Last night storms came to the Capitol (again – heh, heh). It rained, it poured and the old man snored. But when I got up this morning the rain had stopped and it promised to be a cool but beautiful day. And it was!! The temperature was in the high 40’s but by the afternoon it was supposed to be in the mid 60’s. With a possibility of showers. So we dressed in layers and took our umbrellas just in case. We planned to leave the car home and use Metro for all our transportation needs to downtown DC.
Tina had made arrangements with a dog walker to walk the dogs during the afternoon so we left our coach key in the office. The RV Park is on the metro bus route and the bus stop is right across from the office so we bought our bus passes and boarded for the twenty minute ride to the metro subway station in College Park. We got our subway passes and got on the Green Line, then transferred to the Red Line a few stops further on for the trip into Union Station (http://www.unionstationdc.com/about.aspx). This is a stunning building which has been beautifully restored and expanded to handle trains, subway and bus transportation. It is really gorgeous inside and looks like a high end airport terminal. 
Our plan was to do a tour of Washington DC on our first day. Tourmobile Tours (http://www.tourmobile.com/) had a ticket kiosk outside Union Station where we bought our tickets for the day. This is an “On and Off” tour where you can get off at any stop, tour the monument or building and get back on another bus to continue the route. With tickets and Tina’s plan in hand we boarded the tour bus and headed for the first stop. Since there is so much to see and do in Washington DC, our first day we planned to visit the Jefferson Memorial (http://www.nps.gov/thje/), FDR Memorial (http://www.nps.gov/fdrm/), Arlington National Cemetery (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/), Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tombofun.htm) and the original Smithsonian building known as the “Castle” (http://www.si.edu/) where we could get an overview of the various Smithsonian offerings.
By this time it was a blue sky day, 68 degrees and perfect for photos. We got off the tourmobile at the Jefferson Memorial and walked around to the front which faces the tidal basin. Walking up the steps the first thing you see is his statue in the center of the rotunda floor. Walking around we were really impressed with how much he had written on need for good government and the basic freedoms that all people should enjoy. On the interior walls of the rotunda are engraved a half dozen of his basic tenets. He was truly a statesman with an eye on the future while recognizing that action must be taken today in order to ensure that future. 
From the Jefferson Memorial we walked along the tidal basin to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This is a long stretch of massive stonework and bronze statues with waterfalls, reflecting pools and panels with his words. The entire facility represents his efforts to sheppard our country through the great depression. This is a stunning memorial in its simplicity yet makes a powerful statement about a visionary leader. Included in the memorial is a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt with her words on the human condition. Together they were an awesome team. 
Leaving the Roosevelt Memorial we re-boarded the tourmobile and got off at the Lincoln Memorial stop in order to get some lunch at a food kiosk. We both had a hot dog. Tina’s was a six inch with mustard. Mine was a foot long with chili, mustard, onions and sourkraut. Yum! After lunch we got back on the tourmobile saving the Lincoln Memorial for another day. Our drive took us across the Potomac on the Arlington Memorial Parkway, moving from Maryland to Virginia. As we drive along Memorial Parkway there are numerous Statues and Memorials to Military groups such as the SeaBees. At the end of Memorial Parkway, at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery is the Women In Military Service For America Memorial (http://www.womensmemorial.org/). Everywhere you look in Washington is marble, in statues, buildings and monuments. This memorial is no exception. Simple in design yet stunning in execution. 
After driving into the cemetery proper we make a stop at the Robert F Kennedy grave and eternal flame. For those of us who saw Kennedy elected president, saw his leadership with his pledge to go to the moon and his untimely death, this is a sacred place. From Kennedys grave we moved uphill through the many sections of grave sites from the Civil war through all our conflicts up to the present. On any given day there are about twenty burial services performed here. We stopped next at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier where we witnessed the changing of the guard and placing of a memorial wreath. Every place we stop is stunning. The gardens are in bloom, dogwoods, cherry, plum and apple trees are flowering and it becomes hard not to take pictures at every turn. 
The tour continues up to the top of the hill and Arlington House. This was the main home for the Robert E. Lee plantation. When Lee resigned his commission in the Army, he and his family fled to Virginia where he took command of the Confederate Army. At some point during the Civil War, his property was confiscated by the Union. As the deaths of soldiers mounted, places to bury them were difficult to find. Lees Plantation became the solution and from that point on, burials of Union soldiers from the civil war were interred here. After the war when the Union was restored, soldiers from the confederacy were also buried here. Today all the grave stones are uniform and they are arranged to represent rows of soldiers lined up for review.
From Arlington we returned to the Mall and got off at the Smithsonian “Castle” stop where we could go inside and get information to help us plan our visit to the eighteen Smithsonian buildings. By now it is getting late so we got directions to the nearest Green Line Metro station. After a five block walk we caught the subway and took it all the way to our stop at College Park. The Metro Subways are fast and clean. I was very impressed with our subway experience. From there the bus returned us to Cherryhill RV Park. We picked up our key from the office and got to the coach where we were greeted by two excited girls. They had been walked by the dog walker during the afternoon, so they were in pretty good shape but they’re always glad to see us get home. To see all of todays photos click on the following link:
No comments:
Post a Comment