Easter: Visit to monuments

We left early and picked Holly up at school.  Allie was going to join us but changed her mind at the last minute.  :( Probably a weird Easter all the way around for her, since her parents were gone.  We drove into DC and after a few wrong turns, found the parking I'd scoped out right alongside the Memorials.

Walking to the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool in the foreground, 

the Capitol Building waaaaaay at the other end 

of the National Mall in the background.

There were a lot of people there but it wasn't overwhelmingly crowded.  I don't know if being a holiday had anything to do with it or not.  The prime cherry blossom seems to be past. We walked up the steps of the giant Lincoln Monument.

From the platform around the Lincoln Monument

There were quite a lot of people inside, with many just taking photos.  On either side of the Monument are the words to the Gettysburg Address. 

I don't think many noticed the little signs requesting, oh, was it quiet? reverence? respect?  I found it odd that there would be signs requesting that, but people were more subdued, taking in the massiveness of the memorial, the words, and perhaps the large number of people who were also so moved by it all.

Huge. Impressive.  

I wish I'd gone around to the back, but I forgot. 

I need to read the history of building this; it was quite amazing.

A zoomed in shot down the length of the Reflecting Pool.  Just beyond the edge of the pool you can see the pillars and fountains of the newer WWII Memorial. The base of the Washington Monument is so huge that it commands most of the photo, and the Capitol is peeking out from behind the left side.

They don't let me take pictures, so this is the best view I usually can get on camera, haha.

What I continue to be struck by is the volume of what I assume to be foreigners.  No matter how absurd politics has become in this country, our nation's Capital is still a destination for people who visit this country.  And if they are foreigners who are living here for whatever reason, well, that's even better.

We made our way from Lincoln to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.  Robert and I have seen traveling versions of the Wall, in both Littleton and Colorado Springs; I'm not sure if the kids remember.  I love the story of how Yale University college architect student Maya Lin, a first generation Chinese-American, won a national contest with her design for the Memorial.

In response to various oppositions to Lin's Wall design, 

this Three Soldiers statue was added in the area.

I cried at the traveling Walls. I knew I would here.  So many lives. Such sadness, loss, heartbreak.  We saw many of the offerings left when we visited the American History Smithsonian last year.  On this day, there were mostly flowers left behind, but I noted one sign that stated, "I wish I could have known you, Dad," along with the soldier's name and death date. 

There was definitely a reverence and somberness here that was absent at all of the other Memorials.

The stone was deliberately chosen for its reflective quality, to bring the past and present together, the dead and the living.

Robert, Holly and Trev reflected

We wandered down to the newer National World War II  Memorial, which opened in 2004.  I was disappointed in this.  There's nothing contemplative about it, just pretty decorations, lively fountains. I obviously didn't "get" it.   After the solemnity of Lincoln and the Wall, this paled to me in comparison.

We walked back along the Reflecting Pool, stopping along the edge of the Korean War Memorial.

We were there for just under two hours.  It was amazing.  I love going into the city, and we all had a memorable Easter day.

wwii frivolous park water, hang out