Day Two - A Double Header of Monuments and Baseball.

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Yeah, so that ambitious plan of getting up early for the free continental breakfast...not so ambitious after all! We woke up super late, but seeing how we were up super late maybe it was better we rested. Today was the monument blitz. The weather refused to cooperate with us this weekend. It seemed like from the moment we left New Jersey we have been surrounded in a never ending rain cloud, but we were not about to let that discourage us. We took a taxi to the reflecting pool, expecting to be dropped off by the Lincoln Memorial. Instead, the taxi driver took us to the Capital Building, which stand in front of a smaller lesser known reflection pool. This gaffe however ended up working out fine for us, as the reflection pool we wanted to go too was drained for repairs. At the second pool, we got to see the Capital, Supreme Court and the Ulysses S Grant Memorial. As we trekked our way to the opposite side of the mall we were able to hit all the monuments.

The Washington Monument was still damaged from the earthquake so we were not able to go inside it, but even so it is still a site towering above the DC skyline. My favorite memorial was the Lincoln Memorial. There is just something about the majesty of it that really moves me each time I go there. It just never gets old. The War Memorials (Vietnam, Korea, WW2) were nice too. Seeing how my grandfather served in WW2 it was nice to see some acknowledgement of the sacrifice, even if he was in the Italian navy. We even got to see the brand new Martin Luther King Memorial. It was nice, but not necessarily how I would have portrayed Dr. King. He seemed too stern and distant in the sculpture. I would have liked to see a more human portrayal of MLK. FDR was nice, but we couldn't spend as much time there as I would have enjoyed seeing how the rain was coming down harder. We ended up seeking shelter in the Jefferson Memorial, which I would put up there with The Lincoln Memorial as emotion invoking.

After covering a large amount of ground on foot, we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel to recuperate before the ballgame. We fought the rain off just enough for the game to be played. The Nationals are a good young team. Even got to see their star Bryce Harper get a pinch hit and steal a base. For a guy who had a bruised ankle, he seemed pretty spry. The ballpark was beautiful. During the 4th inning we took a foot tour of the grounds and grabbed a snack. A really enjoyable place even with the weather not cooperating. Very open which I love. You forget for a minute that you are in the middle of a crowded city.

All and all it was a good trip. We really had to squeeze a lot into a short amount of time and there were moments that were hectic. However, the end result I think was a success. We got to experience a little bit of American history and enjoy America's favorite past time. Sometimes during the midst of the great recession, it is hard to peer into the future and see the recovery. However, after seeing the challenges that faced our great nation in the past and how America was able to persevere through leadership and the American spirit; I have hope that our best days have not passed us. God bless America!

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