Washington DC: Monday 19th Feb

All visits to Washington must include a photo of the Capitol and the White House. So that’s the Capitol above, and a very beautiful, large, impressive building it is. The cornerstone was laid in 1793 by George Washington, and the original structure has been modified and extended several times since, also surviving a British attempt to burn it down in 1814 that was foiled by a rainstorm. And here’s the White House:

Our pal Barack wasn’t available, so you’ll have to make do with us in the foreground. Unusually for notable buildings, we didn’t find it that impressive. It looked like a slightly down-market version of Joe Bugner the boxer’s house opposite Hartford Marina. In fact, we couldn’t find it until we spotted a group of Japanese tourists snapping away at something just out of our line of sight.

The Lincoln Memorial above holds a statue of Abraham Lincoln and the text of two of his famous addresses. It is an elegant structure in its own right, but it’s usually remembered as the focal point for anti-Vietnam war protests in the 60’s and as the venue for Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech in 1963. It’s always a moving experience to be at a spot where significant events actually took place.
Now for something a bit more cookie- a message inspired by Yoko…

The buildings so far described, and many others, lay in or on either side of a quarter mile by two-mile parkland: grass, gardens and ornamental lakes. The whole thing is known as the National Mall. It includes memorials, monuments, museums and art galleries, and this is where Yoko comes in. Yoko’s Wish Tree is outside the Hirshhorn Museum, an art gallery. Of course, you’ll want to see the wish tree itself.

The wish tree appears to be gripping the chap on the left in a headlock. No prizes for guessing what his wife put on the wish label! It would be wonderful to think that somewhere these wishes were being processed, evaluated and actioned. However, me being me, I could imagine writing a wish, and then going back some months later and writing another one. This second wish would be wishing that I hadn’t wasted my time making the first wish, because nothing had happened. Anyway, we wish Yoko every success with the project.