We visited the historic Fort Washington over the weekend, our first time ever there. We were originally on a quest for birds but didn’t find many along the shore so opted to tour the fortification instead, where we actually did end up finding bald eagles and hawks circling high above us.

Fort Washington, located in Maryland, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington, D.C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was begun as Fort Warburton but renamed in 1808. During the War of 1812 the fort was destroyed by its own garrison during a British advance.

The current historic fort -- maintained by the National Park Service -- was initially constructed in 1824.

Mereyemana, House of the Virgin Mary, posted earlier