It's the journey.......: #6 Wondrous Washington DC

We had several friends tell us how wonderful our Nation’s Capitol was, how remarkably beautiful the monuments and memorials were and how they would go back at any opportunity. They were oh so right! Cokie and I both felt this will be a must return trip and we will try to do so in the next few years. We left Philly in the middle of a potential snowstorm and in the middle of a potential World Series win for the Phillies. Great timing I must say as we think we would have been stuck in the “City of Brotherly Love” for a few days. (By the way that expression comes from the founding of the city by benevolent religious groups.) Our objective was a little haven of nature called Greenbelt Park; just 12 miles from Washington it is an 1,100 acre retreat from the stress of urban life and a refuge for native plants and animals. In the 1930’s Greenbelt, MD became the first planned community in the US built as a federal venture in housing. In the 1950’s the National Park Service began acquiring land for the Park and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. This uninterrupted scenic route and the Park were opened in 1954.

We found Greenbelt to be the perfect spot for camping and venturing out into the area. We began our adventure by driving to Union Station and parking in the tour bus area. (Pod is an exclusive tour bus we think!) Union Station was completely restored in the 1990’s and is defined as one of the most beautiful train stations in the world. It now houses the Metro, over 100 shops, 40 restaurants and a movie theater. For us it was the starting place for our Old Town Trolley tour of the National Mall and the downtown loop.

We knew we would not be able to see everything we wanted to on this trip so we sort of picked out highlights to hop off the trolley and photograph. Stop 2 was the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court and Library of Congress. I could not find words to describe this type of monumental architecture, so we will let Cokie’s photos do the talking:

U.S. Capitol – home to the Senate and the House of Representatives

Supreme Court – home of the highest court in the land

Library of Congress –the world’s largest library with more than 532 miles of bookshelves

It was hard not to stop at certain places like the Smithsonian Museum but on we toured to the Jefferson Memorial. Inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, this memorial to our third President and author of the Declaration of Independence was built on the Potomac River Tidal Basin.

Next stops were the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. These two places illicit such emotion when one enters them that each of us is called upon to embrace the reverence and sorrow that we share. The importance of historical moments are memorialized here as in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King stood to deliver his ‘I have A Dream’ speech. The respect we experienced along with thousands of other tourists as we strolled or sat in silence was testimony to the importance of these sacred memorials.

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

We had to choose not to go out to Arlington National Cemetery as we were a bit ‘filled up’ with emotion and a bit lacking in time. The view down the length of the National Mall, past the Reflecting Pool and the World War II Memorial to the Washington Monument and beyond to the U.S. Capitol was inspiring and uplifting. We were struck by the foresight and historical perspective that went into the planning and building of our Nation’s Capitol over two centuries ago.

We next took the trolley over to Constitution Avenue and a stop at the Washington Monument. At 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches, it is the tallest freestanding masonry structure in the world. It is the only structure allowed to be called a monument in the city. Seems a monument is planned and constructed during the honored person’s lifetime and a memorial occurs after the honoree’s death.

Again, having to choose our sites we decided to walk over to and perhaps around the White House. We could have toured the White House but we forgot to make arrangements through our Member of Congress several months beforehand! Actually we thought it rather neat that we were seeing this beautiful place on November 1, just before the current residents’ eviction notice!

We were so aware of all of the things we were missing but our Phabulous Photographer caught some ‘drive-bys’ from the trolley as we toured. Here are a few of those shots. These are just warm ups and reminders of what we will see when we come back to Washington DC.

Russell Congressional Office Building