End to End

The U.S. Capitol around sunset.
I couldn't get any closer than this with my tripod.

Today's pictures aren't really that new in terms of content, but they are in terms of having just been shot. Starting on the east end of the Mall is the U.S. Capitol. I wanted to go on the grounds with my tripod and take more pictures, but I was accosted by the Capitol Police. They told me my tripod was prohibited unless I had a permit from the Sergeant-at-Arms. Total crock o' crap, but whatever. I'll go back during regular hours and get a permit.

The Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
This is the view Martin Luther King, Jr., looked out upon when he delivered his immortal
"I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.

After that little debacle, I climbed in the car and headed down to the Lincoln Memorial. The next two pictures are the result of visiting my favorite memorial in the entire city. It also brought me in contact with tourists and, once again, provided me with an irksome moment. So: rant alert. As I was photographing Lincoln's eastward facing facade, I overheard a gentleman telling his friends about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Said gentleman informed his friends that King delivered his speech near the Washington Monument looking westward toward the Lincoln Memorial.

It was everything I could do not to look at him and say, "Are you freakin' kidding?!" Instead, what I said was, "Actually, King gave his speech right here on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking out toward the Washington Monument. There's a plaque in the granite stairs up there," I gestured, "that marks where he stood."

Now, I don't expect folks to know every little thing there is to know about Washington, D.C., when they come here. For example, I don't expect people to know it was Daniel Chester French who sculpted Lincoln, or that the Washington Monument was constructed in sections, or that Franklin Roosevelt was the only president to appoint a full Supreme Court. But I do expect people to know what the significant buildings are and what important events happened in and around the city. In other words, I expect people to do a little homework before they visit a capital city. Whether it's Paris, Rome, London, Washington, Atlanta, Ottawa, Sydney, Vienna, Moscow, Toyko, Beijing, or wherever, please, I beg of you, do some homework before you visit these places. And if you live here, know what you're talking about before you open your mouth. Otherwise, you just look stupid.

Watching the sunset from below the Lincoln Memorial

Okay, rant over. Thanks for indulging me. And now for this last picture: a view of the Lincoln Memorial unlike most you've seen here. This was taken from halfway up the stairs that border the Potomac River to the west of Mr. Lincoln's temple.

To see more pictures from this evening's walk, go to Standing Room Only.

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Oh, and apparently I've won an award from Rob over at Dusty Lens. Here are the details.

Rob from DUSTY LENS sent me this Arte y Pico Award. Thanks, Rob! The feeling is mutual!

1. You have to pick five blogs that you consider 'deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and which contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language they are in.'
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given him/her the award itself.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the Arte y Pico blog so that everyone will know the origin of the award.
5. Each award winner has to post these rules.

My choices are:

Odessa Photo-a-Day
Tauranga Photo-a-Day
Cheltenham Daily Photo
London Daily Nature Photo
San Francisco's Fog Bay

Just copy and paste the rules above, copy, save, and paste the Arte y Pico award on the left and go pick your five!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08