Washington D.C. is a must for anybody who wants to complete the U.S. Travel circuit, and the Mall is the heart of the city!
Washington D.C. and the National Mall
Let’s Hit the Mall
The list of awe-inspiring National Parks includes all kinds
of amazing natural locations –from the stone cathedrals of Zion,
to the sky-scraping majesty of Redwood, or the sandy shoals of Dry
Tortugas. But only one of the many National Parks can lay claim to
the title of “The Nation’s Front Yard.” Only one is a designated, planned area.
Only one has a sense of place that was created – not only as a place for
visitors to walk in wonder and silence at the sites around them, but also as a
living document of American history.
The National Mall in Washington
D.C., the historic, pedestrian-friendly
stretch of land from Capitol Hill down to the Potomac,
is set aside for Americans to construct monuments to the Republic, and those
monuments tell volumes about the American sense of self. In the two
centuries-plus since the Mall first began taking form, the evolution of the
Mall is a chronicle of American democracy, her values, her aspirations.
The Mall was born in 1791, when Pierre L’Enfant first plotted
the streets of the new nation’s capital, yet during the early 19th
Century, the Mall was essentially a place for grazing cattle. During the Civil
War, troops bivouacked there. Following the completion of the Washington
Monument, in 1885, a movement began
to improve the Mall and create a dignified place for American reflection.
Today the Mall is rife with tourists, but nonetheless is a
must-see of the U.S.
travel circuit. The Mall’s 600 acres celebrate American history – our greatest
Presidents, our brave soldiers, and the national spirit that has seen the
Republic through troubled times.
To the 25 million visitors every year, the Mall is one of
the gems of the National Park system. http://www.nps.gov/mall/
Technology Helping Us Learn about DC
You have to love technology. As much as it can sometimes burden our everyday lives, the help it provides is undeniable. That is why I think the software below is really fun. It allows you to transform your PDA into an animated map of the Washington DC metro system. Never feel like the lost tourist again. If you aren't quite as high tech, there are still ways to find out about DC, through books, DVDs, and videos.
Good Airline Link!
Here is one of the spots I use to find cheapest tickets available.
On Washington
Dude certainly can rant and rave!