6th St Southwest, Washington Mall

Independence Avenue runs adjacent to Constitution but seems to be a little more heavily traveled mainly because the lights are not synchronized. It is also 3 lanes in each direction most of the way, but where it is two lanes, you get great views over the Potomac River and you can see the Lincoln Memorial. Further up Independence Ave., you can access the Capitol Building and see great views of it. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is also right off Independence. At the onset of spring, this street is also the main site for the Cherry Blossom festival which is just a block away along the Reflecting Pool.

Independence Avenue is one of my favorite streets in Washington D.C. I usually start at the Library of Congress. A stop there is always fun. Looking down over the empty library book viewing area is funny to me. All those books, and I am a book lover, yet there is no one bothering to read them. I usually take another gaze at the Guttenberg Bible that is on display there under glass. Then they have a variety of traveling displays that are really entertaining. The last one I saw was on Bob Hope.

Take Independence Avenue west toward the Smithsonian museums. I like the Aero Space one the best. There are some really interesting displays and everything is authentic – no replicas in there. Independence Avenue runs between museums that back up onto the grassy Mall and many institutional looking buildings of government like the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, and Health and Human Services. I usually visit my sister-in-law who works with the FFA, also on Independence Avenue.