Happy Independence Day (aka 4th of July), 2026! This is such an exciting day...our 250-year…read moreanniversary of being an independent country! I have some wonderful memories of every 4th of July experience, ever since I was a small boy. I remember growing up in the Los Angeles area and setting off fireworks every 4th of July (before they became illegal in the area). As one should be, my father was always focused on all our safety, as well as the safety of our community. As a result, I remember him strategically placing a trash barrel along side the street, half-filled with water, to place the fireworks in after we verified that they were completely extinguished. We were also required, by my father, to carefully light all fireworks in the middle of the street, with our residential street being closed-off to traffic. We always celebrated with lots of extended family members and friends, and there was always a ton of delicious food, all night. Those were fun days. When I was in elementary school, I remember learning what the 4th of July really meant, and that it wasn't only about the fireworks. It was at this time that I first learned about the history of our country, including our Declaration of Independence. Our Declaration of Independence was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, who would later become our 3rd President. Within a few days of its completion it was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776, and then signed shortly thereafter by these 56 brave men. Our Declaration of Independence is a surprisingly short document given that it is a symbol for the creation of an independent country. Within this beautifully constructed document, it articulates (politically, morally, and legally) why our founding fathers were identifying the United States (then only 13 colonies) as an independent country, no longer subject to British colonial rule. The 56 signers on our Declaration of Independence were brave indeed, because they knew that the creation of this document was considered an act of high treason against The Crown, which was punishable by torture and death. Although I learned about our Declaration of Independence as a young boy, I was not able to read it and comprehend it until I was a young man. Since this document is as important as it is, and it is as short as it is, it surprises me that most U.S. citizens have NOT even read this document. Therefore, I have posted this within this review, for you to read (it can also be found online, at www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration ). To me, the Declaration of Independence reveals that our founding fathers were trying to create a new and a better country -- a country no longer controlled by a tyrant or a king, and certainly not controlled by a dictator. Our founding fathers wanted to create a democracy -- a government for the people, by the people. This was later clearly defined in our United States Constitution, where no one individual had complete control, and the power of this country was divided between three branches of our government. What is exceedingly clear when I read our Declaration of Independence is that a good percentage of this document focuses on the many abuses that the king of Britain committed while ruling over our people, before this time. The king is clearly identified as a tyrant in our Declaration of Independence, and we therefore abolished this relationship with a toxic leader. When reading this document today, in 2026, it is easy to see that many similar abuses are currently being committed against Americans, and that one branch of government is abusing its power in an attempt to dominate over the other two branches of our government. This is incredibly concerning to me, but I digress. I was able to visit this memorial to the 56 signers of our Declaration of Independence for the first time in my life this year. This memorial was conceived as a gift from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration in 1976, authorized in 1978, and dedicated in 1984. It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the north side of the Reflecting Pool. Entry to the memorial is made by crossing a small wooden bridge to a small island surrounded by Carp Pond. The memorial includes 56 memorial stones, each inscribed with the delegate's actual signature, along with their printed name and occupation, and each is grouped by their place of residence. If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, I highly encourage you to make this one of the places you visit. While you are here, it will be an excellent opportunity for you to pay your respects to 56 of our founding fathers for their bravery in helping to define the beautiful country we love. Even today, we must dedicate ourselves to protecting this country from any ruler attempting to deviate from the beautiful vision our founding fathers had in 1776.

This is a smaller monument that's just north of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in the…read moreNational Mall. It's located on an island surrounded by the Constitution Gardens. The names of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence are engraved here. Along with their signatures each of their occupations were listed. They ranged from lawyers to merchants to politicians to planters and included names like John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, and John Adams.

I love the history VA has. This memorial is free and has parking. It might looked closed because of…read morethe cones. But pull forward and a security guard will let you in (during business hours). You can walk through it and read within half an hour. So I'd combine this with other things to do in the area. Like the cemetery across the street. Take some photos and learn something. That's what it's there for. God bless the USA

Beautiful memorial located inside of Arlington Cemetery and wish we could've had enough time to get…read morecloser, but we were on a speedy trip on the tour trolley to see as much as possible for a brief visit in the area. We were also fortunate to see this memorial as our plane departed from DCA at 5 PM and it was thrilling to see it from this vantage point. Love the depiction and homage to the planes in flight and missing man formation.

I was pleasantly surprised by stopping in here. This is more of a show yourself kind of place…read morerather than a place where you follow a route. It is honestly the best thing to do here. Go at it on your own. You walk in and are greeted at a small desk, you sign in, are given a brief synopsis of the space and then are handed off to what is a guide for the space. They offer to show you about and guide you through the space, but I declined and wanted to do it on my own. I'd say downloading the app they suggested would be beneficial, but it wasn't. It all depends on how much the museum puts into the app. If I scan the QR code and it tells me basically what is already on the card next to it, it's not helpful and I immediately stop using the app. I started out in the true museum rooms. Lots of history, artifacts, and portraits to look at in here. Take it at your own pace. You can go as fast or slow in here as you like. I breezed through some sections and took my time in others. I didn't want to sale myself short in any area. I then started my way onto the rooms. There are a ton of rooms here and each one is interesting in its own right. Take a map when you get here, trust me, it'll help when you are attempting to make it to all the rooms. Each of the rooms were funded by states, which you will notice when you get to the room and the name plate is outside of each room. Honestly, prepare yourself for a lot of walking and up and down stairs. There is an elevator, it is small, and it does work. But if you are claustrophobic, bypass the elevator. Yes, I did use the elevator, after going from the bottom to the top, I was over the stairs. As I said, each room is unique. And it all depends on your likes for the rooms that will dictate the amount of time you spend in the room. Some are really intricate and have a lot of thought put into them and others are simplistic and get their point across without anything extra. Overall, this was a great way to spend a good portion of a day. It kept me out of the outside elements and I got to see some pretty interesting things I never knew existed. Take a peek if you are in the area. You might surprise yourself.

This is the nice library/museum/concert hall right beside the White House. The library is never…read morevery crowded if you want to go work or study. Occasionally have cultural events, but they're typically on the smaller side. The concert hall is decently sized and good for smaller performances such as Marine Corps annual winter performance. The museum is small but free so it's a good pitstop if you're walking around the national mall and need a bathroom or airconditioning break.

On the side of the road near where Greenbelt Road crosses the Beltway is this historical marker…read moresign denoting the Taoping Castle (circa 1750). It is on Walker Road. It reads: On this site, Isaac Charles and Nathan Walker erected a large white oak log house named for their ancestral stronghold in Scotland which the three brothers had fled after the failure of attempts to unseat George I, King of England, as ruler of Scotland. Isaac permanently settled here and obtained land grants for 188 acres. He and his three sons served in the Revolutionary War. The graves of Isaac and his son Nathan are north of here. Taoping Castle was the birthplace of Samuel Hamilton Walker (February 24, 1817 - October 9, 1847). Lt. Colonel of the Texas Rangers and Captain of the US Cavalry, he left home at age 19 to fight Indians and later became a leader and hero of the Rangers. His suggested changes to Samuel Colt's revolver resulted in Colt's success as an arms manufacturer. 1000 Colt-Walker pistols - the first, heaviest and longest revolvers ever issued to American forces - were purchased for the Texas Rangers during the Mexican war. Walker was killed in that war at the Battle of Hua Mantla, Mexico. The family cemetery is all that remains of the Taoping Castle estate.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, built in 1923, is a reinforced concrete arch bridge carrying US‑29…read moreover the Potomac River between Georgetown and Rosslyn. We didn't cross it today, instead we crawled along the Whitehurst Freeway in early rush-hour traffic and rolled past it on our way into Maryland. Even from the slow lane, the bridge's clean arches looked great in the afternoon light. It's a handsome, sturdy link between the city and Virginia, and a reminder that they best view comes when you're stuck nearby rather than driving over it. [Review 1273 of 2026 - 113 in Washington DC - 26451 overall]

A short but vital bridge to get across the Potomac to DC. Our Uber took this route at rush hour…read moreso we were able to see some sites as we parked on the bridge. They were renovating it for so long I forgot what it looked like from the bridge.

Friendship Arch in Chinatown [Washington, D.C.]…read more C ultural attraction H istoric neighborhood I ntersection of H Street and Seventh Street N ational Register of Historic Places A bustling neighborhood for nightlife, shopping, and entertainment T he Capital One Arena helped revitalize the neighborhood O ne of the most popular destinations for tourists visiting DC W alking distance from the National Mall N ational unity G ateway structure A rchitectural arch T he Friendship Arch was built in 1986 E xpect plenty of foot traffic Review #3654

Chinatown is always in the US major cities. DC one is one of them. It was relatively small. Even it…read moreis smaller than Houston's one. DC is the capital city of the USA. Judging from the importance of politics, China and Taiwan governments spend more money on DC Chinatown. I used the Metro subway and enjoyed good access to the town. I ate ramen noodles at Daikaya, a Japanese restaurant. Just like this, I couldn't see a lot of Chinese restaurants and businesses. There is a concert and sports arena near Chinatown. Hope to visit an NBA game in the near future.

This bridge is notable relative to various other crossings of the Potomac as being one that is…read morerarely backed up. The bizarre intersections after you get to the Virginia or Maryland side sometimes are, but the bridge itself, with its several lanes for local and travel through vehicles each, generally moves. Technically, it is a drawbridge, but it would take quite a ship to require it to lift and I have never seen it happen. Also important is that there is the ability to walk across the bridge (or bike) by a decent sized path that leads between Alexandria and National Harbor. During daytime, you'll want some sun protection, but I've also done it at night while staying at National Harbor and it was an experience.

If you really want to know about this Woodrow Wilson Bridge thing, it depresses the hell out of me,…read moreit really does. It sits out there over the Potomac, connecting Maryland and Virginia, which sounds like the kind of place guys I went to military school would talk about like it's the center of the universe just to sound big-time. ​It's a bascule drawbridge, which just means it opens up in the middle so huge, pretentious boats can slide through like they own the place. People get all excited because it has a big pedestrian and bike path on it. You see people riding their little bicycles on it as you drive over it, looking all grand and proper, like they're accomplishing something momentous. It depresses me. They build this massive, modern slab of concrete with big white arches underneath and put a giant, fancy stone monument right at the entrance named after president Wilson. And underneath, it's just thousands of cars stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, full of guys in suits driving home to talk about their office jobs. ​The worst part is looking at the water underneath it. Whenever I look at a river like that, all I can think about is Central Park and where the damn ducks go when the water freezes over in the winter. Nobody on this bridge gives a damn about the ducks. They just care about getting across as fast as they can so they can buy something stupid at dinner or sit in a movie theater or go to a show, snobby stuff. ​It's big a n d useful, it's also really loud when you roll the windows down. I'll give it four stars out of five, mostly just because the river didn't ask for any of this concrete nonsense and did absolutely nothing to deserve these noisy people crammed over it.

My husband had always wanted to see the Friday Evening Parade, so we reserved tickets for the two…read moreof us and his father to see the presentation. I didn't really know much about the 8th and I traditions, so the experience was a really beautiful look into the discipline and pageantry of the Marine Corps. We parked at the recommended lot ($15) and took the huge MC bus to the drop off point. (I seriously have no idea how they navigate that bus through the tiny streets, but it was a very comfortable ride.) At the gate, you can scan your QR code on the emailed tickets, or they can look up the name for your party on their digital list. There was plenty of stadium seating, and they made sure everyone knew where they could get water or locate the bathrooms. They also have a small outdoor gift shop and offer veteran discounts. Before the presentation started, some members of the band came out to visit with the audience and answer questions. The actual parade was amazing. The precision and form of each group was flawless, and the music was specially organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America. The Silent Drill Platoon was the shining star of the parade. The coordination of the routine was perfection, and the difficulty of their movements was stunning to see. The members of this platoon were masters of the craft, and it was truly an honor to see them perform in person. If you've never seen the parade before, I so highly recommend it!

Great DC and local attraction rich in history and current military appreciation goodness. Plus who…read morewouldn't find Chesty the English Bulldog and Barracks' mascot adorable (can a Marine be adorable? Maybe not.). The Silent Drill Team, two bands, and amazing drill by Marine Barracks Washington is incredibly impressive. Definitely bring water for a summer evening performance. The bleachers are cushioned but a second cushion is recommended. Gates close at 8pm and the parade starts 45 minutes later. That's a lot of sitting...but worth it! Definitely a must see!