Historical Landmarks...and Landmark History...

DC...Day 3...

This morning started out with me -- and for the first time, or at least the first time they'd admit --my travel companions feeling completely done-for, drained, debilitated, dog-tired...and, well, just plain old exhausted...

So...after a little discussion and deliberation, we decided to catch a cab to our first destination -- The Wall...The Vietnam War Memorial...which just happens to be the furthest attraction from where we are staying...(DC Travel Tip #5...If you are going to make the adventurous or possibly absurd decision to see all of DC on foot, I strongly suggest that you buy a really good map ((-- and btw, I have a GREAT one --)) and put the locations furtherest away from your hotel at the beginning of your journey...or at very least at the beginning of your day...It is hard to talk your feet out of hurting or your legs out of aching and at least somewhat easier to talk yourself out of seeing something that you can buy a postcard of seventeen steps from the hotel elevator doors...)

Our decision was that we would take a cab (or I thought maybe cabS throughout the day to see the remaining sites on our list of must-see things)...The bellman called a cab...And we headed off to the Vietnam Memorial. Because we had originally seen the Korean War Memorial at night and not gotten the best pics of it, we headed there first. This memorial is beautiful. I love the fact that the soldiers are all just a little larger than real people (isn't it true that soldiers that are willing to risk their lives for the safety and freedom of others are indeed somehow bigger people than the rest of us they so selflessly protect??) and I also love that no matter where you stand one of the soldiers is looking directly at you. It was great to see this memorial in the daylight...(in fact, ideally I think many of the memorials and monuments, including, but probably not limited to, the Lincoln, the Washington, the Korean, etc. would be worth seeing in daylight and at night if time allowed --but frankly, in DC time may never allow...)

We walked --yep, that's right WALKED -- to the Vietnam Memorial from the Korean Memorial -- OK, it's really not that far, but my feet kept telling me it was about a million miles...

I stopped at the books with worn pages curled at the corners from many hands searching for the names of the soldier they knew and loved and how to find his name on the panels and lines that line the wall. I do not personally have someone that I know that is listed on the wall. I did, however, want to look up the name HOWLE. I only found one soldier with that name listed on the Wall. We then proceeded to the Wall and spent some time there. I was amazed by the sheer size of it. In elementary or maybe junior high the "Traveling" Wall had come to TTU campus and our class had gone there on a field trip..But nothing I saw there prepared me for the size of the real memorial. I think my favorite part of this memorial was either the few little photos and pieces of paper in sheet protectors left against the bottom of the wall further explaining and adding meaning to the names listed above OR the group of WWII veterans arriving just as we left. These men were mostly sweet looking grandpa types, who were likely sweet looking cocky young 18 year old boys when they decided it was worth taking the risk of possibly sacrificing their lives to serve their country...I knew when they looked at the names on the wall that they could feel a significance of what the sacrifice meant that I would never understand...but seeing their faces as they viewed the Wall was a feeling I will never forget.

After the Wall, we headed across to see the Albert Einstein statue at the National Academy of the Sciences. I was excited about this statue for a few reasons...1) Well...it's Einstein... and he was one of the most brilliant minds of our times, and intelligence is so very, very attractive... 2)And even though he was brilliant, and I will never understand quantum physics, I do understand the sentiments expressed when he said such things as..."Before God, we are all equally wise...and equally foolish" and "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." as well as..."Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater," which was on an Einstein poster that my big brother gave me for Christmas when I was in college and had dropped College Algebra for probably the 3rd time...I just really appreciate Einstein's wit even though I doubt I could ever grasp his wisdom...AND 3) the Einstein statue is one statue that you are actually encouraged to climb on...and that sounded like fun to me...

The plan was to climb up and give him a kiss, but I never quite made it to his face... But I did have numerous pics made reclining near his shoulder and in his lap and I -- as well as Cody, yep, the 4 year old on our trip -- both seemed rejuvenated by the joy of playfully climbing on a big statue.

After we left Einstein, I'd have been happy to take a cab to our next destination...BUT, for 5 people cabs aren't cheap...AND...not many cabs are readily available on the far, far end of Constitution Avenue. So, we slowly made our way to the National Archives.

No flash photography is allowed inside the Archives...I do have pics, but they are on my iPhone and I still haven't had time to go through the process of actually getting them collected on my MacBook with the rest of my travel pics...I mostly mention the pics because the sights in the Archives are impressive...It was amazing to see the signatures on the documents that form the foundations of our government. The Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights...Our country was built by the actions of great, valiant, revolutionary men (and women) but these actions were inspired by words...Words of greatness, of power, of the true meaning of our rights and responsibilities as human beings.

I have for as many years as I can remember been a lover of words... But seeing these words, these words that truly inspired the actions that formed a nation and created the freedoms I live with and love every day was such a wonderfully meaningful experience.

As we left the Archives, we noticed a CNN crew lingering on a corner across the street. I knew that Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral was going to take place, but since I had not even turned on the TV in my hotel room since arriving, I had no idea that the procession would come right by the place where we were standing. I was pretty excited to see the CNN crew setting up cameras, adjusting angles, taking phone calls, and even getting food service from a young girl carrying around a tray of bagels, crackers and other fixings for lunch on the go.

Since I tend to be an over-listener (-- or what some people like to refer to as an eavesdropper -- and btw, totally not my fault that I over-listen, it's a family trait apparently AND I can't help it that I have freakishly good hearing, which any student I've ever taught can attest to) I was intently tuned in to what it was they were saying on the phone calls and to crew members. As we eventually found out, CNN would indeed be shooting the funeral procession from across the street from the Archives...but not until about 4:30 that afternoon (which actually turned in to almost 7:30 that evening) so we decided we had time to see the Air & Space Museum and return to that spot to see history in the making.

I was impressed and interested by the CNN crew. I suppose somewhere deep deep down inside of me there still beats the heart of a would-have-been journalist that finds capturing the news for the world exciting. Oddly enough, the thing that will probably stick in my mind most about the crew wasn't them perfecting the shot angles or talking about Carville's take on Kennedy's impact, but the fact that as the entire crew got set to load up and head to another location to do pre-production that the guy turned to them and told them..."Ok, there's a bathroom at the Sculpture Garden for any of you that need to use it before we get in the van to go to the next location...there won't be a convenient bathroom there..." Just like our mom's getting us ready for a long (or even a short car trip) anywhere...CNN'ers need to be reminded to take care of their business before they get in the car...There are some things we all have in common...

After leaving the Archives...and realizing that the need to evacuate waste from the body is indeed the great equalizer, we headed to the National Air & Space Museum...And yes, I know this is supposed to be one of the best museums ever...BUT...my interest in air & space is limited to my own airplane not falling out of the AIR and nothing from SPACE ever invading this planet...and it goes no further than that...SO, we headed to the monster of a McDonald's that is located in the museum first...This McDonalds is crazy and crazy busy...It's huge...It's full of tons of people talking -- talking loudly -- talking in lots of languages -- lots and lots of talking...Too much noise, too many people, too much greasy food, and just too too much made me again decide to head out on my own... I took a few pics of the obvious attractions at the museum, ie the huge metal machines hanging from the ceiling and took a quick turn through the gift shop and was done with the what I know is supposed to be the best museum ever.

While the Grimmetts enjoyed the Air & Space Museum I walked across the way to the American Art Museum. The museum was quiet and beautiful and full of works that I was thrilled to see. I saw some of the beautiful works that I had studied in college in my art history class...Monet, Cassat, Rembrandt and many, many others. I also had the opportunity to see some works, such as Thomas Cole, that I wasn't familiar with before, but whose series of works entitled "The Voyage of Life," was incredibly beautiful and moving.

After enjoying some time at the art museum AND sitting by a beautiful fountain outside of the museum, I met back up with my tired travel mates. We headed toward the corner of Constitution as it was almost time for Senator Kennedy's motorcade to pass by. However, when we got back to Constitution Avenue we had a bit of extra time and walked into the Sculpture Garden...There was, like an oasis in a parched and stifling desert, a huge fountain, which you could not only sit near, but also dip your feet in. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! We -- Jessie and I -- enjoyed this while the kiddos napped. We reluctantly headed out to the corner of Constitution across from the Archives when it appeared a few people had started to congregate on the street. It was approximately 4:30 and Kennedy was to arrive at the Capitol about that time.

BUT...from over-listening to the CNN crew AND texting at mom at home watching CNN (from a much different vantage point than I was watching them) We gathered that Senator Kennedy's motorcade wasn't even a motorcade yet and that he was still in fact on a plane en route to DC...We decided to sit around and wait...and since the kiddos were sleeping it was no big deal...BUT soon the little ones started to stir...and Jessie and Jason decided to head back to the hotel...

Normally staying in DC surrounded by a small crowd of strangers that was slowly getting bigger and bigger would likely have been out of the question for me...but...I am traveling and I just couldn't see missing an opportunity to sit in the very seat of the history of our nation and witness an event that will no doubt be added to history books...

I went across to the Archive steps and sat and text and watched the crowd and the clouds gather and gather. I talked to a family and a couple, from Wisconsin and Connecticut respectively, as we waited for a motorcade that was now more than an hour and a half behind schedule.

I was there to see the funeral procession of Senator Ted Kennedy, but I saw more than that. People of all ages, all races, all nationalities, all political beliefs, religions and lifestyles (yep, there was a lovely red-headed cross dresser just feet from me -- he wore a black dress and make up and a long red wig, but with hands and a voice like his, he wasn't fooling anybody)...People who were not alive when any of the Kennedy's were elected and people who vividly remembered the death of two Kennedy men before this one were gathered together. People who believed this Kennedy, and all Kennedys were heroes, and those who were simply there because they were already in DC on vacation and thought witnessing history was worth scrapping a trip or two to a historical monument that particular evening.

Seeing the hearse, the limos, the Kennedy family members waving at the crowds as they passed, and even seeing John Kerry and literally busloads of other family members and staffers pass by in a slow processional was impressive, but...

It was the diversity, the differences, and the difficulties being endured by those waiting that most stirred feelings of patriotism in me. These people who were tired, hungry, sweating, who were white, brown, black, and who were from as many different groups, beliefs, and value systems as can be imagined all coming together very peacefully to share a special moment that belongs to us collectively showed me in so many ways the meaning of the American spirit...