I am 59 years old. I wear a brace on my left foot due to some tendon problems. I am unfortunately over weight. I have seen better days when I could run and dance and laugh at adversity. Those days seem long ago.
I left off at the end of the DC Duck tour. The rain had melted away and the heat and humidity had returned. It was still early afternoon and it seemed that we only had one more day in DC. There were things we could still do. If I could walk.
You know how the mirrors of cars sometimes say--Objects are closer than they appear. Well, I know from experience that in DC the map should say--Objects are much, much farther away than they appear. I already knew that when my husband said--I would like to see the Lincoln Memorial and the White House and the WWII Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. I said--How about the Old Post Office Tower? There is a Metro stop right below it.
We took the Metro from Union Station to the one nearest the Old Post Office. The Old Post Office has been leased to the Trumps for 99 years and although the Tower will still be maintained by the park service, the Old Post Office will be changing pretty soon and I wanted to see it before it was gone.
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I left off at the end of the DC Duck tour. The rain had melted away and the heat and humidity had returned. It was still early afternoon and it seemed that we only had one more day in DC. There were things we could still do. If I could walk.
You know how the mirrors of cars sometimes say--Objects are closer than they appear. Well, I know from experience that in DC the map should say--Objects are much, much farther away than they appear. I already knew that when my husband said--I would like to see the Lincoln Memorial and the White House and the WWII Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. I said--How about the Old Post Office Tower? There is a Metro stop right below it.
We took the Metro from Union Station to the one nearest the Old Post Office. The Old Post Office has been leased to the Trumps for 99 years and although the Tower will still be maintained by the park service, the Old Post Office will be changing pretty soon and I wanted to see it before it was gone.
The shops and eateries in the basement of the Old Post Office are going out of business because the Trumps will be moving in. I can not imagine that this was a great place to do business in the first place, because you have to go through a metal detector and have your things x-rayed like at the airport just to get inside.
Hubby and I enjoyed an ice cream at Ben and Jerry's to fortify us for the journey ahead. At the time, I was hoping just to have a lemonade, but by the end of the afternoon/ evening I was thankful for that cookie dough ice cream which sustained me.
This is looking up at the glass ceiling of the Old Post Office.
That black thing in the middle is one of two elevators to the tower. We went up part of the way on one elevator and then had to change to another one to finish the trip. It is free and there were no lines to speak of.
The top has these wire bars that make picture taking hard, but the views are stupendous. This is looking towards the Bascilica of the Immaculate Conception.
Taking out the bars makes a better picture.
I enjoyed seeing the rooftop gardens. Then we went down and on our way. The White House didn't look far on the map, but I had been to DC before. I knew better.
They aren't touring the White House these days because of the budget. I have been there twice before, but I wouldn't have minded seeing it again.
We took pictures from outside the gates. The camera lens makes objects appear closer than they are.
As you can see with my hubby as a comparison.
The executive offices next door are every bit as fancy, without the bars. It is who lives there rather than the house itself that makes the difference.
Another fat DC squirrel greeted us along the wall. And then we walked and walked and walked.
Finally we reached the WWII Memorial.
It is really nice. I had spent time there before. I wondered what my dad would have thought of it. He was in Britain in the Army Air Corps and then on the mop up crew in Europe after the War.
And then we walked to the point I wasn't sure if I could and we reached the Lincoln Memorial. All of this area in front used to be a roadway. These days it is a big plaza. If you have ever done the Washington death march you know that it is a long long way to see Mr. Lincoln. But, the man from Springfield is worth the visit. (Although I do think that the memorial looks better in morning sun than afternoon.) Hubby was leading the way.
The Lincoln statue is huge and impressive.
Hubby and Mr. Lincoln in the afternoon of July 8, 2013.
Here he is again, so that you can feel as though you were there.
This is the view looking out from the Memorial toward the Washington Monument and behind that is the Capitol. It makes a straight line called the National Mall. The Smithsonian is up toward the Capitol end and the monuments and memorials are down at this end. But, no, the Capitol Tour, the DC Ducks, the White House, The WWII Memorial, and the Lincoln were not enough for us.
The Vietnam Memorial was not far from the Lincoln Monument. Vietnam was my generation's war. I knew and know several people who served in Vietnam, but I didn't personally know anyone whose name graces the granite. It was my generation though, people I might have known if they had made it back.
The wings of the wall rise up to the center as you walk down.
It is still so shiny that those people are reflected like a mirror. They look for someone. A name.
And then the sad sight of a son or brother saluting a name of someone long gone, but not forgotten. That was a lot of walking and we were hungry, thirsty, far from any Metro stop, and my feet, especially the foot with the brace hurt like fire. But there was nothing to do but walk, up the hill past the George Washington University to a Metro stop which didn't look too far on the map, but seemed like a trek to Canada that afternoon. We took the trains back to Union Station.
And on this day, July 8th, we ate every meal at Union Station. My husband suggested they might think we were homeless people living at the station. I am sure that I may have smelled that way. But, the Bojangles Chicken tasted pretty good and we caught the Metro home in the gathering dusk and walked the half mile or so back to the hotel and I may have collapsed after I showered and quit smelling like a home person. Because I had walked over 19,000 steps in one day with an injured foot. And I still had tomorrow to go.
....to be continued Saturday....