Jay Masino wrote:

FYI... this was actually an exceptionally clear day around DC. Most of
the time the haze obscures things enough that you don't even notice the
monument (or any other important building)... even at distances as close
as 8 miles. The Capitol dome is usually difficult to spot and the White
House can't be seen unless you're practically on top of it.

Taking off from Potomac, you can clearly see all of downtown before
you even get to pattern altitude. It's one of the great flying
views (second only to the pre-911 routing that approach would let
you have from the WAS VOR directly east south of the Prohibited area.