We drove from Uncle Chris and Aunt Lorraine's house over to Uncle Bob and Aunt Anne's house. We left our car in their driveway and walked the few blocks to the Metro station.
Heading into the station
Waiting on the platform for the train.
Getting off at L'Enfant Plaza Station
Capitol Building under scaffolding
Capitol Building in the background
Washington Monument in the background
Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Castle
Washington Monument
Touching the Washington Monument
Looking straight up!
Being goofy!
The White House from the Washington Monument
The Lincoln Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Thomas Jefferson was influenced by classical models typified by the colonnaded, domed Pantheon in Rome--the inspiration for his Rotunda at the University of Virginia. The design for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial echoes those structures.
Crossing a bridge that had little mini Washington Monument
I love the reflection of the Monument in the Tidal Basin
From the steps of the Jefferson Memorial
The ceiling of the memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Excerpt from a letter to Samuel Kercheval, July 12, 1816
-Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776
-Excerpt from A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, drafted in 1777
-Excerpt from multiple sources: "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," "Notes on the State of Virginia," "The Autobiography," letter to George Wythe (1790), letter to George Washington (1786).
The George Mason Memorial, located in East Potomac Park near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, commemorates the neglected contributions of an important Founding Father. George Mason was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which served as an inspiration to Thomas Jefferson while drafting the Declaration of Independence. Mason later served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Perhaps Masons' greatest act was withholding his signature from the United States Constitution because it did not abolish the slave trade and lacked necessary protection for the individual from the Federal Government. George Washington regarded Mason as his mentor and Thomas Jefferson described him as "the wisest man of his generation." He devoted himself to achieving American independence, despite being a widower with nine children to raise.
The day we were visiting, the White House was receiving France's President Hollande
After we left the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, we kept walking around the Tidal Basin to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
About half-way through the memorial we realized we were walking through it backwards. After talking with a park volunteer, we learned that lots of people do it if they are coming from the Jefferson Memorial.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
So, since were went through the Roosevelt Memorial backwards, we also went through the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial backwards.
From the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, we walked to the Korean War Veterans Memorial
More on the statues
"Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."
What's that coming out of your head?
Should we call a doctor? You've got something growing out of your head!
Cheesy Washington Monument photo
After the Korean War Memorial, we went to the Lincoln Memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial reflects the design of ancient Greek temples. To make the memorial an effective terminus to the National Mall, the building was rotated 90 degrees, placing the entrance on a long side. Within, the statue of Lincoln faces the Capitol.
Taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln's second inaugural address
The Gettysburg Address
The statue is 19 feet tall from head to foot. If Lincoln were to stand, he would be 28 feet tall.
On August 28, 1963 the March on Washington happened on the memorial grounds. This proved to be the high point of the American Civil Rights Movement. It was estimated that nearly 250,000 people came to hear Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his historic speech, "I Have a Dream," before the memorial honoring the president who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation 100 years earlier.
"The Three Servicemen Statue" at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial captures a full rang of emotions. Take as a whole, the statue symbolizes the spirit of compromise and reconciliation. Like the Vietnam War itself, the controversy over the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial divided America while inflicting deep wounds among the veterans. The proposed design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial angered some Vietnam veterans and others who felt that it did not convey the heroism, patriotism, and honor inherent in most war memorials. To them, placement of the memorial below ground level hid it from view, while its color further hinted at a feeling of shame. They thought the memorial focused too much on death and loss. The Three Servicemen Statue was a comprise to that controversy, a compromise that sought to continue the healing of a nation. -Taken from NPS.gov
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall lists the names of servicemen and women who died in the conflict or remain unaccounted for.
After walking around for hours we decided it was time to eat. When two out of the four of you have to eat gluten free, it can be a bit of a challenge, especially when you are in a city you do not know. A few months ago we discovered an app called Find Me Gluten Free. It's a great app and gives you locations near you that have gluten free options. One of the restaurants that kept coming up was GCDC. We did not know until we got there that it was a Grilled Cheese restaurant in D.C. Hence the GCDC name.
Lunchtime at GCDC
Say Cheese!
Gluten Free Reuben Grilled Cheese
Regular Reuben Grilled Cheese
The Young American Grilled Cheese
The White House, set within a national park, is the president's home and office. It is the center of the Executive Branch and the place where the president receives foreign dignitaries.
The Treasury Department
The Treasury Department
Inside the Museum of American History
The American History Museum
Home of "The Star Spangled Banner" which inspired the National Anthem
A section of the Berlin Wall
Operation Desert Storm
Steel column assembly from the seventieth floor of the World Trade Center's south tower
Apollo Command Module Skylab 4-This Apollo command is identical to those used during the Apollo Program. It was used to ferry the crew of the last Skylab mission, astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue, to the Skylab Orbital Workshop and back to Earth again. The Skylab 4 crew lived in the Skylab for 84 days, from Nov. 16, 1973 to Feb. 8, 1974. The crew performed numerous experiments and demonstrated that humans can live and work in space for long periods of time.
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega
Heading back to College Park.
After getting back to College Park, we spent some time at Uncle Bob and Aunt Anne's house. We had a lovely visit and chatted for a long time. After leaving their house, we drove about 20 minutes to the nearest Chick-Fil-A.
So delicious!
When it was all said and done, we walked nearly 26,000 steps which was about 11 miles and we saw some monuments and memorials we had seen last time we were in D.C., but we also saw a lot of ones we have never gone to before. All in all a great day despite how exhausted we were at the end of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment