Founded on July 16, 1790, Washington DC, (District of Columbia,), is quite unique for it is not a state serving primarily as our nation’s capital. From its beginning, it has been embroiled in political maneuvering, bickering, racial problems, sometimes compromise and, of course, power.

As a kid growing up in America, I heard/learned quite a bit about our capital city, Washington, D.C., in school. I know that it sits on the Potomac River and was named after George Washington. I know that it's the home to the U.S. government and that the White House was burned down during the War of 1812.
But I knew very little about the *real* Washington, DC, until Ramona and I visited with friends as travelers. Because even though The District is home to a lot of government-y types and even more history, that's not ALL there is to it.

Washington DC's National Mall is probably the most famous part of the city (well, maybe other than the White House). It's where we found all the famous monuments and museums, stretching from the Lincoln Memorial to the US Capitol building. (Well, actually the second half of the area, between the Washington Monument and Capitol building, is the “official” National Mall, but most people consider it to include everything up to the Lincoln Memorial, too.)

Then, a visit to the Smithsonian. We experienced the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum and Natural History, also the museum of American history, a museum of American art, the Museum of the American Indian, a museum of African American History and Culture, and even the postal museum.

We saw a lot - but, if I go again, I will not want to miss visiting George Town. I understand the architecture is wonderful.

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