It’s my birthday today. Five years ago on this day, No 1 Son and I flew to Washington DC to celebrate, and we had the most wonderful trip. (I took this picture, which is one of my favourites, by the Lincoln Memorial – those are Lincoln’s feet).
Autumn is the perfect time to visit, because the fall colours in the States are amazing – there’s a reason people go ‘leaf-peeping’ in the US. Because the trees are SO big and there are SO many of them the foliage displays are just breathtaking – ochre and ruby-red and burnt orange and gold. When I was a kid I used to think that November was the worst time to have a birthday – cold, dark, too close to Christmas – but now I appreciate what a beautiful month it really is.
Of course it’s also Election Results Day in the US today (congratulations President Obama), and Remembrance Sunday this weekend.
So here are the photos I took of the Korean War Memorial and The Three Soldiers, which stands next to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Washington five years ago. 
They are incredibly powerful monuments, a reminder of the reality of war.
*This is my entry for The Gallery – the theme this week is autumn.
[…] before his name, which he’s kept, and they also arranged for us to have a limo tour of the Washington monuments at night. As a birthday treat, that’s pretty hard to […]
love the light through the trees!
Love fall in the east coast. Beautiful pictures
Great pictures 🙂
Fabulous pictures and great memories for you. Happy Birthday to you and hope you have a lovely day x
The leaves in the US are so much more vibrant than the UK. It’s not until you go there in autumn that you can really appreciate it I think
Gorgeous collection of photos. And many happy returns to you 🙂
I would love to go to New England in the ‘Fall’, always looks such a beautiful sight on the television. As a teacher, it’s not likely to happen anytime soon though.
Popping over from The Gallery.
Great collection of pictures. The colours are beautiful x
Great picture of your son (whatever the season)
Happy birthday to you! And I didn’t know the president electoral results til now so thanks for that
Love the red of the leaves and the sunlight streaming through onto the statue