DC in Pictures

One of the neatest things about going to DC when you live on the west coast is that it doesn't happen very often. When it does, everything seems new to you and you see it with fresh eyes, even if you've seen it before. That's about how I felt on the whole trip a couple of weeks ago.

 I've been to Mt. Vernon before, maybe when I was about 13? It's even more amazing now that I'm older and able to appreciate many of the subtle things about the property. The view over the Potomac. That George had such a love of his land that he surveyed it over and over throughout his lifetime. The simple, yet majestic beauty of the home. The privacy of the master bedroom and his office.

 Our experience at Arlington was really amazing. Beside the fact that the grounds and the view are truly stunning, one of our parents had a connection for us to have a private meeting with a Sentinel. His knowledge was vast and our kids sat in awe for the entire 20 minutes or so that he spoke with us. 4 of our students also had the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

I'm not sure I'll ever tire of seeing the Vietnam Memorial but this is one of my favorite parts. The nurses.

One of the things that I'd never seen before was the Korea Memorial. It means a lot more to me now that I know that my father-in-law was sent there just before the conflict ended for the United States. I'm not sure what made more of an impression on me: the fact that it was a rainy day and the soldiers actually looked real in their rain ponchos, or the wall etched with the faces and scenes of war. It was really moving.

The National Cathedral was wonderful, of course, but it was the smaller things, like this tapestry, that really caught my attention.

 Another building that we got to see was the Library of Congress. It was love at first sight. Every detail had me staring in awe. On the right is the detail of the arches in the main hall. The flowers are amazing. Below is the stained glass window ceiling. It was truly incredible. The tile mosaics in the floor and ceiling were breathtaking. I could have spent all day there--and that was just the architecture! I didn't even get to see any of the collections.

  

It really was an amazing trip. (How many times can I use that word?) We saw so much more in DC than what I've shown here. One of my other favorite things was the WWII Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. I don't know how I'd missed the WWII before but I actually think it was my favorite. And MLK? Truly stunning. But it's new so there isn't any way that I'd have seen it before. I would have loved a little extra time there to see a little more of it. As usual, that could apply to most of the things we did but as you'll see when I post about the NYC portion of the trip, we should get the chance to do just that the next time we go!