Tuesday, March 13, 2001

I had a walk up to the Washington cathedral this morning; 
it took 100 years to build and was finished in the 60s.
If you can imagine York cathedral, the size and architecture would be 
about the same but of course not as old.
Walking round was impressive it’s so big and new.
The stain glass windows were as good as any I’ve seen and the wood and
Stone carvings very special, there’s a lift to the top with views all around Washington.

Washington DC Cathedral   Inside Washington DC Cathedral

After leaving I made my way down hill taking a route through Georgetown, finally I reached the river
And walked along the bank to Arlington Bridge, this bridge leads to Arlington cemetery,
But I’ll leave that for another day. I stood about half way across the bridge for about half an hour
Watching the aircraft heading into Reagan National Airport.

View from Memorial Bridge

After overdosing on jets I made my way across to Lincoln memorial.
God it’s big and the statue is enormous, I had to stand well back just to get the picture in the frame.

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

That called for a coffee and cheese sandwich.

I walked along the side of the reflection pool to come across the Korean memorial,
The facts as to how many solders died, were wounded, and missing made me reflect how lucky I am
Not to have seen conflict and war, I won’t moan about trivia anymore!

Korean War Memorial

I passed the Washington Memorial and made my way to the White House.

Washington Monument

I approached what I thought was the front of the White House and started to take photographs.
I had two cameras with me, one a digital camera, the other a cannon 45 with a telephoto lens.

White House

I made my way round to the side of the White House and started to take more pictures, 
this proved to be a big mistake.
I noticed two men on the roof with high-powered binoculars watching me and another man,
Dressed in swat uniform, next to a tree, also watching me.

Being watched

I made my way round to what I began to realise was the front of the White House.

White House

I was also being watched by the Secret Service, who were now talking into their two way radios.
They were watching me from the inside of two white cars that had tinted windows.
The cars followed me for a couple of blocks.

(VERY SCARY!).

I made my way up to the British Embassy and Paul took me home…. knackered.


Next Day