It is we'll known that the seat of power in Washington, DC is held at the address 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, but did you know that in 1814 The White House had to be temporarily "moved" just a few blocks away to 1799 New York Ave?

Not only does the house that occupied this address still stand, it's also open to the public and offers a unique "hands on" museum experience that can give you a sense of life's joys and hardships for all of the inhabitants of the home in the early 1800s.

This home that played the role of The White House for six months in the early 19th century is the known as the Octagon House, and it also happens to be one of the Federal City's (DC) early inhabitants. And this temporary relocation of power was necessitated by the burning of The White House by British forces in August 1814, toward the end of The War of 1812.

After the burning of Washington, many felt it was necessary to relocate the nation's capital to another city, such as New York, but James and Dolley Madison felt it was important to follow through on the vision of the founding fathers and keep the President in DC. A move of primary power would have almost certainly destroyed the city's importance to the country altogether.

As a result, the President initially moved just a few blocks from the burned shell of The White House and took up temporary residence in the Octagon while work began to rebuild Washington.

Washington DC and the surrounding metro area, including our hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, has no shortage of impressive and significant museum homes. With the likes of Mt. Vernon, Carlyle House, or Woodlawn just to name a few, all are impressive in their history and importance and offer great stories and visitor experiences.

In the fall of last year I had the opportunity to tour the beautiful Octagon House museum. It's an awesome home with a very unique immersive visitor experience. As a destination it often flies under the radar on many tourists' guides, but should be a "can't miss" stop on DC itineraries for both visitors and locals!

The home was built for Colonel John Tayloe III and occupied by the Colonel and his family. The structure was laid out on an oddly shaped triangular plot of land in Foggy Bottom, which necessitated the unique shape of the home, resulting in its name. This impressive structure was built in 1798-1800 as one of the first residences in the part of DC where the residence and office of the President was being built at the same time. Just a city block from the grounds of The White House, and with open views across the farms all of the way to the Potomac, the Octagon House, White House, and a few other modest buildings were all that stood in the now densely packed business district and campus of George Washington University that occupies the space today.

The original owner, John Tayloe, built the house in DC in an effort to support his friend George Washington, which was important with the growing political scene in DC. The goal was to promote "fill-in" growth in this remote section of the city that had few buildings at the time. Tayloe was already said to be the richest plantation owner in Virginia, and once the Octagon House was built as his family's winter residence, he still lived for half of the year at his plantation near Richmond, VA, Mt. Airy.

One of the upstairs sleeping rooms for the family

The Octagon was designed by Dr. William Thornton, a self trained architect and who is also responsible for the design of the United States Capitol. And though the house actually has six sides (a hexagon), the name of the house, the "Octagon," is how the Tayloes referred to the home, so the name stuck. From the time the house was built until John and his wife Anne's death, the Tayloes lived part time in the home until about 1818, then full time with their 13 children (they had 15 but lost two in infancy).

Today the home is an open to the public historic home museum, and is owned by the American Institute of Architects (which is the large building in the background of the home). AIA was headquartered at this home beginning in 1898, and has owned the building since 1904. Seems a very fitting partnership given the uniqueness and significance of the home in American history.

As a museum, the home has been restored to look as it would have in the 1817-1818 era, the time the Tayloes began living in the house full time. And like any good restoration project, the work is ongoing. While historically accurate paint and decor choices are being made in every room, one very cool feature of one of the downstairs main rooms is the painting over the very ornate fireplace mantel, depicting the room as it would have looked in the mid 1800s. 

After recently correcting the roof leak issues that have plagued the house since 1800, a significant plaster restoration effort in the basement kitchen and storage area is underway. And at one point I recently walked by the Octagon and noticed that the windows had been removed for restoration. Personally, window restoration is a project on my list for our home, so I watched that project quite intently.

The coolest thing about this home museum is that it is by no means a "do not touch" experience. The museum manager has gone to great lengths to make this a truly hands on and immersive experience for visitors. And not only does the museum give you a sense of the home's history, the exhibits within the museum focus on what it might have been like to live in the home and exist in that time. When entered the dining room, we were all encourage to grab a seat.

Many of my co-workers enjoying the tour

Examples of reproduction period clothing (hand made by the museum's manager) are set up in some of the rooms, and touching the fabric is very much encouraged.

Too often in museum homes of this period there is an attempt to sugar coat the ugly truths of America's 18th and 19th century. Credit is often given to the very affluent and influential families that owned the land and buildings, and it's rare that acknowledgment is given of the fact these families were slave owners, and that the enslaved people lived under very arduous conditions and constant stress and worry for their and their family's lives.

In the Octagon House Museum there is a significant focus put on the lives and experiences of the enslaved people that enabled the Tayloe family to keep this impressive home running day in and day out. The stories of the enslaved people are just as much of a focus as the stories of the Tayloe family, and significant research has been done to bring their forced sacrifice to light.

The bedroom of the house manager. The only employee resident of the home paid and free.

One such example are the straw filled beds rolled out on the floor of the kitchen or outside of sleeping room doors in the hallways upstairs. In the kitchen the servants slept where they worked, and upstairs, the maids had to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. As a result, they slept outside of the door of the Tayloe family member they were assigned to so they could assist if they had a middle of the night request. These straw filled beds are not only for display, but you, as a visitor, are encouraged to lay on these beds in an attempt to help you understand just how uncomfortable life may have been.

A friend of ours trying out the bed on the kitchen's brick floor.

During our tour of the museum we were treated to the history of the house and family that lived there as we were guided through the formal and grand areas of the home, like the dining room...

...or the main spiral staircase.

As well as the stories and details of the lives of the enslaved as we toured the servants' quarters, kitchen (in mid restoration)...

...and back service staircase. It showed the significant juxtaposition of so many people's lives coexisting under this one roof, each with such vastly different outlooks on life.

While much of the tour focuses on the lives of the Tayloe family and enslaved people in the home, one room of the house is maintained to acknowledge the contribution this home made to American history when it played the role of The White House. 

During the burning of Washington, the British were under strict orders not to destroy private property, and with the Octagon flying a French Flag as it was a diplomatic residence at the time, the home was spared. James and Dolley Madison took up residence in The Octagon for six months. During their time, President Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent in the second floor front room of the house. A plaque on the wall in the room commemorates this important event.

Ratified by Madison on February 17, 1815, the Treaty of Ghent ended the war of 1812. There is a plaque on the wall of the study where the signing occurred to commemorate the event, and the room is configured as it would have been during the signing. As a visitor of the museum you can sit in this room, complete with a replica of the desk used for the signing, and get a feeling for what it may have been like on that day in 1815 (with a whole different view out the nearly floor to ceiling windows).

As an old house geek, my favorite part of our tour was one that most visitors will not have the opportunity to experience, so you'll have to live vicariously through my photos and description.

The third floor house's the museums offices and archives, where various artifacts for related to the family and home are stored and cataloged. 

The Octagon was built as a flat roof structure, but essentially since construction the family had complaints that the roof leaked terribly. Eventually, as an attempt to stop the constant leaks, a new pitched roof was built on top of the house.

This new pitched roof also gave the home its attic, which is accessed from the house's third floor offices. The attic is largely used as storage and closed to the public, but I was allowed to poke my head in and take a look at the nearly unaltered 200 year old space.

The beams were impressive and structure felt like a spiderweb of old growth lumber. The original roof was still completely intact, as the new roof had been set atop the old. From the looks of it, it was no surprise it had leaked so badly early on.

As an old house nerd, there were several other really cool details that I absolutely loved, such as a curved hidden doors in main stair landing. As a novice woodworker, I always marvel at the idea of making curved doors for a space, and I double down whenever that door doesn't look like a door. The photo below is of the back of the door, but the front just looks like the rest of the wall. Think "Oval Office" style hidden door and you'll know what I mean.

Additionally, I walked around with my eyes up and mouth wide open while looking at the incredible mouldings throughout the house.

Oh, and lets not forget the coffin corners in the main stair! As much as I love their implied purpose based on the name, these are typically there for decorative purposes, and not to make room for a coffin being walked between floors. 

And no recap of the house could be complete without mentioning that it's often credited as one of the most haunted places in DC...but those tales are largely based on loose rumors and not much fact. If you visit, you'll have to ask your guide if they've ever seen any apparitions of any sort.

I could go on and on (even more than I already have) about the various stories, interesting tidbits, or architectural details of this incredible home and museum, but I think you should just do yourself a favor and plan to visit and see it in person. The staff is wonderful, the experience unique and immersive, and layers of history and personal stories of the house's inhabitants are educational and eye opening. It's rare to find a small museum that offers such historically important and interesting subject matter, and the Octagon House Museum checks all of these boxes.

If you want to plan a visit for yourself you can check times and availability on the museum's website, www.architectsfoundation.org/education/preservation/

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The monument is one of those iconic DC landmarks that truly defines the region's skyline. Whether you're seeing it against the backdrop of a sunrise, sunset, bright blue sky, or fierce thunderstorm, its ever present outline represents one of the identities of the Federal City.

Unfortunately, nearly three years ago, a major earthquake (by east coast standards), followed almost immediately by a hurricane, significantly damaged the 130 year old structure closing its interior to public tours. Over the past three years I've watched and documented the process to first inspect (note the ant-like people repelling down the face of the monument)...

...then repair of the structure.

The monument was out of commission for so long that the Park Service even put up markers with a description of the damage and efforts to correct the issues. 

Now that the scaffolding has come down, and over "five miles of adhesive" has been applied to the exterior to make it water tight (do your best, then caulk the rest), the Washington Monument opened to public tours once again last week.

As soon as I heard the news that the monument would be opening to tours, I jumped on the ticketing website to score a few first week spots. I decided to surprise Wendy and a few friends by planning this outing but not telling them where we were going. I was able to keep it a secret up until we were parking the car almost next to the monument.

If you've never been up to the top of the Washington Monument, it's one of the things you need to try to take advantage of at some point. Whether you're a local or a tourist, the perch above the center point of the National Mall offers some rather breathtaking views of the city.

When entering the monument you are greeted by several large casts of George Washington within the entrance waiting lobby, along with some badass winged cobras.

The walls and marble mosaics in the floor are covered in iconic Washington quotes (either by or about him) and insignias.

Anyone know where this quote was delivered? Hint: It's close to our home. 

And at the rear just before entering the elevator is a large cast statue of the monument's namesake and the entrance to the rather imposing elevator interior.

The elevator, a more modern addition and alternative to the 900 step climb, ascends the obelisk in just about one minute. When you emerge on the viewing platform the floor gives you an indication of your height, emblazoned with an inlaid brass "550," and you are looking east towards two small viewing windows within nooks framed by massive stone pillars.

The viewing platform contains eight of these viewing nooks, two in each direction. Above each window is a large photo that indicates the direction you are looking, and gives you an idea of what you will see out of the window if it happens to be dark, foggy, or some other type of poor visibility.

Below each viewing station are historic photos taken at various points from this perch above the city, marked with their date. This wonderful addition shows you just how much the city has changed over the years.

Though there is so much to look at throughout the city, there are four primary points of focus, one from each side. To the east, the Capitol Dome with the Library of Congress and Supreme Court just beyond.

To the North, The White House and Ellipse is the primary view.

To the South, the Jefferson Memorial sits above the tidal basin.

And to the west, the Wold War II Memorial, Reflecting Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial.

You can faintly see Abe looking over his guests.

I scheduled our tour to coincide roughly with the Sunset, which can give a spectacular view when looking out to the west as long as the weather cooperates.

If you want to catch the sunset, check the time for the sunset on the day of your tour, then try to book the tour that leaves in the half hour prior to the sunset. Once you're on the observation deck, you can spend as much time as you like up there, so as long as you get up a few minutes before the sun sets, and you've lucked out with the weather, you're golden to get a great view. If you can't book that tour spot, book the one earlier and try to get close to the back of the line so you're least up.

Beyond the primary landmarks everyone comes to see, I love looking for all of my other favorite structures in the city. One of the best is the Smithsonian Castle, nestled among the museums that line the southern side of the Mall.

Looking off in the distance I could see the fans in the stands for a Nationals game that had just begun.

And looking to the South we could see airplanes taking off from nearby National Airport with Alexandria and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge off in the distance.

The entire observation deck is actually a two floor platform somehow wedged into an impossibly small area in the very top of the monument. There's a scale model of the observation area on the lower of the two top floors that shows the amount of engineering ingenuity necessary to achieve this feat only with stone.

This is precisely why they chose to close the monument for so long while it underwent repairs after the earthquake. No matter how may people will swear the monument is somehow swaying while they are at the top of the structure, any movement for a stone structure this tall is terrible, and it's important that everything stays put right where it is.

I mentioned the DC skyline being defined by the Washington Monument. This is even true in complete blackness as the monument has eight blinking red aircraft warning lights 20 feet from the top of the structure. Though conspiracy theories abound as to their purpose, and the citizens of DC notice if they stop blinking for a time, these two red lights on each face of the pyramid can be seen from miles away. Inside, they're just two bowling ball sized lights per side among the stone.

The lower observation deck has no windows, but is the area where you wait before entering the elevator to depart. There are various items on exhibit around the floor showing such items as the spent lightning rods from the structures many strikes it's experienced over the years.

It's also on this floor where you can see one of the plaques that recognizes the structure as a national civil engineering landmark, lest you forget where you're standing.

When leaving the monument, there are two ways down. The first, and most common, is via the elevator. The second, which is more of an effort, is by way of a special guided "walk down tour" lead on a select basis by Park Service tour guides. The tours are not being given right now, but will resume this June.

You can get a glimpse of the subject of the walk down tour while descending in the elevator when the lights of the elevator are dimmed, the car slows, and the windows filled with an opaque gas transition to transparent to reveal the interior of the monument's walls. It's best to stand near either door for the best vantage point.

Lining the walls, from the top to the bottom, are carved stones representing the 50 states, major cities, and other donors (foreign and domestic) that helped make the construction of the monument possible.

The stones vary is shape, size, material, and complexity, but each represents the gift giver in some way.

It's a cool thing to see on the way out of the tour.

When you leave the monument you are treated to one final view of the National Mall.

I'm very glad we were able to get back up to the top of the monument so soon after it reopened. This was actually the first trip up for our friends, and only the second up for Wendy. The last time she was up there was in January 2004, and it was so foggy you could hardly even see the ground. But if you ask Wendy, given her feeling about heights and closed in spaces, once per decade is likely enough for her.

Have you ever taken a trip up to the top of the monument? If not, now that the repairs have been made, are you planning on making the trek? Or are you concerned another trembler may occur while you're at the top?

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This famous saying seemed so much more popular and prevalent when I was growing up than it seems to be today, which is a bit ironic given that it likely applies much more today than when we were kids.

Whether it was the grandma saying it to her grandkids or muttered in a sarcastic tone while Elmer Fudd was being schooled by Bugs Bunny, the general feeling behind the sentiment is pretty straight forward. Life is full of amazing things, and if you're going 100mph all the time, you're going to miss a lot of those things you'd otherwise appreciate.

Today, in the digital age of multitasking smartphones and the 24x7 connection to social media, the worldwide collective have given rise to new terms meant to embrace the idea of stopping to smell the roses for the latest generation. Unfortunately, #YOLO and the likes sorely miss the point of the statement by focusing far more on the rush of the experience than the ability to slow down and appreciate it.

Wendy and I are quite guilty of falling into this trap in our "do more with less" society. We work on the house, we work on the blog, we work on our jobs, we even work on ourselves. Before we know it, we've spent so much time working on things that we've not taken the necessary pause to actually appreciate all of those lovely smelling proverbial roses we've been sprinting past at top speed without even a whiff of their lovely scent.

This is precisely why I needed to remind myself to take just a second and enjoy what has been going on the last few days. Rather than stopping to smell some roses, I decided to take a detour on the way to work this morning to gaze at some cherry blossoms.

This week is actually one of my favorite times of the year in our area. It's the height of the cherry blossom bloom that we've waited through a cold and long winter to experience. The only problem, I've been sick for the last several days, completely unable to even think about stopping and smelling/seeing the blossoms. Now that I'm well enough to actually leave our house and venture back into the office, I decided its a pretty great time to wake up just a little bit earlier and wander around the tidal basin on the way into work.

I didn't have that picture perfect blue sky morning that I've had in previous years, but this year had a certain level of comfort and calm. There was hardly a breeze, the temperature was perfect, and the crowd wasn't too thick. It's hard to think that we'll be in oppressively hot heat in just six or so weeks, but that doesn't really matter right now.

The blooms seem to have almost exploded over night, each tree like a warm pink cotton ball dotting the perimeter of the tidal basin and coastline of the Potomac.

I made sure to just wander and enjoy the moment that seems to quickly come and go each and every year. I even made a quick stop at one of my favorite memorials, FDR's granite and water enclave on the south bank of the tidal basin.

I'll likely use this coming weekend to work on our bathroom, work on our blog, and get some work done that I missed this week, but I know one thing for sure, I'll definitely stop, at least once or twice, to smell the roses and enjoy where we live.

In the famous words of the scholar, Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Take it from the Sausage King of Chicago, he knows what he's talking about. Oh yeah, chicka chicka.

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If you've been following along on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you've seen our periodic photos of the Washington Monument over the past several months highlighting the impressive scaffold build surrounding the monument.

The Washington Monument is one of the items that truly stands out in DC. Instantly recognizable, iconically antique, and decidedly phallic, the monument represents a central component of the National Mall. Built between 1848 and 1884 (with a break from 1854-1877 due to funding issues, political disagreement, and the Civil War) to honor, arguably, the nation's most important founding father, George Washington.

The history of the Washington Monument is intriguing, to say the least. From its original and much more complex designs...

...to the color change of the stone due to a change of rock quarry after the post civil Civil War construction restarted, there are stories, debates, and compromises that went along with the entire project.

Photo Credit: Matthew Brady

When completed in 1877, the Washington Monument, at 555' 5-1/8" stood for a time as the tallest structure in the world (the Eiffel Tower surpassed it in 1899), and is still the tallest obelisk structure made entirely from stone. There are 193 interior stones donated by various states, organizations, countries, and individuals commemorating the structure, the efforts of the masons responsible for the construction of the obelisk, and containing various inscriptions. And, as you can imagine, there are many more anecdotes, legends, and tales to go along with this very tall monument.

Though much of the history dealing with this proud monument has to do with its initial concept and construction 150 years ago, a more recent chapter was added to its story on August 23rd, 2011.

On that fateful day the DC area was shaken by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake originating in Mineral, Virginia, less than 80 miles south west of DC. The shaking was significant (especially by east coast standards), and was felt as far north as Boston and Portland, Maine. The seismic event also had quite the significant impact on many of the very old homes around Old Town Alexandria.

Geologists, meteorologists, and journalists called it a once in a lifetime event for this area, and based on some of the more serious damage, I do hope it is just that. During the shaking, tour groups were at the observation deck in the 555 foot tall Washington Monument, enjoying spectacular views of the city from its most prominent vantage point. The iconic building swayed and cracked, throwing stone and debris on the guests and leaving them dashing for the exits and the long 500 foot descent of stairs. Here's security camera footage from the interior observation center of the monument, over 500 feet above the ground, which shows just how violent the shaking became.

Since the day the monument shook, the stone and masonry structure has been closed to the public over concerns of structural issues introduced by the earthquake. Since it's a simple stone and mortar structure, there is no internal skeleton, no rebar, nor concrete columns holding everything tight. The building relies on gravity to continue standing tall, and significant swaying side to side just doesn't bode well for the monument.

An exterior view of the structure provided by helicopter analysis showed some of the damage, a major crack in one of the one ton stones near the peak of the monument.

Photo Credit: US Park Service

A short time after the earthquake in 2011 a "difficult access" engineering team was deployed to repel down the four faces of the building and perform an inspection of the structure from the exterior.

I remember the days quite well. It's not every day you walk by a 555 foot stone obelisk with people dangling from its peak. After popping out of the hatch at the top of the monument, the extreme engineers received extensive media coverage during their inspection. The good news: the structure fared well overall, nothing too serious had occurred to compromise the overall integrity of the monument. The bad news: there was some damage, and it would need to be repaired to ensure it didn't get worse and ultimately lead to something more severe.

More than anything, the inspection team led to day after day of onlookers enjoying the spectacle as it appeared ant like people had begun traversing the outside of the monument.

After the engineering team's assessment that the damage was primarily cosmetic, the Park Service performed necessary repairs. Initially the Park Service felt they had repaired the major damage, but just a month after the earthquake Hurricane Irene blew through the region. During the aftermath of the hurricane water was found in several places on the interior of the monument. This water told the engineers that additional and unseen damage existed and needed to be discovered and resolved before the monument could be re-opened to the public.

Fast forward to March 2013. A full year and a half since the shaking commenced, the Washington Monument stands tall, but tours still have not resumed and the building is still not open to the public. A chain link fence has been constructed around the distant perimeter of the base, keeping passers by from straying too close to the monument to provide a construction work space. As someone who has been to the top of the monument on several occasions, the fact you can't tour it or walk up within its shadow is a very sad thing for people coming to town.

One day, back in early March, 2013, I noticed construction trucks beginning to stage building supplies behind the monument grounds and working within the fenced area. Intrigued, I kept my eyes peeled for what might happen next. A few days later I saw that the first few levels of scaffolding had been laid around the base of the monument.

It seemed the long awaited external repairs were getting underway, but scaffolding nearly as impressive as the monument itself would need to be constructed before repair work could begin.

My daily commute takes me directly past the Washington Monument, so I've been snapping the periodic photo while watching as the scaffolding reached for the sky.

It's been very interesting to watch this project take shape. The sheer magnitude of an undertaking of this nature is almost mind boggling. Where does one start when constructing a 555' tall scaffolding? I mean, where does one begin, beyond the basic and obvious answer of "the bottom"?

I watched as the scaffolding reached about the midway point by the time the cherry blossoms reached their peak bloom in mid April.

And I watched as the crew precariously worked their way higher and higher on the monument, slowing a bit as the work undoubtedly became more tedious and risky the higher they climbed.

The overall scaffolding project is part of a $9.6 million contract responsible for necessary repairs to the monument. And it's all part of a roughly $15 million total cost necessary to deal with the damage to the obelisk and open it to the public for tours in the future.

Personally, I was most intrigued by the transition necessary as the scaffold reached the peak of the primary part of the structure and made the sharp turn toward the tip of the pyramid atop the monument.

For several days the construction people worked to complete this phase of the project. At over 500 feet above the ground they were so small to the naked eye, working with what appeared to be toothpicks, though each piece of metal would surely be unwieldy on even the safety of terra firma.

I couldn't help but look up at these people working day in and day out and just think of the Dozers on Fraggle Rock. Hopefully no Fraggles would come along and eat these guys' hard work.

Once the scaffolding build was completed I was eager to see if it would be the conclusion of the build, or if they would repeat what was done the last time a scaffolding was erected around the monument during a two year restoration effort in 1998-2000. I actually recall that period quite vividly, as this was the time Wendy and I were visiting the area when we were thinking about moving to DC after college. I distinctly remember the scaffolding looking like it was brick, in an exaggerated way. 

For that two year restoration effort the multi million dollar scaffolding design was conceptualized by famed ergonomics designer Michael Graves. Using an architectural mesh fabric that become known as a "scrim," a faux running bond brick look was created by affixing the fabric to the exterior of the scaffolding.

I was hopeful they'd do the same this time around, but was not expecting it given the various concerns about money and budgets that now permeates nearly every conversation in DC. After all, this is ultimately a donor and tax payer funded venture, and many might find a purely aesthetic upgrade not worthwhile in today's financial climate.

On May 7th I saw the first few rows of netting being applied to the monument that confirmed to me they would, in fact, go the extra mile and add some flair to the scaffolding. I guess the Nationals Parks Service people who spec'd the work go by the idea that "Anything worth doin' is worth doin' right!"

Over the next several weeks the work on the netting continued, slowly reaching toward the peak of the scaffolding.

And finally, on June 20, 2013, the faux stone scrim to the top of the monument's scaffolding was complete.

Working atop this very tall building is surely a bit of a daunting task, but I trust the workers don't typically have issues with fear of heights. I know if I were given the opportunity to travel to the peak of the scaffolding on the exterior elevator, I'd jump at the chance. 

Though, I'm relatively sure Wendy would seize the opportunity to see the whole thing from up close, I'm also positive she'd stick to inspecting the work from the ground level. I honestly don't think you could pay Wendy enough to make going to the top of this scaffolding her daily job.

Which brings us to the most recent improvement in this scaffolding project, which we were able to appreciate a preview of when we ventured down to the Mall for the absolutely wonderful 4th of July fireworks event last week! 

The Washington Monument's scaffolding has been lit from the interior and offers a rather breathtaking view down the corridor of the National Mall from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

I recently found this "time lapse" video of the scaffold build with several interesting scenes and weather events surrounding the time period. The Department of the Interior, who is responsible for the National Park Service, has a pretty great view on The Mall from their offices at 18th & E St, NW.

All told, this scaffolding project has been quite an impressive sight to behold. It's now been ongoing for the majority of four months, and though the scaffolding is complete, they still need to do the work on the structure itself. The scaffolding is scheduled to remain up until December 2013 or January 2014, but the interior is scheduled to be illuminated nightly during this period, offering a unique view of the DC skyline while the repairs are being made.

And as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this evening's lighting ceremony will take place on the corner of Constitution Avenue and 15th Street NW at 7:45pm. If you're interested in attending just head on down to The Mall, it's open to the public.

I'm looking forward to the day the monument once again opens to the public, as we'll surely be some of the people anxious to venture back up to the viewing deck and take in the breathtaking views of Washington, DC.

Have you ever travelled to the top of the monument? Do you think you would be able to work on a project that required you to build or work on the exterior of a 500 plus foot tall structure? Or are you more likely to find yourself helping from the ground, as Wendy would prefer?

Update:

Here's one more time lapse video that shows the build and the lighting from the new EarthCam that was recently installed. However, I just don't understand why they need to zoom in and stuff on time lapse videos. 

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This is what Peak Bloom looks like!

How beautiful it is!

Almost each and every year of the 12 springs we've lived in DC, I am completely floored by the wonders that are the Cherry Blossom blooms in and around the DC metro area.

I try to make time every year to venture down around the tidal basin, along the National Mall, and towards Haines Point to take in the spectacle and tradition of this wonderful gift from the Japanese some 100 plus years ago.

Last year I shared some of my favorite photos from my walk around the tidal basin, and this year I'd like to do the same, with a little twist.

The first many years of being a tourist in my own area I enjoyed what all of the tourists enjoy -- the cotton ball- and cotton candy-like blossoms that fill the area and announce the arrival of spring while framing some of our nation's best known monuments.

The lovely blossoms draw you in and are as interesting from afar...

...as they are up close.

But as I've ventured down year after year, I've been able to develop a different kind of appreciation for the blossoms and what they bring to our area. More specifically, I've been able to pick out those things that you don't notice as a first blush tourist. Items such as the annual return of my favorite warning sign.

One of my favorite aspects of the annual cherry blossom bloom period has actually become the people that are drawn to the area and the tremendous influx of tourists that arrive in the each spring, either from remote or local locations. We're talking everyone from just a few miles away to those that have travelled from as far as the other side of the globe, and they're all coming to catch a glimpse of these little pink petals and appreciate them in their own way.

More than a simple crush of tourists, one group of people these flowers draw are photographers from near and far, and all are primarily concerned with getting "the shot."

Apparently there's a rule of thumb with these blooms. If you see a beautiful sight, nicely framed shot, or postcard perfect view, turn around and you're bound to see a gaggle of photographers, many going to great lengths of laying down or standing on garbage cans, to get this same beautiful shot. This is one of the first things I saw as I reached the tidal basin across from the Jefferson Memorial.

How many photographers can you count in this photo? They all have their gear, their bags, and whatever else they need. This alone helps me realize what a wonderful thing I am seeing, if I somehow missed it on my own.

I realize I may sound hypocritical, since I was down there snapping photos along side of them, but I'm merely commenting as an observer that appreciates these dedicated tourists in search of that shot of something truly unique and inspiring. You'll find photographers of all ages, genders, and skill levels. 

Each one clamoring for "the shot" they can either sell to a horticulture magazine, use to wow their friends and family back home, or proudly refer to in the future under "the trip we took to see the Cherry Blossoms."

After all, these trees are world famous, and they have the paparazzi to prove it.

In addition to the photographers you see throughout the area, you often see artists working on their much slower to develop interpretation of the impressive scenes. They attract their fair share of photographers looking to capture them capturing their scene, primarily because it's such an impressive endeavor in this age of instant gratification.

I wonder how many facebook pages, blogs, or emails this artist will apear on over the next several days? While I was taking my photos at least a dozen other people were snapping shots. Some with zoom lenses from many yards away, while others with iPhones who happened to be in near violation of the artists' personal space.

Visitors are often very friendly and feel free to point you to the best place for a photo of a specific tree or scene, while others will walk and gawk at what they are seeing. When the weather is nice, the blooms are at their peak, and nobody really wants to get into work on time, the whole area fills up by 8:00am with photogs, joggers, cyclists, local workers, and area tourists, all out to enjoy what this wonderful collection of national parks have to offer.

I've been visiting so long and so often that I've even been able to establish my "favorite trees." I have three that I always single out. 

First, the little tree that could. This struggling little tree has been lopped off year after year and is beginning to look like the Sideshow Bob of the Cherry Blossom world, but he's still chugging along, popping out blooms from the most unlikely of places. I wasn't sure if he was going to flower after his latest round of amputations, but apparently the US Park Service's Cherry Blossom guys know what they're doing.

One of my absolute favorite trees around the basin is this gnarly old guy with his thick but splintered with age trunk. This is not nearly as much about the flowers as it is the character of the trunk itself, though the foliage is still breathtaking. Beaten and battered, perhaps, but nothing is going to stop this tree from putting on a show each year.

And my third favorite tree fits into a similar category to the previous. It's old and absolutely full of character in its hulking appearance and ability to provide a massive canopy for those beneath. I'm not sure why, but I'm particularly drawn to these older trees. The ones that could easily be great-great-grandfathers of the newer trees on the grounds, and they have all of the knots and bumps to prove it.

The final items I want to share from my trip are a few photos of a tidal basin regular. He's a basin fisherman that I see out there during my typical running months. The recent weather has been perfect for him, and he can often be spotted sitting on the southern bank of the tidal basin trying to reel in his next big catch.

He's a really nice guy who was happy to show off his catch of the day for all of us gawky onlookers (did you really think there were any fewer than four photographers taking his photo at any given time) to ooh and ahh at. Hey, it was an impressive catch for the tidal basin.

After showing one of my co-workers this photo he said, "It's days like today when I really wouldn't mind switching jobs with him."

All told, this year's experience was as good as all previous experiences. I was able to stroll my familiar loop and appreciate all the blooms and the people watching the blooms have to offer. It's a rare and special thing to live somewhere that is a dream or once-in-a-lifetime destination for many, so I will do my part to ensure I'm not one of those jaded locals that fails to soak in the various sights, sounds, and experiences the area has to offer. I hope you've enjoyed my virtual tour of the basin, and that the Cherry Blossoms through my eyes have made you smile.

Have you ever gone down to see the blooms during their peak? If not, is this on your bucket list? I know it is for many. If you're in the area, it's not too late. Today is another beautiful day and the blooms are still at their peak. It's hard to tell what tomorrow's storm will do as the petals are already beginning to fall with a stiff breeze. Hopefully they'll still be in good shape this weekend.

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