I think I am in love...

...with the US Botanic Garden and its current exhibit about Orchids, one of my favorite flowers. The US Botanic Garden is one of the oldest botanical gardens in North America. It was a dream had by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1820. It is on the US Capitol Grounds and is where I spent my morning, before Josh joined me in DC for the afternoon.

These are a lot of the orchids I saw. They were in all shapes, sizes and colors. They were beautiful and I would take them all home with me if I could. Makes me want to try to keep an orchid alive sometime.

The orchid cluster above was only the size of a quarter. Sort of reminds me of a hoya plant blossom.

The orchid behind me in the picture below was probably one of my favorites, if I really had to chose one. It is called the "Nun Orchid" and is the only name I remember from all of them.
Hope you enjoyed the beauty and uniqueness of these gorgeous flowers.

Women in Glass and Stone @ The National Cathedral

After spending some time at the Japanese American Memorial got back on my way to head to the National Cathedral, which is an Episcopal Cathedral. The Cathedral is said to have been Washington's longest running construction project. The first stone was placed in 1907 and the West Tower was completed in 1990, which made the Cathedral complete 83 years after it was started. To see more about the timeline of the Cathedral click here.

There was a special tour scheduled called "Women in Glass and Stone." I got off the Metro and headed the direction I needed to go and ended up on a street not on my map. All was good, I just needed to take a stroll though the side streets of Embassy Row and see the Dominican Republic Embassy, Sri Lanka Embassy, South African Embassy and many more. Some of the houses and buildings are amazing. After locating myself on the map I kept walking, and walking, and walking some more. I walked by the Naval Observatory, the Vice Presidents' House and lots more Embassy buildings. Just when I thought I couldn't keep walking up this eternally long hill the towers of the National Cathedral peeked through trees and buildings. Hallelujiah, I was almost there.

I don't plan on narrating most of these pictures, so just enjoy the beauty.

Tour guide Anne.

The cremains of Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan and Polly Thompson all are placed in St Joseph's Chapel at the Cathedral. The niche is behind the iron-work bars below.

What an beautiful, grandeur and artistic building.