(I was going to give this a title about things bringing tears to my eyes, but that would only be true for two of them.)
Say it with me now in a Nicholas-Cage-ish voice of sheer amazement, "It's the Declaration of Independence!" (And actually, is it? We took photos of The Constitution and the Bill of Rights as well. I'm feeling too lazy to zoom in and figure out which one is in this picture.)
This was the first thing to bring tears to my eyes. It's a Monet from 1894. Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, Sunlight. This photograph does not do it justice, of course.
Leonardo Da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci from 1474. According to the gallery description, this is the only Da Vinci located in all of the Americas. IN ALL OF THE AMERICAS!
The Hope Diamond (currently displayed as a stand-alone gem). It might not have been the most impressive of all the gems in the National Museum of Natural Science, but certainly the one I'd heard the most about before my visit. And, you know, it is pretty gorgeous... if you're into that sort of thing. ;-)
We went out at night to see many of the memorials and monuments and such. This is the National World War II Memorial. Beautiful!
Apparently, there are only four places in the U.S. where one can see giant pandas: San Diego, Atlanta, Memphis, and Washington DC. During this trip, I was moved to tears seeing them for the first time ever. Dwayne and I spent about 45 minutes watching the three pandas as they devoured bamboo leaves, lounged around, and, in the baby's case, took a nap. I got tears in my eyes again when it was time to leave them.