Washinton DC on the fast track...

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(Washington DC)

We stayed in a state park just in Maryland~~don’t be misled, that’s only 35 minutes from DC! People in Montana have farms that are bigger than the states on this side of the country! You can drive through some states, some from north to south, and some from east to west, in an afternoon!

We drove into the city the first day. The train goes there, and we intended to take it, but that morning we changed our minds and drove. It was Saturday, with not a lot of traffic going into DC, and we didn’t have too much trouble finding a parking garage, so it worked well. We haven’t been to here since July 2002, and although this trip wasn’t as overwhelming, emotionally, it’s still very moving. Last time it was thrilling to be at the monuments that we’d studied about in school. This time we were more able to look at things with our feet on the ground, although we were both still filled with the spirit of patriotism. The temperature was in the 90’s, and with it being Saturday (or maybe that doesn’t matter) there were hords of people everywhere, and many many school groups. We walked from place to place, and I was surprised how close things are~~like the Washington Monument is only a mile from the Lincoln Memorial in one direction, and a mile to the Capital building the other direction. When I think about the area of Washington DC (68 square miles, including all the water) how far apart can things be?! (I’ll bet you’re wondering about the population density? 9,639 people per square mile. No kidding! The city has a population of 591,830, and the metro has 5.3 million...in 68 sq miles??? I think I see the primary problem of our capital…)

The war memorials are emotionally stirring, and this year we saw the new WWII Memorial, which lies between the Lincoln and Washington Monuments, and was opened in '07. Every one of the memorials is so different, and yet each is powerful. People are respectful around all the historical markers; they are sitting around or milling around, but are speaking with lowered voices, and not running. You just don’t see that very often anymore.

We visited just a few of the Smithsonian Museums, because we’d been through nearly all of them last time and knew what interested us. There were crowds in them, but the only place that it was an issue was trying to look at the gemstones in the Natural History Museum. There you had to get in line and just move with the people! There were huge numbers in the Air and Space Museum (it took us most of a day in there!), but you didn’t feel it because the space is so big (pun!) and there are so many separate rooms to look in.

I think everyone should have a chance to go there, and experience the feelings of belonging to a great country. The feelings come from just walking around (probably with my mouth hanging open!) looking at the famous buildings and monuments that represent where our country has come from. Our granddaughter, Sara, went with her school class when she was an eighth grader, which I think is an excellent age.

This one has lots of pictures, so good luck!

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Photos

See who is watching?
We could see these two men on top of the White House. They weren't so obvious on any day except Saturday.

Lincoln Memorial...
it wasn't such an emotional time for me this time, but it was still awe inspiring. The reflecting pool looks dirty because it was covered with elm seeds...so were my sinuses!

The Hope diamond is displayed in
the Museum of Natural Science; it's 45.5 carats of blue diamond, and the chain is made up of individual white diamonds. To say it's gorgeous is an understatement!

I had to show this case, because
it's designed to sink into a safe under the floor if the case is tampered with! Now you see it~~now you don't! It is in an enclosed area that can't hold many people, and it revolves within the glass case. See how crowded the people are?

The Washington Monument is
555' 5" tall, and by law, nothing in Washington DC can be taller than it is. It's a beautiful white oblisk and it seems like we could see part of it from wherever we were.

Lincoln Memorial...
I like how this picture shows how big the statue is. The people were more solemn in this memorial than in any other. Except maybe for the Vietnam Memorial~~that was very quiet.

Overlooking the fountain at the
World War II Memorial. It's surrounded by 57 columns to represent the states and territories that fought in the war. It is situated between the Lincoln and the Washington Monuments...awesome sight. This was new in 2004, so we hadn't seen it before.

Vietnam Memorial...
The wall is 246' long, and (as of May '08) had 58,256 names on it, including POWs and MIAs.

Lunar Module
Air and Space Museum, of course!

FYI
Same museum...we spent two days at the Smithsonian.

In the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Notice where the sample of Montana soil was taken from! We kind of wanted to announce it to the people standing around us, but we refrained!

The one on the left is a sample of the
red Georgia clay. It stains as bad as you'd think it would. A soil sample from each state is exhibited.

Comments

[Danielson]

Thanks, Rosi...
Now I have to be careful what I say about our leaders!!

[Danielson]

Hi, Jill!
How far are the kids from DC? Wouldn't that have been awesome to have gotten together? (notice how it's all past tense?!) Bummer....