A Visit to the Washington Monument

Far be it from us to dissuade you from going to the Washington Monument, but at least be aware of our experience:

We arrived at the monument at 9:00 AM to get tickets (which are free).
After standing in line for at least half an hour, we were given passes for 2:00 PM that same day.
We returned at 2:00, and after passing through airport-like security, we were allowed to go into the monument.
Once we were at the top, all the views looked like the photo below. You will recognize the Capital in this one, but all views were somewhat obstructed by the scaffolding.

If you do go there, though, be sure to stand next to the window in the elevator going up and down. You can catch a glimpse of the many plaques inside the monument donated by various people and groups - it would be extremely interesting to climb up the steps and examine each one. If the National Parks Service would publish them all in a book, it would be even better! By the way, if such a document exists and you know about it, please email us. That would be an intriguing bit of history to read about.

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