Trips

An aerial view of the Washington Mall show patches of bare ground on lawn.

Sarah Cohen, left, and Keaton Renta, both of La Verne, Calif., try out the "Be A TV Reporter" exhibit at the Newseum.

Inscription at the head of the Korean War Veterans Memorial

Abacrombie is across the street from the Meyerhoff. Its 12 rooms are named for their colors.

Rachel Andes performs at the World Cafe.

John Kissinger, 6, of Essington, Pa., walks along the more than 1,200 decoys at the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum.

Admission is free, but visitors need time-specific tickets to see the orientation film and to tour the Capitol itself.

"America on the Move," on transportation's history, is at the National Museum of American History.

The day breaks behind the White House.

The U.S. Capitol, at the east end of the mall, was designed and built by several different architects.

Prime Outlets is a collection of more than 100 designer and specialty stores and a food court in Hagerstown.

Rockin out at Fluid nightclub in Philadelphia

Visitors walk around at the Lincoln Memorial.

The 20,000-square-foot Emancipation Hall, lined with statues contributed by different states, welcomes guests to the new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

Concertgoers watch as a band performs at the Trocadero Theater.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The State House dome rises from the treetops in Colonial Annapolis.

Roadside America in Shartlesville, Pa., includes nearly 400 miniature buildings.

Lancaster Central Market is open three days a week, offering a wide variety of home-grown food.

The Washington Monument

Franklin Delano Roosevelt sculpture

Blue light glows above the entrance inside the Trocadero Theater prior to a concert.

A funicular carries passengers to an observation area to see the Horseshoe Curve.

Sand sculptor George Zaiser puts the finishing touches on his sand castle near a small herd of Assateague's wild ponies. There are more than 300 ponies on the island year-round.

With no other mountains nearby to block the view, you can see for miles from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The College Park Aviation Museum houses this replica of the Wright B, the first airplane flown at the adjacent College Park Airport. A flying school was formed here soon after the flight at Kitty Hawk.

The Tiki Bar's annual opening at Solomons attracts thousands of revelers each April, but the place seats fewer than 100, so the street is closed as the party spills outside.

Crowds wait to ascend the Washington Monument. The number of annual visitors to the monument is more than the number of visitors to Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks and the Grand Canyon combined.

Sugarloaf Mountain stands out above the rolling farmland of Montgomery County.

Patrons dance at Fluid nightclub in Philadelphia.

Mount Washington, accessible from the Duquesne Incline (right), offers a view of Pittsburgh, where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers come together to form the Ohio River.

Visitors cool off by the fountains and get a look at Washington's National World War II Memorial.

Water fun like tubing has its enthusiasts, but there's much more to do in the Deep Creek area.

Pig racing was a hit at the Carroll County fair two years ago. The fair is devoted to youth and their achievements.

A Harley-Davidson begins to take shape on the spotless assembly line at the York plant.

Planners say they expect more than 3 million visitors a year to visit the Capitol, up from 1.5 million in recent years.

A waiter serves a customer at the World Cafe.

Lincoln Memorial

A group dines at World Cafe Live.

The New Market General Store on Main Street carries reproduction Christmas ornaments plus such things as pampering bath items and gourmet cooking mixes. A cafe in the rear sells light fare.

People walk along the reflecting pool where patches of the once-lush lawn are trampled to dust.

The 20,000 square foot Emancipation Hall is nearly three times the size of the Capitol Rotunda.

Patrons hang out in the Balcony Bar at the Trocadero Theater.

The Allegany County city of Cumberland is seen from the C&O Canal path.

Disc Jockey Michael "Mike Nyce" Celestin works at Fluid nightclub.

Eugene Doucette and Thomas Ryan, both from Hampton, Va., visit the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Ford's Theatre

Harriet Tubman's relatives worshipped at the Bazzel Church in Bucktown in the 18th century.

Pope Benedict XVI will address the U.S. Bishops on Wednesday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The Freyberger School, a one-room schoolhouse, is a (life-size) part of the Pennsylvania Dutch heritage in Kutztown.

Harrisburg's Whitaker Center houses 240 permanent interactive exhibits, an IMAX theater and other lures for the young.

Pieces of The Berlin Wall are on display at the Newseum.

Jim Rapp is the director of the Salisbury Zoo. Here, he handles the zoo's ball python.

An exhibition hall is dedicated to telling the story of Congress and the Capitol.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photos are on display at the Newseum.

Families of firefighters pay their respects at the Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg.

Elaborate abodes such as this are not uncommon at Deep Creek, which boasts 3,900 acres of water and 65 miles of shoreline.

A girl runs underneath a cherry tree in full bloom near the Jefferson Memorial.

Jeff Goldman performs at the World Cafe.

The Ephrata Cloister is a former religious community with daily tours. Pictured is the dining room.