We stayed with my old pal and work colleague Rishab in Reston, about a 45 minute ride on the metro from Washington DC and the center of American History Museums and various memorials.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr spoke those immortal words ‘I have a dream…’ BlackDawg has now cemented his place in history, as he surfed down the marble facade – check out his cool video clip for evidence of his daring feat.

Lincoln Memorial

Martin Luther King Jr Memorial

Paying our respects to the stone carving of MLK we were also surprised by how great the nearby Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial is, with famous and not so well-known expressions he uttered. The Jefferson Memorial is grand and his towering status leaves no illusion over the impact he had on this previous British Colony (just for my yankie pals).

Washington Memorial in the background

The Washington Memorial stands as the tallest obelisk in the world, nearly 200 metres high and leads you to The Gold House, oops I mean The White House. The memorabilia of the forthcoming inauguration only weeks away, it all seems even more ludicrous and real that it is actual happening.

Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial

Arlington Cemetery

We have visited many cemeteries and walking around the 800,000 capacity Arlington National Military Cemetery was really a scary ‘treat’ of just how many people have lost their lives in the name of freedom for the USA, with the veteran intake increasing at 7000 per year, here also lies the last resting place of JFK.

JFK gravestone

Small Japanese Pagoda and Jefferson Memorial in the background

Capitol Building where Congress sits

Back down in the Smithsonian Museums we calculated that you need probably 3 days just for these museums, all free and truly great places, my favourite being the National Archives where you can see the actual Declaration of Independence, which we (UK) are considering revoking in light of recent events in USA. The Constitution of America and The Bill of Rights all protected with thick glass in the Rotunda Room and it’s just like the scenes from the movie National Treasure, quite an experience to be within touching distance of these famous and precious documents. The highlight for me was seeing one of the four remaining original Magna Carta documents, which was the main source document that the Founding Fathers of the USA used and the current Supreme Court still refers to this very day, some 900 years since its inception in Olde England.

Walking around these memorials and museums takes quite a considerable amount of time, as the distances are deceiving and we were not invited for tea at The White House, mainly due to our hectic schedule rather than our dress attire.

Reston

Washington Memorial