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Published: July 27th 2013
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Part of the appeal of moving to the East coast, especially for me, was having the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. Jeremy had been for a day visit once before, but I never have. It is on my top list of places to see before I die, so I was so anxious to get to go. Anyone who knows us knows how patriotic we are, and how much we both just love history. Added to my side is a love of classic ancient architecture! DC...is like the epitome of the perfect trip for both of us (along with anything in Europe!) My first time flying into the city to house hunt and I drove right past the Washington Monument, the Marine Memorial, saw the capitol from my seat at the airport....I was just itching to get to go hit the pavement, put my hand on the marble, and lay my shadow on the steps where so many others have!
We've heard from the locals that there is not really a good time to visit DC....it's always busy! But if there is a better time, it's during the week. So we decided a Tuesday was as good a day
as any! It was warm...high around 90, and humid! And I, of course, wore jeans! (bad idea!) It was the coolest day of the week that was not rainy though, so it would have to work! We had gotten the tourist map of DC so set down and decided all the things we wanted to see and what we could skip. Let me just say, to fully appreciate DC you would need many days, not just one or two! There are so many museums, and each one of them really need to have a lot of time dedicated to them! There are so many things on our map that are highlighted, so we decided to just focus on the southern area, the Mall area, during this trip! Jeremy had visited most of that area before, but I haven't. A visit to the Holocaust Museum would have been interesting and enjoyable to both of us, but I just could not go into DC without seeing the "major" things first! So...Jeremy would just have to suffer with repetitive sight seeing! Ha ha!
First off, let me just say I was completely surprise with how walkable DC is! I expected
more like NYC, where you might walk 25 blocks between sights, but not at all! It was literally one monument starts where another ends! We spent about 4 hours there and got a large chunk of the Mall in! We had no idea where to park there, so after driving around looking for a spot on the street for about 15 minutes, we were directly to the Ronald Reagan building parking by Siri. So Federal building, but you can park there for a fee. Four stories under the earth and steel and concrete was enough to make me think of the World Trade Center and the weight and enormity of it. I'm not generally claustrophobic, but I was feeling a little closed in down there! The Ronald Reagan Building is massive! Being a federal building, you do have to submit to a security check and metal detector to get into it, but it's much less production than that of an airport. One of the first historical pieces we saw was in one of the main entrances of the Reagan building and it was a full-size panel of the Berlin Wall. Wow! To imagine all the hands that have touched that
piece over the years....and mine got to be one of them. So humbling! We walked out of the Reagan Building right into the middle of the International Trade Center, which is many buildings, and my I was in awe! I could not stop taking pictures! The architecture was so beautiful, and the scale was so massive...I felt like just a speck on the course of history of this spectacular place! I looked at all the people walking to and fro in their suits, with their briefcases, on their cell phones, and wondered if they walk this everyday and never even look up? If the wonder and awe of it is completely lost on them? If they are still able to marvel at the halls that built our great nation, and appreciate being able to see it everyday? Anyway...enough of the introspection!
Walking out toward the Mall, we came to the Washington Monument first. Easily the easiest to see since it is so tall! Too bad it was covered in scaffolding though. :/ Walking around the monument and we turned at just the right time to see the White House through a clearing. This is as close as
we got in this trip. Another time I will get closer. From the Washington Monument, we walked down the grassy hill to the new World War II Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. The WWII is still in progress. We didn't spend much time there because it was like a sauna inside of it...no airflow! It was hot! The whole area is a park like setting with tree-lined sidewalks...except for in the monuments themselves. Walking along the Reflecting Pool brought us to the Vietnam Memorial. I have seen the traveling wall a few times, but I really thought that seeing it in person would be a different emotional experience. It really wasn't any more powerful than the traveling one. I found my uncles name...I already have a rubbing so I didn't need to get a new one. It is a gorgeous memorial, but smaller than I thought it was going to be.
Back to the treed path led us right to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The enormity of this building, in both size and historical significance, is indescribable! I stood at the spot of Martin Luther King's famous speech, I touched the marble pillars, I bought
a calendar! 😉 lol! The Korean War Memorial is just a few steps away and is just as moving as in photos. The figures of the men are more than life size, and their faces depict the concern and determination that they must have felt.
Further east is the memorial bridge that leads to Arlington. I took a few photos of the entrance of the bridge, and the bridge itself, but Arlington will be another trip. The FDR Memorial was so unexpected and awesome! I'm not even sure I knew that it was there. It was a series of quotes and waterfalls in a park-like setting...so peaceful and deeply moving. We walked the Tidal Basin to loop back to the MLK Jr. Memorial. Another beautiful memorial of super white marble. I just heard on the news that they are removing a controversial quote on the side of it, so glad we got a photo of it before it's gone! I'm not sure which quote is going to be removed though. I really wanted to loop down to the Jefferson Memorial, but it was getting later in the afternoon and we wanted to beat rush hour so we
headed back to the Reagan Building to head back to the hotel. We will definitely be making many trips to D.C. while we are here, and I can't wait to see what they hold!
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Kelly
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Amazing!
Wow! I've always wanted to visit DC for the history and the architecture that came along with it. It sounds like you had an amazing time touring the sites and seeing what there is to offer. I'll be looking forward to your next visit and blog post! Thanks for sharing! :)