Sunday, July 29, 2012

dead people are everywhere

This week I got back from visiting Washington DC. Yes, I saw a bunch of the monuments, and Yes, I walked almost the entire Museum of American History, and Yes, I rode the Metro. But none of these things were what made this vacation so great.

It was the friends.

I got the stay with my friend Carol for the first 2 days, and had a great time hanging out with her. She also happens to be a fantastic Personal Tour Guide, and I was the better for that.

The world's smallest house (blue one in the center)

Mount Vernon

Christ Church in Alexandria, VA

US Marines Memorial (Iwo Jima)

Iwo Jima from the west: Notice the US Capital and Washington Monument on the right.

National Cathedral
 In the National Cathedral, there are so many beautiful stained glass windows to see, and so many little chapels to duck into, that there is something beautiful and "picture-worthy" at every  turn. BUT, Woodrow Wilson is alos buried there, and as we stood next to his crypt, I told Carol, "this creeps me out a little." I think it was just the juxtaposition of the beautiful windows, the reverent feeling, and then this crypt. And me standing about a foot away from it. Like I could have reached out and touched it. Eeewwwww...
And he's not even the only one! There are lots of crypts, and it seems like every time you turn a corner there is a crypt of some kind. Why so many dead people???

"Space" window in the National Cathedral
 In that "Space" window, you can see the big red moon in the upper center. Right in the middle of that red moon, there is a piece of the actual moon, brought back from the Apollo XI mission.

We ate at Ben's Chili Bowl: a U St. landmark since the 50's.
I did have a great time visiting all these great places, and learning a TON about George Washington. By the way, I believe he was visionary. I think he just had *something* that let him see what needed to happen at a certain time. Like when Braddock was taken out in the French and Indian War, and George just stepped in and organized the men how they needed to go in order to win that battle. Then, he said that God gave him that victory, because 2 horses were shot out from under him, and there were 4 bullet holes in his jacket, yet he came out unscathed.
AND, I have so much respect for him; At that time, money almost always had a picture of the person in power. But George eschewed the personal gratification, and featured Lady Liberty instead, so that all Americans could reflect on what makes our nation great: Liberty.

But, that was not even the best part. The best part was the part where I got to deepen my friendship with Carol. It was refreshing to spend time with her and her family - she made me feel like I was part of the family. And I am grateful.

Then I got to spend some time with my adopted sister, CherylLyn. She's not a sister by blood, but because my family has made her a part of our family. Even if she lives in Maryland now. :)

We also got to see a lot of neat places and things in the DC area. We went to Baltimore, and one of the Smithsonian Museums, and on a bus tour of the monuments after dark.

A Baltimore Neighborhood

Ship...or restaurant???

US Capital

Me, as the president. HA!

CherylLyn as the president.

Thomas Jefferson

Sunset from the Jefferson Memorial

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Jefferson Memorial from across the tidal basin

Washington Monument

Honest Abe

Lincoln Memorial
And all these things were great as well. We both had a good time seeing things, but the best part was spending the time together. To talk without anyone else around, to hang out with just the two of us was fantastic, mostly because we never get to do that.

What a great time - great time with friends and family, great time seeing our nation's capital, great time just being together.

But as we walked out of the Smithsonian castle, there is another crypt - Smithson is buried there. Right there! Just to the right of the main doorway. And the person in the information center told me this like it was something great - "you can walk right up to  Smithson's crypt!"

No thanks, there are dead people everywhere.
K

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