January 2011.
.
After having so much fun last year going to DC and meeting up with Troy and Seth and then touring the sites, we decided to make it an annual event.
This year we stayed in Arlington, Virginia. We arrived midday on Friday and went for a walk along the Potomac. From this point you can see across the river to DC and the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building in the background. Neat spot..
We were amazed at the size of Arlington National Cemetary.
We planned to walk to the Pentagon but reached this fence instead. It took us nearly an hour to walk to an open gate and then back.
We did walk up to the Pentagon and saw the Pentagon Memorial but we were 20 minutes late for our prescheduled tour and they wouldn't let us in.
We returned to our hotel, met up with Troy and Seth, and took the Metrorail to DC in time to meet Steve Nash on his way to his pregame warm-up.
Josh and Seth enjoyed our front-row seats.
It was great enjoying our time with some great friends.
Josh and I proving that its cool to wear camoflage and a Miami Heat sweater to a sporting event that features neither.
Also in attendance was John McCain, seated in the middle of this picture.
Great seats (below face value from eBay) for a great game! 
Troy and Seth had to get home after the game but Josh and I took the MetroRail back to DC the next morning.
Bundled up as it was below freezing for most of our trip.
Our first scheduled tour of the day was the National Archives. Pictures were strictly forbidden but there are copies of what we saw here.
Josh on our walk from the Archives to the Capitol Building. We did not realize that we couldn't take our snacks for the day inside so we stood outside and ate every item we had for the rest of the day.
An amazing view from inside the Rotunda.
The views were just amazing.
We had a phenomenal tour guide who spoke 59 languages. Our tour group of about 30 included people from France, Costa Rica, Portugal, Turkey, China, Taiwan, and Yemen - and he spoke to each of them in their native tongue.
More detail in the Rotunda.
Lincoln.
Washington.
Another amazing room; it featured two statues from each state.
Adams' desk was located in an area of the room where he felt that he could eavesdrop on the most conversations at once.
Another room in the Capitol.
The original Supreme Court was located in the Capitol Building as well.
Josh stepped out on the frozen Reflecting Pool.
We were running ahead of schedule so we stopped for lunch and an hour or so at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.
Lots of amazing planes and exhibits there.
You could easily spend the entire day in that one building.
Josh remembered this model of an aircraft carrier from our last visit.
There were even additions that we hadn't seen our previous trip.
We then visited the original Smithsonian Castle.
A view from inside. 
From there, we walked to the Washington Monument. Buying tickets online ahead of time is a very good idea.
Here's a shot looking straight down from the top of the monument. 
A view of the White House.
A close up of the White House.
The World War 2 Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.
The Jefferson Memorial.
A view of Northern Virginia from the Monument. 
The National Mall and the Capitol Building.
A zoomed-in look.
An interesting shot of the shadow of the Washington Monument. I had no idea that was constructed in 1884!
The two of us at one of the observation windows.
Josh wanted to walk in front of the White House one more time.
A closer shot. 
Another great trip! We highly recommend it as a father/son outing - but be prepared to walk!
