Now, I had been to D.C. when I was fourteen on a school trip, but I realized that I only remembered a few things, and seriously, how much do you really appreciate when you’re fourteen? I feel a lot of the things I learned were lost on me a bit back then, so I was definitely ready to come back and explore the history and importance of this city, being a few decades wiser now. Elaine lives just outside the city, so we hopped on the Metro and rode into D.C. Our first stop was the Washington Monument. Since the earthquake a few months ago, the monument has been closed for repairs, so we couldn’t go inside, but that didn’t take anything away from its beauty. Tall and majestic, it is a simple but lovely structure. Second stop: the White House. We got a peek at Michelle’s garden and then circled the building to see it from both sides. We then headed toward the western end of The Mall to see the Lincoln Memorial, stopping along the way to view the World War II memorial. I was very impressed by this memorial, it’s a beautiful and touching tribute to those involved in the war. We walked past the Reflecting Pool (which, unfortunately for us, was in the process of being remodeled, so there wasn’t any water in the pool!) and up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial. Pretty impressive walking in there and seeing that big guy staring down at you! It had started raining by this point, so we hung out with Abe for a while, hoping the weather would subside a bit. When it was clear that it wouldn’t, we pulled up our hoods and continued on our way.
Next stop was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There’s something really special about this memorial that is hard to explain...maybe it’s the simple understated, but beautiful design of the wall, maybe it’s the tens of thousands of names etched into the stone, perhaps it’s because of all the feelings associated with this war, and perhaps it’s because we were there in the height of autumn and the wall was surrounded by trees bursting with stunning color...All I know is that it is a very special place.
Since the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial had just opened recently, we walked over to check it out. On the way over there, we stopped to see the Korean War Memorial, an interesting and lovely tribute to those involved in that war. The MLK, Jr. Memorial was nice to see. There is a large statue of him coming out of a stone and memorable quotes etched in stone around the area. After this, we walked around the Tidal Basin over to the Jefferson Memorial. We then made our way back to The Mall and headed east toward the Capitol Building. We stopped near a carousel for a hot dog before getting on the Metro and heading back to Elaine’s.
The next day, the rain was still coming down pretty good, but we headed out to the Metro, only to find zero parking anywhere. We drove through two parking lots and an entire parking structure with no luck! We even drove over to another Metro station, only to find the same results. We ended up going and getting quarters and parking in metered parking, some of which you can pay up to twelve hours. So we finally got into the city with later than we had hoped, but made the best of the time we had. We walked over behind the Capitol Building to the Supreme Court Building. We went inside and walked around, getting a chance to peek into the courtroom before moving on. Most people who know me know I have a tiny bit of a Shakespeare obsession, so of course, our next stop was the Folger Shakespeare Library, where they have the First Folio on display. We walked back to the Capitol Building, which is quite a beautiful and impressive building. We then peeked in the Botanical Gardens and explored the Air and Space Museum before heading back to Elaine’s.
We headed out earlier the next day in order to have more time in the city. We started out at the Ford’s Theatre to see the theatre itself and where Lincoln was shot. There is a pretty interesting museum on the bottom floor, then they give a presentation in the actual theatre. The next building we stopped at was the National Archives to see the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. The National Archives is a very cool building that one could definitely spend a long time in doing research. Back out in The Mall, we went to the Natural History Museum and the American History Museum. It was getting time to head out, so we caught the Metro back, stopping at the Pentagon along the way. We walked around the Pentagon building and saw the memorial commemorating those lost on 9/11. It is an interesting, peaceful memorial. I really enjoyed my time in our nation’s capital.
No comments:
Post a Comment