Washington, D.C. - Arrival
We are in Washington, D.C. once again. Kent has a meeting here. I came along for the trip. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is really nice, if you like lots of marble.
We arrived early yesterday afternoon. I’ll go back home Monday, and Kent will continue on with his meetings. This afternoon, Kent wanted to catch up on reading and do some writing, so I took the opportunity to go to a nearby Spa. I went to the Piaf Salon (yes, their website sucks, but the salon and spa are good), where I got a facial and a manicure. It was a nice treat to myself, and you should see my nails!
Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant called DC Coast. It was right across the street from our hotel, but was very highly rated. The restaurant is well done and I found the naked mermaid particularly provocative as we entered the restaurant.
I had the double pork chop, which was a really well known choice on their menu (which is probably why I’m up not and can’t sleep). I’m just not used to rich foods like that anymore. I did think it was a bit odd thought that she asked me how I would like that prepared. She asked if I would like it more medium rare. I always thought that you had to cook pork well.
Tomorrow, we are going to the arboretum. Neither of us has been there before. We have seen the monuments before, but I’d like to revisit the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, just a short way away, and the World War II memorial, which was not completed when I last visited the city. The last time I was here, I didn’t have my new Nikon D70. It will be interesting to see what I can do with it, especially in places like the Lincoln Memorial, with limited light.
This town is an amazing place.
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Eric, that is a good idea about visiting the monuments at night. I think I will try to do that tonight if there's time.
Jeff, of all the monuments that I have visited, the Lincoln Memorial is the most emotional for me. A close toss up to that is the Vietnam Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial almost has an eerie feeling of Lincoln's presence there. I start to read his writings inscribed on the walls, and before I know it, I am overcome with how great the writing and the ideas are, and just how far we have not come. Then, you leave there, emotionally torn up, and you walk a short distance to the Vietnam Memorial.
You think it will be different. After all, how emotional can a continuous black granite wall be? But then, you start reading the names. Each one was a young man who went to war fighting for... whatever it is we were fighting for there. There are different theories on even that basic point, but, whatever the reason, these men died for that reason.
You come across people who are the children of those men, trying to etch the name of their father onto a white piece of paper with a piece of charcoal. They break down and start crying. I realize I am in a sacred place. It's quiet, you hear people crying, or just standing in silence. Occasionally, you will come across someone, usually an older gentleman, who will be looking at a certain part of the wall viewing someone's name. He will then offer a formal salute, fighting back tears.
That is what a memorial should be. A solemn reminder of what happened and to pay tribute to these honored dead.
The World War II Memorial, while a beautiful memorial, is very different. I don't get the feeling of solemness. It's more a feeling of celebration; I suppose to celebrate our triumph in the war. There are fountains (many many fountains) giving the monument itself life and movement. But I don't get the feeling that the monument is truly honoring the men and women we lost in WW II. Perhaps time has healed the wounds of that war, because this memorial certainly does not dwell on them.
I'll be posting photos when I return home (I took many) and it will take some time to sort through them all.
The spa sounds great,can we all join you next time,i am going to a tanning place that sprays the tan on you,my friend went and she looks like she has been in hawaii for a month,so i am going to get me a spray on tan,lol,hope i dont come out looking like a orange smurf,hope you guys have fun in washington,i look forward to seeing photos when you get home.
I found your site from The Blog Search Engine. I have enjoyed my visit very much, reading your entries and viewing your photos. I look forward to your posts in the future.
I one day hope to make it out to DC. I would especially like to see the Lincoln Memorial.
Until then, I guess I will just have to be satisfied by the photographs of others.
Looking forward to the pictures, Bill.
I also highly recommend the Botanical Gardens (on the West front of the Capitol), and definitely do the WWII Memorial. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the chance to do the monuments/memorials at night before, but if not it really is an amazing sight that you should try to fit in.