This was a special adventure for Ed and I since he had NEVER been there (shocking for a History/Government teacher, isn't it!?) and I hadn't been in the city since a 1 day fly-in visit with my dad back when I was in 8th grade! (too long ago to admit to a date on that one!) So off we went. This adventure was to be a total public transport one once we got off the plane. We decided to use trains, the bus, and our feet to get us everywhere once we landed at Dulles airport. We scored a great hotel just blocks from the Mall (the State Plaza Hotel on 21st and E streets) and we had a blast. For the next several posts I will show you shots from our trip.
Day one: we flew and then got into our hotel. By 2:30 we were on the Mall.... we call this MONUMENT DAY... and boy, did we see them all!!!
First stop, the Vietnam War Memorial. There really aren't words
to describe the way this wall full of names of the fallen impacts
the visitor as you walk down into the trench and are engulfed
by the thousands of names. There were several spots on the
trip where I found myself moved to tears. This was one of them.
One rose of remembrance.....
Next, onto the Mall itself, as you come out of the Vietnam Memorial,
you arrive at the base of the steps to the Lincoln Memorial. Look left and
the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument will the view with the Capitol
in the distance.
One of my heroes...
Ed on the Mall. This history teacher was grinning
all week long!
Next, the Korean War Memorial. This one has a more
human face to it in the larger than life-sized soldiers
hiking through some unknown Korean battlefield.
It captures the essence of youth, duty, courage, and fear... all rolled
into one!
A little further on, we came to the WW2 Memorial.
It is massive in size and full of quotes honoring those
who fought in the Asian and European Theaters of the War.
There is no way to capture it adequately in a single photo.
We walked around the famous Tidal Basin to get to the
Jefferson Memorial. Some shoreline restoration was going
Jefferson Memorial. Some shoreline restoration was going
on but it is still quite accessible and impressive. In the spring this
monument is surrounded by the famous Cherry blossoms.
Ed's hero, the big guy T.J. himself!
I captured this shot of the Washington Monument while
standing at the WW2 Memorial. We didn't wait the 2-3 hrs. to go UP the thing
but decided to enjoy it from ground level.
Using a good zoom lens, I captured this shot of
the White House from the Jefferson Memorial! It
got me high enough to look over the fence and see it.
The last stop of the Monument & Mall day was to
stroll past that famous home on Pennsylvania Avenue.
We didn't reserve the tour tickets 4-6 wks. in advance but
instead gawked through the fence like real tourists!
While peeking through the fence, we spotted
a fellow in what looked like a chef's coat
watering the Obama's veggie garden. This was
the famous "green" patch that got a lot of publicity back
when it was planted in the spring. I guess Michelle
doesn't have time to water and pull weeds... that's
funny, I don't have much time for it either at my house!
I keep teasing Ed about this shot... I call it his,
"dream residence" shot.... hmmmm..... you never
"dream residence" shot.... hmmmm..... you never
know...... :-)
2 comments:
oh I love DC.
My sister worked steps away from the white house for a few years and I would visit her on breaks. She would go to work, I would hit up the museums, we would grab lunch together or happy hour. It was a great way to vacation.
There was always so much to see (for free!) that my sister could work without worrying that I was bored at home.
Granted... I did tag along on the day her office hosted a private lecture from Justice Thomas in the Supreme Court. I shook his hand, but had no idea what he was talking about 70% of the time! I needed Nina Totenberg to translate for me.
I'm glad you had fun!
I got to go to Washington, DC, back in 1978, so before the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean Memorial. We got to see the White House, the Washington Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial, plus see a good share of the Smithsonian, too. We went to the Capitol building, too. It was a fun trip, but there area a few more things to see, than when I was there. Glad you had a good trip!
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