I am overwhelmed with the beauty of Washinton, D.C. Pictures on TV do not do it justice. The city seems very clean, at least the parts that I have seen, and the people I've encountered have been very friendly and helpful -- especially to this Southern girl trying to find her way around in a strange place. The trees are beginning to turn, and the colors just accent the natural beauty of the scenery here.
Yesterday I again went sightseeing, but didn't totally overdo it like on Monday. I got an earlier start yesterday, riding the Metro with what seemed like thousands of people going to work or school. It's pretty easy to distinguish the people who live here from the visitors -- the natives all seem to have earbuds listening to music and/or Kindles to pass the time on the Metro.
After riding the Metro to Smithsonian Station, I hopped on my tour bus and rode around looking at the various sights and listening to the tour guide's descriptions of the area. I decided to hop off at the National Museum of American History and spent some time there looking at the exhibits. Loved the First Lady exhibit!! The "ruby red slippers" from the Wizard of Oz were pretty cool too.
My next stop was at the Holocaust Museum. I could have stayed there all day, but I knew that my feet and legs would not hold up to that. So, I hit the highlights of the exhibit. It was truly heartbreaking.
I then hopped back on the tour bus and headed towards the monuments again. Saw the Jefferson Memorial from the bus and then got off at the FDR/MLK stop. It was a long hike to the MLKing Memorial . This memorial just opened two or three weeks ago, I think, and it's an impressive sight. Like the Viet Nam Memorial, this place has a long wall that you walk along. The wall has snippets of several of MLK's speeches -- several of which were while he was in Alabama. The statute of Dr. King was in front of the wall, and it's huge. I can't decide if I think it's a good likeness of him or not. Surely I missed it, but I never did see his "I Have A Dream" speech anywhere at the Memorial.
I then walked over to the FDR Memorial. I had not planned on seeing this one, but since it was on the same stop as the MLK Memorial, I decided to go. Boy was I glad I did. I thought this one was beautiful. So many waterfalls. Our bus tour guide had said that FDR didn't want a fuss made over him, i.e., monument/memorial. But because water was such a big part of his life, his Memorial reflects that. There's one small likeness of him sitting in his wheelchair -- nothing overwhelming or overly impressive. But the overall effect of him sitting in his wheelchair surrounded by all the stone walls and waterfalls was spectacular.
I had planned on going to the WWII Memorial, but because I was tired and hungry, I decided to get off the bus at the Arlington stop rather going to the WWII and then catching the Metro at the Smithsonian like I previously planned. After another hike from the bus to the Metro station, I finally got back to Crystal City where I grabbed a very late lunch at 3:15. I came back to the room and crashed on the bed. Ken was nearly 8:00 getting back to the room, so I had a very quiet night!!
Today I'm dragging my feet. I couldn't decide whether to take it easy or go out sightseeing again, but since it's now nearly 11:30 a.m., I guess I've decided to go the easy route. The housekeeper is about to come clean our room, so I'm going to put my bathing suit on and go down to the pool/hot tub for awhile. I may even take a book to read for awhile!!!
Today's our last day in D.C. I definitely want to come back. There are things on my bucket list left to do and see, but we'll do it on another trip.
Tomorrow we're heading to Richmond to spend two days with Bill and Gale!! Looking forward to seeing them and their new "rivah house".
Love to all,
Rachel
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