Oh the Monuments You'll See

So, back to Washington, D.C. I heard from a friend whose daughter is there right now that it is absolutely and unbelievably hot, so I am 110 percent thankful we lucked out with the weather! A little rain never hurt, and although a little heat isn't the worst of things, when you're outside all day trying to take in as much as you can, hot and muggy is not the most ideal weather.   

As mentioned, though, the weather was wonderful when I was there. It rained the first day, which deterred us from seeing Arlington Cemetery in its entirety, but otherwise it was sunny and beautiful! And, that just meant I was able to soak in even more of the information and beautiful surroundings.

So, if you're heading the D.C. way anytime soon, here are a few things to know about the places you'll go (this gets long but has lots of photos!!!): 

Arlington Cemetery: An average of 27 funerals are held daily. (That number, to me personally, is astounding!) Arlington Cemetery is reserved for people who served our country, their spouses and any children who die before the age of 18. It also holds JFK's grave, which gives a beautiful view of the D.C. area, and is the site of the Robert E. Lee house. Also, be sure to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which happens every half hour on the :00 and :30. Captivating! 

Iwo Jima Memorial: Beautiful. Huge. Gorgeous. Looks like they're actually standing the flag straight up as you drive around the memorial ... but I found the photo odd. "War between the states"? Isn't that called the "Civil War"? ... just saying ...

The Cathedral: It has a more official name than that, but I can't remember it off hand. It's the largest or second largest gothic cathedral in the U.S. and houses a piece of moon rock in one of the stained glass windows. If you've ever seen any of the cathedrals in Europe, it's practically identical.

The Lincoln Memorial: Please spend more time at these memorials to really look at the intricate details and soak in their historical significance, because I hurried through them a little quickly. Here, however, is a plaque on the ground stating "I Have a Dream" to show where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his speech! SO cool! Then, when you walk inside the Lincoln Memorial, Lincoln is HUGE!!! He is 19 feet tall (which I learned is because the freedom statue atop the Capitol Building is 19.5 feet and nothing can be taller than freedom) ... but still ... he's HUGE! And folklore says that his hands are making an A and L in American sign language and that the back of his head has the profile of Robert E. Lee. Hmm ... interesting. I believe the hand one, don't know about the back of the head one. But, also, on the right side of the building, the builders misspelled the world "Future" and wrote "Euture." They fixed it, but if you look closely you can still totally see the mistake. Ha! Love it. Thousands of years from now when people study our culture and come to see our ruins, they'll wonder what "Euture" meant and why we tried to cover it up!

Mount Vernon: When you visit Mount Vernon, make sure to bring a book so you can sit on the back porch and just admire the amazing view of the Potomac River. Oh. My. God. It's absolutely gorgeous! The grounds on the rest of the plantation are beautiful as well, but this view is nothing short of stunning. It's absolutely no wonder Washington wanted to be buried there when he died. It was comical, though, to walk through the house and realize that back then they had no running water and therefore no bathrooms nor indoor plumbing. "Roughing it," by today's standards. :-) But they were also much shorter back then, as evidenced by the 5'8" clearing on the back stairwell. Better duck!

(We done yet??) Almost! Stay with me!!

The Newseum: This amazing building is where I had the incredible privilege of seeing the Presidential Entourage from the top balcony! Holla!! But really, this place is amazing. Their 4D video at the beginning is fun and reminds me of "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" at Disney World! The varying floors have so many wonderful things to see, like a part of the Berlin Wall, the remains of one of the towers of the Twin Towers, and the Pulitzer Prize picture winners that you'll easily stay busy looking at for a good two hours if you really take the time to look at everything. And it's true what the intro plaque on the wall to the photos says, you'll cry and laugh out loud at some of the photos. I know I cried. Twice. HOWEVER ... be SURE to stop by the bathrooms while you're there!! "To err is human" is the quote on the wall, and then within different tiles are different newspaper headlines that probably could have been written better. I have included two for your enjoyment!

World War II: And lastly, for now, the World War II monument. Wow. Just Wow. It's understated when you first drive up. I thought, "Please, pillars? More pillars? Really?" And then I walked through it. The sheer size of it will turn you speechless. I highly recommend just sitting on one of the stairs and taking it in. Don't talk. Just sit and look. It's overwhelmingly powerful, and the crispness and proportion of everything just encompasses you and makes you feel very small, like you should be honored to be an onlooker. It's really cool. And, just for fun, if you have a chance, take a walk around the outside of the monument (on the Lincoln Memorial side) and you'll see the graffiti of "Kilroy was here." It's illegal to deface monuments, but this was the artist's own doing in memory of all the "graffiti-ing" the Kilroy stamp created. Lovely touch. Touché.

So, whilst only a really small chunk of everything the city has to offer in terms of memorials, I hope your next visit affords you time to see all the above mentioned locations. It's well worth your time, and you'll love every minute, even if sometimes only in retrospect. Happy Travels!