Summer Vacation–Day 6

The truth is, documenting this vacation is almost as exhausting as being on it, or planning for it. 
And I’m actually beginning to forget some details, which happens to me, my brain is faulty.

At this point (day 6), we were getting tired.
We were excited to be in DC, but the heat was getting to us. 
And we had slave-driver-tour-guide who would wake us up early and keep us out late. Not to mention the homework (jr. ranger guides) we were forced to complete. 
I won’t name names…. I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself.

Today we toured the National Mall.
Our first glimpse of the Mall was Lincoln’s Memorial. It is the most beautiful site in all of DC, if you ask me.
The symbolism of it’s construction… it’s location, the number of columns, the carved listing of states, Lincoln’s inaugural speech, The Gettysburg address, the statue of Lincoln… it’s all perfect, well thought-out, and breathtaking!
This huge Greek style building his a symbol of Freedom, which is what Lincoln symbolized and died for.
 

At the feet of, hands down, one of America’s greatest Presidents

I like how to sculpture depicted 2 sides of Lincoln. The left half of his body shows a stern and serious leader, with a tight first and tense body. The right side showing his softer and friendlier side, with a relaxed leg and hand.
 

Looking out of the Lincoln Memorial over the Mall.
Can you imagine the crowds and ENERGY here as Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech?

 
The Korean War Memorial
The kids stared at these men, their faces, and equipment for a long time. Each man tells his own story, and we tried to understand it.
There are 19 men statues marching towards a flag. They are reflected in an adjacent wall. This is important because together the soldiers (and their reflections) number 38 men…. standing on the 38th Parallel. The 38th Parallel separates North Korea from South Korea, with men on each side fighting.
The site of this memorial in Washington DC is also on the 38th Parallel.   
This fact alone gave me chills!
 

The Vietnam Memorial, with its listing of over 58,286 names, had us in awe.
They are continually adding names to the list, as people die from wounds they received during the war.
I am grateful that I don’t have any family members whose names are engraved on the wall, but also humbled by the sacrifices of those who are.
 

It was hot, we were tired….
So we just quickly walked by the new WWII memorial.
I say ‘new’ because it wasn’t there last time I visited DC. It was built in 2004.  

After climbing the hill of the Washington Monument, we collapsed and rested for a bit.
Jefferson kept working on his Jr. Ranger book, what a trooper.


I’m sure Kennedy will have wonderful slumber memories of this entire trip.
 

I was the only one to find the Washington Monument exciting. The rest of our tour group wanted to get out of the heat, and quickly. 
So, I snapped a few pictures and we were on our way.
I found it interesting that they ran out of money part way through the construction in 1854 and didn’t complete it until 1884. You can see the different colored bricks where this happened.   
 

After walking another 1/2 mile to find a Ranger Station and redeem our badges, we headed indoors for air conditioning and lunch, FINALLY.
At the Museum of Natural History
Speaking of lunch. We shared meals and got waters, and still spent over $60.
Moral of the story, pack a lunch! 

 

I actually think the Natural History Museum in Raleigh is just as great as this one was. Minus the crowds, which makes it better.
We couldn’t really read signs or see things closely because there were 787,234 other people standing in the way.
I’m complaining again.

We did find a fish called “Reagan’s Anchovy” (it’s that tiny fish pointing at Reagan). She was pretty thrilled about that

And Grant, who is obsessed with armadillos, found this “Pink Fairy Armadillo”. It’s that blurry blob behind him.
It’s it precious?
 

Kennedy found tropical fish. She had me hold her in front of this aquarium for a good 30 minutes while she waved and talked to the fish.
She never wanted to leave
 

Kennedy also made a new friend.
I don’t remember his name, or what time of Homo he was. But he was cute, and naked. And Kennedy liked that second part.
She kept touching him, his penis, and his bum. Some people were laughing at her. I’m sure others were judging her and my family. But I just couldn’t stop her, she was so curious about his private parts. And probably wondering why he wouldn’t move. 
  

Reagan and her new friend, Harry.
We seem to like statues

We saw taxidermy animals, dinosaur bones, the Hope diamond
  

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks

And then we’d seen enough.
We headed back towards the Metro.
Along the way I got some pictures of the buildings.

The heart of DC is so magnificent, I can’t help but feel like I am walking through a Roman city.
The towering columns, and sculptures, and murals. It is all so beautiful.