, with another photo of tourists crowding at the Jefferson Memorial. This festival brings in about 700,000 people annually. Other parts of the festival include food from Japan as well as Japanese beer and liquor, and the festival is ended with a parade. |
| The center of the National Mall is filled with a large grassy field that is about a mile in length. Often you will see special events taking place here or even political rallies at times. In the spring when the weather begins to warm up you'll always see the sky filled with kites and families strolling around the mall visiting the museums and attractions. Above is a boy learning to fly a kite, on the right is someone else's kite after it getting it in the air, one of hundreds. |
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| These photos are of DC's other popular nightlife spot called Adam's Morgan. It's known as being more laid back than Georgetown and a bit more on the wild side. I used to come here almost every weekend back in 2005 when I had no job or direction in life! Above is a photo of the main part of the strip in Adam's Morgan. On the right is a guy on the street holding his Colombian Boa, also nice enough to let me take his photo. |
| Washington DC is known for being America's most dangerous city, sometimes competing with other cities like New Orleans or Detroit. Most of the violence is between gangs or by people in certain neighborhoods, so it's pretty easy to avoid having problems in DC is you just don't go to those areas. Adam's Morgan occasionally has a fight break out or two but I rarely saw any violence there in the dozens of times that I went. The one day I did bring a camera out I saw some guy getting beat down and took a picture. Adam's Morgan has lots of police in the area so usually any fight only lasts only a minute or two before a police officer is on the scene. |