For our one year anniversary this year, we took a trip to Washington DC. I have been wanting to go there ever since I moved here, but for some reason or another we didn't make the time until now. It turned out to be a really great trip and our only regret is that we had had more time to spend there. A person could spend a week in that city and still only get a glimpse into our nation's history. We both want to go back someday. But even in the short 2 days we were there, we ended up taking 200+ pictures! I am not going to try and post all of those on our blog, but there still might be a lot.
On Friday morning we headed out on our adventure! The drive was fine until we got into the city and after using 3 different GPS devices, we still got lost!! I had to call the tour company and ask for directions. It turns out that there are two different Pennsylvania Avenues and we were on the wrong one! But even after all the wrong turns and frustrating road construction, we actually made it to our destination early. So we killed our time hanging out at the Old Post Office where our bus tour was scheduled to depart from. And from here on out the pictures can tell the story (I uploaded the pictures in the wrong order so the first pictures on the blog are actually the end of the tour that we took and the ones at the last are from the beginning of the tour. Sorry if that confuses anyone!)
This is the Vietnam Memorial. The Memorial is in a V shaped and I was standing that the middle of the V when I took this picture. All the writing on the walls are the names of our military members that gave it all. My Papaw probably fought beside a few names on that wall. I don't think you can see it in this picture, but at the top of the V is the year the Vietnam War started and at the bottom of the V is the year the war was over. The come together in the middle to signify that what starts here ends here.....
A close up of the year it ended.
This was another part of the Vietnam Memorial. Look at the faces....they are so young.
This was the statue of Faith, Hope, and Charity. It represents the women fighting the war. One is holding the shoulder, another calling for help, and another praying.
We were sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Made me feel a little like I was a part of history.
The Washington Monument and the Reflection Pool.
Standing at the foot of greatness. The Lincoln Memorial.
This is the spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech. To be honest, I had no idea that he had given that speech at the Lincoln Memorial and I never imagined I would be standing where he stood.
A shot of the Lincoln Memorial from the outside. There is a step for each year Abe Lincoln lived and then two more for his time in office (I think, but don't quote me on that little piece of trivia)
This is the engraving in front of the Korean War Memorial. This Memorial was probably the best put together one, but my favorite was the World War 2 Memorial.
The statues of the Soldiers that fought in the Korean War. If you looked closely at the faces, they were all different nationalities.
This was part of the Korean War Memorial. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. The price is a great one.
Standing across from the statues of the Korean War Soldiers is a wall that reflects the images of the statues so that as you walk in between the two it looks like you are walking in the midst of the soldiers. And also engraven upon the wall were images of actual photos that were taken during the war. Can you see them in the picture?
The walk way between the Soldiers and the wall at the Korean War Memorial.
We are standing in front of the water at the World War 2 Memorial.
This is the wall of stars at the World War 2 Memorial. Each star represents 500 people who paid the ultimate price of Freedom.
World War 2 was fought on two fronts: The Atlantic....
And the Pacific.....
All around the memorial they had quotes engraved in the stone. We took pictures of a lot of them, but there were just too many to post. All of the quotes came from the time of war.
All around the memorial each state and territory that fought were represented on these posts.
The water in the middle of the memorial.
The north lawn of the Whitehouse. I was surprised to that were were able to get so close. I am not sure if I would like thousands of people walking around my yard every day.
Closer picture of the Washington Monument.
Us in front of the Capitol Building.
Before the tour started they took us to the top of the Old Post Office which used to be the highest point in the city. It's not the highest anymore, but it's still pretty high. We were able to see the whole layout of the city which was helpful if someone wanted to do some exploring on your own. This is a picture of how people in the heart of the city can have a "back yard" space.
Alex hanging out with Benjamin Franklin at the Old Post Office.
The Old Post Office where our tour started at. There are so many more pictures that I didn't post and even more things that I didn't even take pictures of that were amazing to me. Seeing Washington DC and all of it's old buildings not only taught me some history, but made me feel it. As I looked around I thought "Our country was founded on some really great principles and built from many men's dreams and hard work." But my next thought was "what happened to that?" Don't get me wrong, I am an American just about as true blue as can be. But it seems our greatness is fading a bit. We are now filled with fear instead of hope and we are fighting more with each other than with our enemies. My Papaw once told me that of all the changes he has seen in his lifetime, it's not the advances in technology or the newest gadget that amazes him the most. It is the lack of Patriotism. That is something that really saddens me. Now, I may not have all the facts about our government, or all of the research and poles to back my opinion as fact founded. But in my eyes our nation has gone from United under God to Separated under man's fear of being "politically incorrect." Our history is founded and filled with greatness. I just hope that they foundation they layed is enough to keep the structure of our nation together to stand.
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