The one variable I didn’t factor into our travels was the time necessary to transfer and upload the pictures for the blog. But I just simply must find a time to do it; easier to do that than to find the time to tell everyone individually about our exploits.
With that said, this post is designed to include a few more of our adventures in Washington, DC.
Mr. Walker, a security guard at the Lincoln Memorial, informed us that the walk back to Foggy Bottom metro station was longer than the walk down the national mall to the Smithsonian. In hindsight, I disagree. The walk to the set of 19 museums was quite long (even longer with four children, one in a backpack carrier). But I am glad we went that direction.
The walk along the mall had additional monuments, memorials, and other tributaries we would have missed if we had gone the Foggy Bottom route.
[If you are wondering why I keep saying Foggy Bottom, it is for T’s sake. He thinks that putting the word bottom in the name of a train station is just a riot. The boy was in stitches for two days, giggling and snickering every time the conductor announced the locale. “Dad, did you hear that? He said, ‘Bottom,’ guffaw guffaw.” And that was followed by, “Silas, do you know where we’re getting off? At Foggy Bottom. Hee hee hee!” So you see that I simply must mention Foggy Bottom the same way that kids have to giggle at the dinner table if someone passes gas. Gotta be real!]
Back to the adventure….we walked the mall instead of going to Foggy Bottom station and our first observance was the Koren War Memorial. What an unbelievable structure. I’m not the greatest photographer, and couldn’t get an accurate representation of the wall. It had phenomenal artwork, displaying caricatures of men at war, but the faces were so real and personable that it felt like it was your brother or son or friend in engraved in the stone. I’m going to have to study it online to learn the history and development of this memorial. Jonathan got great pictures of the statues there. Life-size men, trudging through the minefields. It was emotionally gripping to say the least.
Part of this memorial experience included seeing many people wearing tags with GYLC on them. I pondered what that could be and when I inquired from one of their chaperones, he confirmed that it was the Global Youth Leaders Conference. I need to look that up, too, and learn what the organization is about and if there are opportunities that our boys may want to seize as they grow.
I’m not sure when the last time Security Guard Walker traveled the mall, but it was long enough that there are fully-equipped restrooms along the way. And those restrooms are guarded by some seriously militant squirrels. Tourist city squirrels are a topic to fill an entire book; I’ll leave that publication to someone else.
As you stroll the mall, you see the Washington Monument from every possible angle. And J managed to take a picture of it from each of those angles. I don’t know if there’s enough memory in cyberspace to include them all, so I’ll leave them out here.
As we approached the captivating World War II Memorial, we could see the Jefferson Memorial across the river to the right. This is another place I want to research further. The pool and fountains are gorgeous. The emblem in the sidewalk said, “Victory by Land, Victory by Sea, Victory by Air” or maybe the “by” was “in the.” Regardless, it was thought provoking. This is a National Park Service location and has a ranger to give a tour. There was one in process, but we were trying to get to the Smithsonian before they closed at 5:30 pm. And it was about 5:10 pm. Uh-huh…no pressure.
Our 4yo S was adamant about getting his picture in front of the water (which I later realized was him wanting his picture playing IN the water). Here are pictures that do not do justice to the magnitude of this arch-filled memorial.
I was 5:25 as we approached the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. J had said to me around 5:20 pm, “Mom, I think we need should just go to the metro. We have a ways to walk and the metro station is right there.” Everything in me wanted to give in; my feet hurt and I was th-rou-gh! (yes, three-syllables through!) Instead, I said, “You want to give up? We can’t give up! Our purpose was to get there by 5:30 and I’m going to get there. I don’t care if they close. I am going to win my race!”
HALLELUJAH that I did that. We got to the museum at 5:27, welcomed by a sign that said “The National Air & Space Museum will remain open until 7:30 pm tonight.” Glory to God in the highest!!! “See,” I said to J, “if we had gone to the metro, we would just be tired on the metro. Instead, we have our reward for pressing in. We still get to see the museum.”
While at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago last Sunday, J was able to see one of the Wright Brothers flyers. We saw more at the Early Years of Flight exhibit the National Air Force Museum in Dayton on Monday. At this Smithsonian museum, J was able to see the original (not a copy) 1903 Flyer that the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. He was SO excited!
For those who don’t know, J did a report on the Wright brothers earlier this year during our flight and airplanes unit. He devoured every book he could find on the brothers. At this exhibit, he saw Orville’s high school report card, one of the bicycles they sold in their bike shop, and samples of their publications from their print shop. This was a real treat for him. We also saw Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, which he spent considerable time studying during the same unit.
It was nearly impossible to pry T out of the planets/solar system exhibit. He enjoys astronomy and weather, a unit we’ll cover in our upcoming school year. And S just had tons of fun all over the museum. I don’t think he walked anywhere. It wasn’t running, not hopping. Probably most accurate to say that he bounded…yes, like Tigger, he bounces.
Guess it’s time for me to bounce, too. But before I do, here are a few more shots from Arlington National Cemetery. This is the eternal flame at JFK’s gravesite. Nearby, marked by a single white cross, is Bobby Kennedy’s grave. It is a serene area. The pool opposite this cross is beautiful. These areas are tastefully done and, regardless of the number of tourists who pass by, are respected by all.
I think that covers our walk along the mall. Just as there’s much
to do in our capital city, there is much to share about visiting the same.
Leave a Reply