After making a few rounds of the monuments, and a loop around Washington, we were dropped off at the Smithsonian Museum for a few hours of exploring on our own.   My first stop was the Air and Space Museum.  I had been there when I was a kid and I really wanted to get back and take in the sites as an adult.  The above series of photos is of the Apollo 11 Command Module.

A few more pieces from the Apollo missions to the moon.  I believe the command module in the first picture of the first row was of the Apollo 15 command module.  The last picture in the same row represents the Apollo-Soyuz mission.  That was the mission where American astronauts rendezvoused and docked in Earth orbit with a Russian crew.

The above series is of two single astronaut Mercury capsules, and two Gemini capsules, two man crew.   These are from the early days of American Space Program.  I believe the last of the capsules above is the one in which the first American, Ed White, walked in space.

I always enjoy getting a close up look at the suites worn in space, but I still get confused as to what I am looking at.   I've seen many suites on display, but I'm not certain if they were what was actually used, or if it was a backup, or whatever.   From what I understand about the moon missions, some of what was worn on the moon walks was actually left behind, to make the LEM lighter for take off.  For example, the last picture is of suites worn by Armstrong and Aldrin, but I recently found out that the helmets, gloves, and packs they wore were ejected to make room.  I believe the suits are the real deal, but don't quote me on that.

There are actually many more aircraft on display, but as I looked back through my photos, I found that many of them did not turn out the best.  It was my first digital camera, and this was the first trip I ever used one on.

I also visited the National Museum of American History.  I found the technology portion of the museum to be quite fascinating.  Of course, when I found two of my earliest computers in the museum, I really started to feel my age.

One of our first stops on the tour was the Iwo Jima Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.  Unfortunately, we didn't get enough time at this stop, but we did get a bit more time at the memorials dedicated to the Korean War and Viet Nam Veterans.

One of the newest memorials was that of the Franklin D. Roosevelt.  I would like to encourage anyone who visits Washington to take a little time to explore this site.  I find that many of the quotes throughout the memorial, though from many years ago, still carry a lot of weight even today.

The whole area around the National Mall, and National Memorials is a very interesting place to visit.  From the promenade along the water, you can see many of the monuments.  From the top of the steps at the Lincoln Memorial, you get a sweeping view of the reflecting pond.  And not too far off the main area is the National Cathedral.