A March Through Washington
Right down the street from where we were staying, this ferris wheel gave a continual show.
Stone, Security and Spectators.
I think that sums up the Washington D.C. experience quite well.
Security
Security is absolutely everywhere; they search your vehicle to get into the parkade. They run you and everything you're carrying through x-ray machines to get back into the parkade. It was just as difficult to get into some museums as it was to get into Congress. The most difficult place for me get into was the Supreme Court. There they made me take the Kleenexes out of my pocket in order to inspect them before I was able to get in. The Supreme Court was worth it. If you ever do get a chance to watch a handful of black robed octogenarians beat up a 35 year old lawyer, make sure you get a good seat.
Spectators
According to my non scientific visual survey, even in January half the people on the national mall are out-of-town visitors. That helps fuel a mid-winter food truck industry that felt like it might number into the thousands. Unlike some cities, because Washington has about two dozen free museums and being the seat of the world largest government, spectators and site seers have a lot to do in the "cold" winter months.
The feeding frenzy goes on all day.
Stone
I would say the stones probably struck me the most. Washington is packed with memorials, museums, and department headquarters that are all built of stone. I was haunted with the thought of what it would like to visit the U.S. capitol in 1000 years. I think the feel would be like Rome, or Egypt, where we go to see old stones set up and built by dead men. The stones are the only reason we remember them. The District of Columbia is like Charn, before it was depopulated by Jadis's spell.
The MLK Memorial
The Washington Monument framed by two pillars of the Lincoln Memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial on a foggy day.
Standing in the doorway of a two hundred year old Lock Keeper's House.