Our Nation's Capitol

Alison and I took a weekend trip to Washington DC. Initially Alison was going to be working in Virginia the following week. Plans changed and the work trip cancelled, but we still decided to spend the weekend in DC. It was a fantastic weekend. 

We arrived in DC late Friday night. As we drove to our hotel we caught glimpses of the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. It made me so excited to be in DC. DC is beautiful when it is lit up at night. If it wasn’t past midnight we would have been tempted to visit some of the monuments right then. 

Our hotel was right next to the Nationals Park. It was in a nice area of DC and only a couple of miles from the National Mall. We would 100% stay here again. 

We started our Saturday itinerary at the US Marine Corps War Memorial. This monument is the furthest from the other monuments we planned to visit. Since we couldn't walk to this one we decided to start here and then park closer to the mall. The monument is a gigantic sculpture of the famous photo of a group of Marines raising an American flag on Iwo Jima. It is an inspiring monument. I have visited the monument two other times, but this is my first visit since I learned my great-grandfather, Delbert Johnson, was a Marine and fought on Iwo Jima. I reflected on his life and legacy in the shadow of the Marine Corps War Memorial and I got a little choked up. Alison and I would both reflect throughout the day on our ancestors contributions to the United States of America.

Our next stop was the National Mall. We found a parking garage near the mall and walked to our first stop - the Lincoln Memorial. Alison and I both love this monument. It is a fitting tribute to a truly great President. We spent time walking through the monument, reading Lincoln’s words and contemplating his impact on our nation. We eventually ended up outside sitting between two massive columns looking toward the capitol and the Washington monument. 

Eventually we made our way down to the reflecting pool and we walked toward the Washington Monument. It was a fairly pleasant day, particularly for summer in DC. It was ~80 degrees and humid, but with decent cloud cover it didn’t feel too hot. We were prepared for much hotter weather. 

We stopped at the World War II Memorial. This is Alison’s favorite monument/memorial. Her grandfather served in the Pacific during World War II and this monument reminds her of him. It is a truly beautiful place. Whenever we visit we find the Utah pillar and take a picture. We spent some time wandering around the monument reflecting on our family and our memories. In one area of the monument there is a wall of stars. Each star represents 100 Americans who lost their lives in World War II. One percent of one of those stars is for my great-granduncle Ernest who died fighting in Europe. 

We continued walking along the Mall past the Washington Monument. We came across a street full of food trucks. We were hungry. We found one that sold halal food. Then we found a nice grassy spot to eat lunch. It was fantastic - we had amazing views of the Washington Monument while we ate. When we were done we sat and talked. We talked about my decision to go on the National Boy Scout Jamboree when I was 14. That was a big moment in my life. It was the first time I really traveled and it had a great impact on my life and really kindled my love of travel and history. 

Lunch views

After lunch we thought about visiting one of the Smithsonian museums, but because of Covid you have to sign up for a timed entry ticket. We didn’t plan ahead and get a ticket. Instead we decided to visit a few more monuments. We walked a little further toward the capitol, but decided not to go all the way. Instead we went to the MLK monument. On our way there we came upon a group marching in commemoration of our newest federal holiday - Juneteenth. Visiting the MLK monument gave us an opportunity to reflect on the progress our nation has made toward the ideals of democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality.

We also visited the FDR monument. I enjoy this sprawling monument with multiple sections dedicated to various portions of his life and career. I overheard a tour guide point out that this monument was built to be easily accessible to all. There is even Braille lettering on the signs and quotes throughout. I find quotes by FDR really inspiring. He really seemed to care about people and genuinely wanted to build a better world. 

We walked around the nearby retaining pool back toward the MLK memorial. Near the FDR memorial was a Japanese monument. It was a gift from Japan and was placed in this area to be near the Japanese cherry trees planted in the area. It provided an interesting contrast to the Washington Monument. 

We headed back to our car. Alison keeps track of the locations of all her favorite treats. When we were coming to DC she made sure we added Milk Bar to the itinerary. We stopped and got cereal milk soft serve and shared a piece of chocolate cake - yum. 

After Milk Bar we headed back to our hotel and walked across the street to the Nationals game. This was the second game of a double header. We really like Nationals stadium. It is a fun place to take in a game. There are even sections with views of the Washington Monument. We had great seats in the front row of the second deck near first base. Nationals park has dropped social distancing and other Covid protocols. It took a minute to adjust. The stadium was only around half full, but our section was pretty popular. It felt like going to a game pre-Covid. 

Alison kept score and I watched the game. The Nationals were playing the Mets. It was a great game. Both teams had good pitching and played well. The Nationals won 6-2. Their lead off hitter Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs. John Lester pitched for the Nats. He has been around a long time. He is has become a crafty lefty. He pitched a good game taking a shutout into the 7th inning (which was the final inning of the game since all games in double headers are 7-innings this year). It was a great night for baseball. 

One of the great traditions in baseball are mascot races. The Nationals have the best of all the mascot races - the President's race. Some guys dress up in oversized heads of past presidents - Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. Then they race around the warning track. It is so great. Lincoln won during the game we attended, which seemed fitting given that it is Juneteenth. 

After the game we drove back to the mall. We wanted to see the monuments all lit up. We found some street parking near the Lincoln Memorial. As we exited our car I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I kept watching and saw it again - a fire fly. I told Alison and we watched as fire flies illuminated and then disappeared around us. It was really cool. 

We walked around the Lincoln Memorial and then made our way down to the World War II manorial. The National Mall is an amazing place at night. This was the perfect way to end a great day in our nations capitol.