Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Day of Semi-Rest

Our first trip down to the subway. My blind niece has used the DC public transportation system and had nothing but praise for it so we couldn't wait to check it out. I have to say that after a mis-step or two, we found it to be first rate as well - clean, easy to figure out, convenient. It takes just five minutes for us to get to the National Mall from our doorstep.

We slept in this morning, enjoying the apartment and giving Goldfish a chance to get lots of rest to kick her cold. After a late start we did get down to the National Mall, spending time visiting the Washington, Lincoln and WW II Monuments. It was raining off and on and the light was too flat for good photos until dark when they lit everything up.

My very favorite woman!
The pool by the World War II Monument.


The ceiling at Lincoln's Memorial.
The reflecting pool was drained for maintenance, this being the off-season. You could still get some interesting pictures from the base of the Lincoln Memorial looking towards the Capitol Building.

Just amazing. So beautiful. I cried . . . .


Today's Ten Observations From DC:

1. Four shower heads really are four times better than one.
2. I think people in DC may be even more friendly than in Unalaska, which is strange. We are friendly in Unalaska because we all know each other - here they are friendly for other reasons.
3. If you want to feel at home in a new place, light a candle or two . . . . this works in the wilderness as well . . .
4. If you expect life to be safe, fun and full of wonder then it will be . . . . prepare for the worst but expect the best.
5. There are very few better things in life than travel with a best friend.
6. A greying civil servant whistling Revolutionary War battle hymns while walking in the rain down Independence Street to the subway entrance . . . good stuff.
7. The best food can come from a street vendor.
8. The Vietnam War Memorial is best seen in daylight.
9. If you spend enough time around beautiful things, you will cry eventually.
10. Have a plan but be willing to change it at the drop of a hat - trust your instincts.

5 comments:

Bren said...

Thank you for your wonderful wisdom and great pictures.

verybadcat said...

Incredible! Thanks so much for posting these. The one of Goldfish in front of the quote from the WWII monument is my favorite, but that last one of the Washington monument was breathtaking.

:)

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

I've only been to DC twice, and was on work so couldn't sightsee more than one day each time. Would love to go back with my wife.

Lasting Impressions:

1. Tomb of the Unknown, changing of the guard. If you don't tear up, you're not an American, period.

2. Amazed how LARGE the statue of Mr Lincoln is inside the memorial.

3. Amazed how LARGE is the Iwo Jima flag raising memorial.

4. Smithsonian: you can't see everything; astounding.

5. Vietnam Memorial: stunning and shocking all at once. I was prepared to dislike it immensely.

6. Shocked at how, ONE block east of the SCOTUS building, it's IMMEDIATE slums and poverty.

7. DC is a confusing anomaly but beautiful.

8. Arlington. Kennedy's flame.

And so much more.

BZ

Anonymous said...

A little off topic, Guys... I have a question. Last week I played at this site:
[url=http://www.rivalspot.com]Rivalspot.com - Ps3 Live Tournaments[/url]
They say you can play online NCAA Basketball game tournaments on any console for cash... had anyone tried that before? Looks like a cool idea...
Are there any other sites where you can play sports games for real moneys? I Googled and found only Bringit.com and Worldgaming.com but it looks these guys don't specialize in sport gamez. Any suggestions?

AlaskanDave said...

Great post Steve....thanks for all the neat pictures