Monument(al) Day

The following day, the 29th of June, we left the kids at home and went for it. When I say "went for it" I mean we did as many things in the one day as we could so that our final day on Wed. would be a bit lighter.

It actually was quite a fun and very full day! The first thing we did was hop on the metro (of course) and headed right for Arlington National Cemetery. I had to make the choice right away whether I was going to sob the whole day or not. I chose to contain my emotions a bit and things worked out better. To be honest I did get teary a time or two, but I tried to keep it small. That might sound a little harsh to some, but sheesh, we visited a military cemetery, several war monuments and basically everything that could be sentimental all in the same day. It was one of those if you start days.

Anyway, so we began at Arlington and chose right off to take the tour. It cost more, but we learned so much and saw much more of the cemetery than we would have. We even made it for the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. It was quite interesting and very solemn. I liked it and it felt like (as a military family) we had paid our dues and shared our gratitude as was right.

After that we wandered a bit and found the Vietnam Memorial first. From the back you can't even tell it's there. It is the wall we've all seen, but it's literally carved into the ground. The top stays the same and it looks like a regular park. When you move to the side you see that it actually goes quite deep. The interesting part about this one is the fact that the names are listed in chronological order by death. It begins with the first death of the war, grows quite large at the height of the war, and then tapers off to the last death at the end. We even helped a woman make a rubbing for a vet that was up quite high. It felt good to help him out. He was so grateful. (Another teary moment)

We then hit the Lincoln Memorial. It was gigantic! It reminded me of when we saw the David in Florence, Italy. In pictures you know it's gotta be pretty large, but it just doesn't hold much until you stand next to it and feel super tiny.

I think the part I liked most about the Memorial was the speeches of Lincoln carved into the marble on either side of the statue.

It was beautiful and to be honest though slightly embarrassed, I'd never read the entire Gettysburg Address. It definitely had me teary. To see how much our leaders in the past loved God and reverenced not only his infinite power, but his mercy and kindness really impressed me. It's such a thing of the past in my time to see men of power bow their knee to the Almighty.

After the Memorial it was super easy to just move toward the rest of the war memorials. They flank the Reflecting Pool. To the right of the Lincoln Memorial is the Korean War memorial which I really liked.

Made me all teary, again

Next was the forgotten WWI memorial. It's a small little marble structure built in the Romanesque style with columns and a circular roof. It is quite beautiful, but sadly uncared for and by all guidebooks I read, and websites I visited it's not even listed. If you get the chance, take a look and do your part by remembering and being grateful. That's what these things are there for.

At the end of the reflecting pool is the grand WWII memorial. It is truly magnificent. I really liked it and felt like it really was serving it's purpose. For me it was more beautiful and significant than any of the others. I recognized my state's sacrifice for the war too by standing next to the corresponding wreathe.

Each star represents a soldier

The pool was quite lovely and though they don't recommend wading or playing in it, they do not mind sitting and putting your feet in. It was really hot and we were very tired, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just didn't feel right for me.

Then finally, we made it. We actually walked up the curved walkway and touched the Washington Monument! We had seen it from afar and not so far for the whole vacation and then this day we finally went right up to it. It was beautiful and I was happy to have finally made it. We didn't get tickets to ride up the elevator, though I encourage you to if you get the chance, but we were happy with sitting inside the circle of flags and touching the stones. So much history.

After that we made the choice to see the White House. I knew this was going to be my shot so we took it. It was only two blocks away so we thought, simple! Not simple! They were having a very large and, I'm sure, prestigious gathering, and so had blocked off all locations even near the building. I didn't get to see it and I didn't get a picture. I did however, get a giant Rocket Popsicle like the kind I used to get from the ice cream truck at the Bowdish house in Spokane when I was little. I was happy.

Half Staff for a Judge's spouse

We had walked for a couple of miles by that time and were ready to go home. As luck would have it we were less than a few blocks from the very first metro station we had used the first day we were there. We didn't even need a map or Chris' GPS to get there!

It was a good day, a long day, but a good day and we were so glad the kids didn't go. They would've been miserable. Sometimes some "us" time is a good thing for everyone!