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Another Greyhound journey survived and another destination to explore. Washington DC. Security at the station was high what with it being the day before 9/11. In fact security all over the city was high. Our taxi driver reassures us that it is all precautionary. Arriving late and checking in, we set to making our plan for our 1 day in Washington DC (this will be a fairly swift and to the point blog entry due to the nature of our stay here) Now I am not sure if you know but there is heaps to see here! (I should really have remembered the amount of walking and sightseeing there is from my previous visit to the capital) We are advised by a very friendly and enthusiastic Canadian man that we should rent bikes and cycle it all. We make a note and circle all the places we want to visit. We have a busy day ahead in what could only be described as less than a perfect weather forecast of rain and storms. We head to bed with projected determination for the following day.
We wake to bright sunshine! This fills us with joy! First stop on our whistle stop tour, The White House. We arrive just as they are clearing away security railings (and noticing snipers on the roof) so we guessed we had missed Obama by minutes. We chose to dismiss the advice to get on bikes and cycle the route taking to the streets on foot. Making our way to the Washington Memorial. Flags at half mast to mark the 9/11 anniversary. Really a very imposing and powerful sight. Standing at the base of the Memorial you can see the World War II memorial, Lincoln Memorial reflecting Pool (we all know that scene from Forest Gump right?) and Lincoln Memorial itself. (Now those of you reading this who know me well will appreciate what I am about to write. This view was very pleasing to my OCD mind! It was all straight lines and symmetry.)
We head off the main track to visit the Vietnam War Memorial. A very simple yet emotive structure. A black stone wall set in to a small hillside with all the fallen soldiers names engraved on it. Walking through seeing name after name. A place of reflection for sure.
The sun was still shining and the hear was still rising. We had hit the hottest part of our day (33 degrees) but we continued on our quest to get to all the major sights in one day. We began our walk over to Arlington Cemetery. I remembered visiting here on my last trip to DC, it was a visit of mixed feelings. I appreciated the symbolism of the cemetery but also felt that to call it a sight was not 100% right. It was a place of remembrance. It felt very peaceful and held a strong sense of respect throughout. We visited the JFK eternal flame and the tomb of the unknown soldier, where we saw the guard change, as they do every half an hour. This tomb is guarded 24 hours a day every day of the week come rain or shine!
We began our route back over the bridge to make our way round to the Korean War Memorial. A bizarrely tranquil area for such a terrible event in history. We take our time to process each one visited before moving on to The Martin Luther King Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. These were all situated around the edge of a lake. All in very different mediums and styles. The MLK memorial was bold, with a statue carved out of rugged white rocks with the addition of some of his passionate quotes as a back drop on grey stone wall. The Roosevelt Memorial was like an outdoor museum telling a story as you walked along the pathway guided by features along the way. Finally arriving at the Jefferson Memorial. An imposing white domed building with a statue in the centre of it. Having walked a fair distance in crazy hot weather Blinky and I decide to have a little drink stop and work out the final part of our route. We make the decision to head to the National Mall and walk up to Capital Hill. We are fading fast at this point in the day. Very hot and sweaty after nearly 9 hours walking. We reach Capital Hill and sit down taking in the impressive building ahead of us. Resting our feet for a while we digest the events and people who have been marked in history throughout this city.
We wend our weary way back to our hostel after a day of history and culture to pack up ready to move on, beginning our journey back over to the West Coast.
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