Today was another incredible day-Monday, January 19, 2009- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! People were out in droves. We ran into people from all over the country. We began our day with me trying to get everyone up at 9:00 AM. They all took way longer than I wanted them to, but we finally got out the door & headed to a nearby Metro station, about 10 minutes away. We found a parking spot & because it was a holiday we didn't have to pay for metered parking, yeah! We then got in line with the other few hundred people to get train passes for the ride into D.C. That only took another 15 minutes, but it seemed like an hour. It was pretty cold, about 30 degrees. We decided to get tickets for today, tomorrow, and Wednesday so we wouldn't have to wait in those lines again! The Metro Staff was very friendly and helpful. We even got some commemorative Obama passes from one of them.
We decided to begin at the Washington Monument and go from there to all the nearby monuments. Well, we began at the same level of excitement, but after about 5 miles of walking, I think I was the only one still excited about the self-guided tour. We, I, took lots of photos of everything! Rachael was the only one excited about posing for them, you will hopefully see when we figure out how to get them up on the blog which may be when we return. I'm still working on it with Jake's help.
So, after the Washington Monument, we headed to the World War II Memorial which looks so different when the fountains are not flowing. It was still beautiful and sad at the same time. I think it is such a loving tribute to those who served and their familes. It has special meaning to us because of our dear friend, Rose Biggerstaff, who is one of the oldest, if not thee oldest, living WWII civilian survivor of Pearl Harbor. Her husband was a Naval Officer at the time and she has shared many incredible pictures and stories with us about them and that infamous day.
Off to the Reflecting Pond and the Lincoln Memorial, sort of. We took the long, cold, yet beautiful walk following the path next of the Reflecting Pond on the way to the Lincoln Memorial. What was really cool was they had gigantic screens and speakers replaying the concerts from Sunday as well as President-elect Obama's speech running continuously so you could see it and feel like you had been there, without quite the same size crowd.
This is where the kids began complaining. When you see the Pond in movies, on the news, or in pictures, it doesn't look nearly as long as it really is, especially when you walk it in freezing cold weather. Good thing, the kids didn't realize we weren't even half way done with our tour for the day, or they would have up and quit on us! When we got to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the crowd was pretty large. The stage crew was still taking down the set from Sunday's concert so most of the stairway paths to see Mr. Lincoln were cut off. When we finally realized that we would have to wait in line for at least an hour, we took a family vote. The kids won and we decided not to wait to get a close up view, but to return on Wednesday. Thus we headed to the Vietnam Memorial. Of course that is amazing and sad to see as well. Many people were lined up to see and touch The Wall and look for names of those they knew and loved.
Another family dicussion, everyone was getting tired, but not cranky, so I knew I could still encourage them to hold out. I would remind them of stories of our Founding Fathers and how they got around and didn't give up! I told them I knew they could do it! I only wanted to make one more stop today: The Jefferson Memorial.
I probably should have looked at the map before I made that choice. I had an idea where it was, from my visit last summer. I really wanted to be sure to go there, since I missed getting to it last time. So we headed in the general direction with Paul, his brother, Joe, and me taking turns asking various people how to get there. Lucky for us, we stumbled into the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the way. That helped keep the kids' spirits up, just a little. It was a huge tribute and quite impressive. Eleanor, his wife, is even a part of it. We took lots of photos there too! When we finally saw the Jefferson Memorial across the water, through the trees, everyone was ready to give up, but me. I had good fortune on my side. Since they were all ready to get home & rest their feet, I was able to convince them, truthfully, that if we continued in the circle we were walking, it would be a shorter path back to where we began & our Metro ride home if we headed in that direction.
After what seemed like another hour of walking, even for me, although I was the only one smiling about it, we finally arrived to stare up at the incredible statue of Thomas Jefferson. Wow was it tall & elegant! And, it was well worth the journey. Signing off for now. I need to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's bigger day! Inauguration, here we come!
We decided to begin at the Washington Monument and go from there to all the nearby monuments. Well, we began at the same level of excitement, but after about 5 miles of walking, I think I was the only one still excited about the self-guided tour. We, I, took lots of photos of everything! Rachael was the only one excited about posing for them, you will hopefully see when we figure out how to get them up on the blog which may be when we return. I'm still working on it with Jake's help.
So, after the Washington Monument, we headed to the World War II Memorial which looks so different when the fountains are not flowing. It was still beautiful and sad at the same time. I think it is such a loving tribute to those who served and their familes. It has special meaning to us because of our dear friend, Rose Biggerstaff, who is one of the oldest, if not thee oldest, living WWII civilian survivor of Pearl Harbor. Her husband was a Naval Officer at the time and she has shared many incredible pictures and stories with us about them and that infamous day.
Off to the Reflecting Pond and the Lincoln Memorial, sort of. We took the long, cold, yet beautiful walk following the path next of the Reflecting Pond on the way to the Lincoln Memorial. What was really cool was they had gigantic screens and speakers replaying the concerts from Sunday as well as President-elect Obama's speech running continuously so you could see it and feel like you had been there, without quite the same size crowd.
This is where the kids began complaining. When you see the Pond in movies, on the news, or in pictures, it doesn't look nearly as long as it really is, especially when you walk it in freezing cold weather. Good thing, the kids didn't realize we weren't even half way done with our tour for the day, or they would have up and quit on us! When we got to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the crowd was pretty large. The stage crew was still taking down the set from Sunday's concert so most of the stairway paths to see Mr. Lincoln were cut off. When we finally realized that we would have to wait in line for at least an hour, we took a family vote. The kids won and we decided not to wait to get a close up view, but to return on Wednesday. Thus we headed to the Vietnam Memorial. Of course that is amazing and sad to see as well. Many people were lined up to see and touch The Wall and look for names of those they knew and loved.
Another family dicussion, everyone was getting tired, but not cranky, so I knew I could still encourage them to hold out. I would remind them of stories of our Founding Fathers and how they got around and didn't give up! I told them I knew they could do it! I only wanted to make one more stop today: The Jefferson Memorial.
I probably should have looked at the map before I made that choice. I had an idea where it was, from my visit last summer. I really wanted to be sure to go there, since I missed getting to it last time. So we headed in the general direction with Paul, his brother, Joe, and me taking turns asking various people how to get there. Lucky for us, we stumbled into the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the way. That helped keep the kids' spirits up, just a little. It was a huge tribute and quite impressive. Eleanor, his wife, is even a part of it. We took lots of photos there too! When we finally saw the Jefferson Memorial across the water, through the trees, everyone was ready to give up, but me. I had good fortune on my side. Since they were all ready to get home & rest their feet, I was able to convince them, truthfully, that if we continued in the circle we were walking, it would be a shorter path back to where we began & our Metro ride home if we headed in that direction.
After what seemed like another hour of walking, even for me, although I was the only one smiling about it, we finally arrived to stare up at the incredible statue of Thomas Jefferson. Wow was it tall & elegant! And, it was well worth the journey. Signing off for now. I need to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's bigger day! Inauguration, here we come!
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