Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC

Well maintained memorial for an early president. My issues with Jefferson aside, his essence was struggling for equality, albeit only for White Americans. Today we have managed to make strides towards true equality for everyone. Jefferson's words as displayed, finally hold true. Docked a star for failure of Parks services to ensure appropriate conduct of visitors.

This monument is absolutely beautiful inside, outside, and in the entire surrounding areas. A perfect place to rest or hang out. It is out of the way from the other mall monuments so if you are walking and trying to look at a bunch of stuff on vacation in a short time, this one might be hard to fit in. But, if you have the time or are riding bikes I recommend fitting it in. The ultimate trip is a kayak trip through the waterfront between the monuments and get the best views avoiding the crowds.

This is my favorite memorial. Simple yet profound. His words resonate "These liberties are a gift from God". The view of the basin is simply breathtaking.

This was a favorite stop on our visit last weekend. It was less crowded than the Lincoln Memorial - probably because of its location. The walk over gave us a gorgeous view of the Tidal Basin, complete with paddle boats available for rent there. We walked through the memorial, walked around the outside and hung out on the front steps for a while to watch the boats. Afterward, we rented bikes at the bike share stop right outside and road to Arlington. (The bikes are AWESOME by the way. If I had our weekend to do over, I'd see all the same things, but rent the bikes all three days instead of just on Sunday.)

One of the best memorials. It's not just the structure, but also the entire setting. So, be sure to walk around and see the building from different vantage points.