Day 16 Washington

I knew when I went to bed last night that my back was feeling better. When I woke up this morning the pain was completely gone! Alleluia! Spasm has settled down and we are good to go for our last day in Washington.

We hopped on the wonderful subway (confirmed now that this is the best transit system we have ever been on – hands down!) in Maryland, travelled underground through DC and came up in Virginia! Reminds me of traveling in Europe! Our first stop today was Arlington Cemetery. The heat has shot back up to ridiculous so most of our walk through was spent dodging from shady spot to shady spot. There may also have been a little whining – man I so do not do heat well. The last time we were in the city I couldn’t take a deep breath the pain in my back was so bad and I complained far less than I did today with the sun beating down.

Arlington National Cemetery is primarily a military graveyard and memorial. There are some wives and children buried with servicemen and some servicemen who have lived long lives. However overall, it is an endless tribute to the fallen. I was shocked at how big it is: 624 acres of headstones spread out in all directions as a sad reminder of waste. I certainly don’t mean that as any kind of criticism of those for whom it is a final resting place. It isn’t even meant as any kind of a political statement. It is a realization though that as a race, historically we seem to resort to conflict time and time again. Our greed, our lust for power, our stubbornness; leads us to devalue our humanity and the cost is enormous. These young men and women died (and continue to die) because despite how small our world is in the enormity of the universe, we still can’t settle difference, share justly and live as community.

The view in all directions.

The two sites where we stopped and spent some time were the Kennedy gravesite and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. President Kennedy is buried with Jackie and two of their four children who died at birth. A perpetual flame marks the site and the stones etched around the viewing area are marked with quotes from JKF.  Down the hill from this are the graves of Robert and Edward Kennedy. We were shocked at just how simple these graves were. A simple white cross was the original marker. Flat marble headstones were later added at the family’s request but the whole site was very simple.

 

JFK on the left, Jackie on the right, the perpetual flame in the middle.

Robert Kennedy's grave - very simple!

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was much more elaborate. Situated next to the white marble amphitheatre, it is guarded 365/24/7. We happened there at noon just as the guard was changing in quite an elaborate ritual.

The Tomb of the Unknown

Our visit to Arlington was overshadowed by thinking about home. Today Jonathan was having his wisdom teeth removed and we were warned that there could be complications. Apparently his tooth on the bottom left side was very tangled with a nerve and the doctor had been upfront that not only was it one of the most complicated surgeries he had done, there was a significant risk of permanent nerve damage on the lower left side of his jaw and face. Getting wisdom teeth out is never fun but he was warned that the recuperation time for this particular surgery was expected to be long and painful. The trip had already been booked and I felt like a terrible Mom for being on vacation at a time like that. Jonathan, supported by both of his brothers, insisted that we not to change our plans. They couldn’t stop me from worrying though!

Just as we were leaving Arlington we received texts from both Jeffrey and Jenna (Jonathan’s darling girlfriend) that he was in recovery and the doctor said that everything went very well, which we chose to interpret as no permanent nerve damage! Although not completely worry free I did feel a tremendous sense of relief and gratitude. I do have the most amazing children and the thought that anything might be wrong with any one of them makes me crazy!

 

Celebrating with a life-saving, ice cold beer ... from a street vendor!

The Korean War Memorial. This area was very cool. An inscription in front read, "OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET."

Yesterday on our visit with Marianne and Victor she mentioned that although they hadn’t yet seen everything in Washington, they had visited the Martin Luther King Memorial and if I was well enough to go back into the city, we really shouldn’t miss it. We asked before we left Arlington how long the walk would be back across the Potomac into Washington and we were told about two miles. After the good news from home there was certain lightness to my step and no sign of my back spasm so we set out to walk. Two miles is nothing for us these days! To be honest I think that was an over estimation of the distance but regardless, I would have walked ten miles for the experience! Marianne was so right. This is one not to be missed. The display is essentially a stone carving of MLK staring over the Tidal Basin to the Lincoln Memorial. In the stone slabs that line the circumference of the memorial are inscribed quotes from Dr. King – did that man ever say anything that was NOT profound? I guess I said this out loud as a woman standing next to me agreed. She added that she wished she could teach these things to her kids. I asked if she meant her own children or was she a teacher. Sandy Bryant is a 5^th Grade teacher from Florida! I said that I believed that anything of real importance we could ever teach our kids was contained right here in the inscriptions and I introduced myself and told her I was a Principal from Canada. In her glee to find a kindred spirit I was the recipient of an enthusiastic hug. We talked for a while and I told her about the blog. I asked if it was OK if David took a picture that I could include. She told me that she too was blogging for her kids and asked that David also take a picture with her camera! Somehow the whole encounter enhanced the experience of the visit to the Memorial. Marianne was right – not to be missed!

 

Entrance to the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial

Dr. King's view of the Lincoln Monument - good planning!



Me with my new friend, Sandy Bryant!
Below are some of my favorite quotes - I took pictures of them all!
 

We learned this morning that the US Holocaust Memorial was free but did require timed tickets. We learned yesterday at the Washington Monument that free tickets here require early morning line-ups – not happening! So we suspected that this wasn’t a possibility but since it was sort of on the way to our next choice (National Portrait Gallery) we thought we would stop and check. The woman at the desk mentioned that they never have tickets at this time of day so if we ever come back we should come early in the morning. Today for some reason, and she did seem genuinely surprised, they had a few left for the 3:15 time slot –SOLD!

There was a tour of the open part of the exhibit that was about to begin and so we tagged on there while we waited for our time to come up. Entering the exhibit we were led into what looked like a rail car imitating the transport of Jews to the Concentration Camps. It was in fact and elevator that led us to the 4^th floor where the exhibit began. We were not allowed to take pictures so I will have to rely on my memory to realize the powerful messages that we experienced. The most interesting for me were the personal accounts, videos and quotes from the survivors. There were artifacts and media accounts from the time but the affect of the holocaust on individuals was the most arresting. Many times in the museum I was drawn to the parallel between individual experiences in the Holocaust and the stories we had so recently heard of slavery in the southern US. I realize that the systematic extermination of the Jews sets the two apart but when you delve into individual stories there are certainly comparisons to be made. When you hear about a mother watching her children being put on a train to a concentration camp or you watch as your child is whipped and shot as they walk away from slavery – there is a chilling similarity! This day has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. As we leave the museum we received a message that Jonathan was home so we called and we were able to talk to him – music to a mother’s ears! But a very stark contrast to the experiences that had just been shared!

We had been told that the government buildings were some of the best places in DC to eat. It is unlike other big cities in that commercialism is not readily evident and even a place to catch a quick bite is not always obvious. We were told that the Ronald Reagan Building was a good place to go so off we headed. People in DC are all very friendly and helpful. While looking at our map, a street vendor interrupted and offered to help! We found the building and passed through another security check. Most places here have them. They are all very efficient and the officers are friendly and pleasant. We did wonder about all the security until we realized that most government buildings are all fully accessible to the public. Given that the security makes a little more sense. The dinner was in a cafeteria much like one of our food courts so we wondered what all the fuss was about. The truth is we were so hungry that we didn’t much care but as we left and went around the back of the building to catch the subway we discovered that we had gone to the wrong place! Not a mistake we often make on holiday but today we missed the jackpot!

Inside the Ronald Reagan Building

Another view on the inside RR Bldg.

Architecture is not something we took time to explore this trip but it this city is filled with beautiful buildings and that could easily be another whole vacation...must look that up!

The Woodrow Wilson Plaza has live music, a patio restaurant and the place was hopping! For future reference the Aria Patio Restaurant is a much better place to eat. We can’t vouch for the food of course but the atmosphere is great!!

The subway ride home was as awesome as it always is as we met a family from New Jersey here for a family wedding and a vacation. They had three adorable and energetic kids who were a hoot! As dad worked so diligently to teach them how to behave and not annoy the people around them (us!) I felt compelled to congratulate him on his parenting efforts but assuring him we were just fine. That started the conversation and we almost missed our stop – the perfect end to a perfect visit to Washington!

This is a spot we would highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t been! We will certainly be back!

 

 

This has been one of the best private parks. Despite having 400 sites, this is the view from our back window that I will sadly leave tomorrow!