Arriving in DC - Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool

We rented a car and decided to try DC again. Last year the Reflecting pool was under construction and I was having a hard time walking around so we decided to go again. WELL it was misty rainy all day but it did not dampen our spirits. This year I could climb the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I will admit that walking from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington monument to the Smithsonian Museums and back was quite a hike. Both Tom and I were both exhausted and damp.

The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln, 1920 – was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. It is one of several monuments built to honor an American president.

The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of the many reflecting pools in Washington, D.C., U.S. It is a long and large rectangular pool located on the National Mall, directly east of the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument to the east of the reflecting pool.^[1] Part of the iconic image of Washington, the reflecting pool hosts many of the 24 million visitors a year who visit the National Mall.^[2] It is lined by walking paths and shade trees on both sides. Depending on the viewer's vantage point, it dramatically reflects the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall's trees, and/or the expansive sky.

Speech at the republican State Convention Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858

With this speech, Lincoln accepted the Republican Party nomination for United States Senator. It was his strongest pronouncement to date on the issue of Union and the future of the country

hate to admit it but I miss squirrels

Mallard searching for food in reflecting pool