I'd never been to the nation's capital before. It was more beautiful than I expected. All the major structures are visible from just about anywhere in the city. Also, most of them are white, so they appear to positively glow at night.

I am especially happy that I followed my mother's advice to take a roll of black and white film in every city, because Washington was made for it. The contrasts are extraordinary. Nowhere is this more true than in the photographs of the memorials.

It was that time of year as winter turns to spring -- cold and cloudy one minute, warm and sunny when the clouds rolled away momentarily.

I'm not a very regimented traveller, I tend to only have one day with a full, planned itinerary. I spent most of my visit to Washington wandering around on foot. That's how I familiarize myself with a new city. However, Washington is the only place where this trick did me no good. I hardly knew my way around any better at the end than I had at the beginning.

Somehow, I stumbled upon everything I wanted to see, even if not in the order planned.