Finishing Day 1

Okay, here's part 2 of day 1.  We jam-packed this day, and I loved every minute of it.  I don't know if I said this in the last post, but I'm really not a big history buff.  In fact, dare I admit, it usually bores me.  Not anymore.  I was so fascinated seeing these monuments, reading the quotes said so long ago.  And many of them are so moving in light of where we've come since the words were spoken.  Many of those words were in context of the time they were spoken, but the majority of them were timeless.  Somehow I found it comforting.  And I thought a lot about the foundational principles of our nation.  My, how we've strayed.  And the verse I thought of multiple times?  "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."  Our nation was "trained up" under God.  And we will return to that, one way or another.  Comfort.

Anyway, back to the sight-seeing!

After leaving Arlington, our next stop was the Roosevelt Memorial.

This memorial is set up in stages, with a series of waterfalls leading you through the stages of his presidency.  The waterfalls get more grand and louder as you progress through.  The roar of the waterfalls quiets everything in a beautiful way.  As you wander through, read his quotes, feel the spray of the water, it quiets you in a way that you really soak in the era and struggles of our nation under his presidency.

From there, we walked around a beautiful path to the Jefferson Memorial.

This is the view of the Jefferson Memorial from the Roosevelt Memorial, looking across the tidal basin fed by the Potomac River. 

This picture doesn't do justice to how huge this statue is.

Powerful words.

This is on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial, looking out to the Washington Monument.  Wherever you go, there it is!

Next up, and last on the first day, is the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Apparently there is some dissatisfaction with this memorial.  What I heard was that the King Family was not happy with how the facial features portrayed King, they thought it had too much harshness.

"...right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."

"...only love can do that."

There's that Washington Monument, showing himself again.  So lovely.

This is just a random picture of a typical sight around the DC area.  The Potomac is so beautiful.  I guess I expected a lot more city chaotic feeling, and while there is that, there is much more of this tranquility.  A bit ironic perhaps.

This was the hottest day of our trip, and we crammed in so much, with miles and miles of walking!  Worth every step we took.  But after the King Memorial we headed our weary selves back to Deb's place to rest for the next day!

More to come...