DC, Kittyhawk and the lair of the Mothman

[Tsmola]

I just got back from my first vacation in quite a while. Just me and my mom went, we went to DC and then followed the outerbanks on the Atlantic Ocean down to North Carolina before turning back to MI. I took somewhere in the neighborhood of 1400 photos, here's some of the highlights.

The capitol building, visited it twice, couldn't believe some of the police officers nearby, see photo below. I'm not used to seeing them pack like that in MI!

view from capitol building looking toward Washington and Lincoln memorials

me in front of the reflecting pool at the steps of the Lincoln memorial (the reflecting pool is actually quite dirty)

No description necessary everyone knows this fellow, I was surprised to discover that most of the larger monuments here, including this one include restrooms, elevators and even a gift shop!

We had just left the National Gallery of Art when I said, could it be? Is it a Calder? Sure enough it was, sweet!

Another familar DC landmark, it appeared the President wasn't home, but there were still secret service agents in the street and on the roof

when we visited the Navy memorial, there was a Navy drill team there, as we approached (it was over 95 degrees out) their superior officer came by with water and they all left their rifles on the ground around the sailor statue in the center while they got some much-needed refeshment.

Jefferson memorial, great view here at night!

To the mall! Korean War Memorial

The most moving sight in DC for me was the Wall, this is a place where the photo opportunities are countless, it is so peaceful, sad, and moving all at the same time. Again we visted twice at day and at night.

with my tripod I took this photo as the woman in the center walked down the wall touching it, a longer exposure produced this shot.

Looking toward the Washington monument, we overheard the woman touching the wall say: "That's my brother" that really struck a cord with me.

Offerings at the wall

My reflection in the wall

The statue of 3 soldiers looking toward the wall

 

[Tsmola]

Eternal Flame at JFK's grave

Soldier on guard at tomb of the unknowns

We witnessed the changing of the guard, something I'll never forget...

moving out of DC, me at the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, we saw the flyer in DC, then the spot where it happened in NC!

A little ways out of KittyHawk we spotted this abandonded Lifesaving station we went inside the door for a minutue, but it was wayyy too creepy, it felt exactly like this really haunted local graveyard so we left.

Atlantic Ocean from the beach at a hotel we stayed at on the Outer Banks

As it got dark we were surprised when we started seeing crabs on the beach, they were fast little boogers but I got this photo of a little one I cornered for a few moments in a footprint.

 

[Tsmola]

On our way home we stopped in Point Pleasant, WV for those who don't know, it was home to sightings of the infamous "Mothman" which inspired the movie The Mothman Prophecies. The movie is not an accurate depiction of the events there. First pic of me with a statue on Main St. there.

We went in and visited the Mothman museum and bought souvenirs of course lol

Last stop of the trip we visited the TNT area near where the Mothman was first seen. We investigated this structure, one of the few remaining in the area.

All in all, it was an awesome trip, I have more photos but I don't feel like resizing and uploading them all.

 

[machine]

Great pic's! Thanks for sharing!
I don't know about that cop though????
Something about him looks a bit odd!!!

 

[Hideandwatch]

great photos and narration, thanks for sharing your trip

 

[foulshot]

Travis, all very good shots! But this one......

Excellent!

I can't wait till my girls get older so I can take them to DC. Must have been very moving to see all the memorials.

 

[Lan-Lord]

great pics travis. Im going to DC in september, and these have gotten me excited. Great photo work.

 

[inchr48]

Sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing those great pic's.

 

[Tsmola]

thanks guys, lan-lord have fun and if I may offer some advice....

I dunno how you are getting there, if you are driving, get a hotel outside of DC, trust me...the people are nuts driving in that town. If you are flying then you don't have to worry. 2 best ways to get around: 1. the Metro: buy the 1 day pass and you can get on and off as you wish

2nd: the tour vehicles out of Arlington. You can take the metro right to Arlington, then once there buy the city tour tickets, NOT the cemetery tour ones! You are entitled to a tour of the cemetery with the city tour tickets, if you buy the cemetery tour then you will be paying for it twice.

The tours out of Arlington take you to stops at almost all the major musueums and monuments. You can get on and off as you wish and spend as much time at each place as wish. When done you can get back on the next tour car, they come by every 30 mins.

Bring lots of water, while there's plenty of places to buy drinks and drinking fountains in the mall area around the Lincoln memorial, there are next to none in the area around the Capitol, this includes places to buy drinks.

Get a good map of the metro so if you don't want to go back to Arlington at the end of each day you don't have to. You can use the metro to get to the same places but the tours will get you a lot closer. Have fun!