DC: Monuments and Memorials

It's been a pretty intense year for Dave.  He has literally not had a Sunday off for over a year.  As we considered months ago what kind of summer vacation to take, the idea to go big and grand struck.  We asked the girls what their dream vacation would be and Ella suggested Washington DC.  We love this city and feel pretty familiar with it, thanks to frequent visits to see Kyle when he studied and lived here.  So, we started planning something pretty special.   As the girls get older and busier, we definitely feel that clock ticking on the time we have with them and we wanted this to be something they'd really remember.  Taking on DC when you're a teenager, with a couple History classes under your belt was perfect timing!

You know us.  We are planners.  We vacation hard.  We packed A LOT into a week!  Get ready for a long series of posts chronicling our adventures in our nation's capital!

We stayed at a great hotel, right behind the White House, within walking distance to the Mall and almost everything we wanted to see and do.  On our first day, we were excited to see and do it all, so we set out on foot.  We walked about 10 miles on this day!  East Coast weather is not at all what we are used to!  Humidity was about 90% every day and temps hung out in the 90's.  It rained/thunderstormed almost every day.  We have never been hotter or sweatier.  I look back on that first day and wonder how we actually did it!

First glimpse of the Washington Monument.

The memorial we were most excited to see!  The WWII Memorial is new to us and we loved exploring all the thoughtful details that told the story of this war in Europe and in the Pacific.  We also loved sharing our own grandpas' WWIII stories with the girls here.  

The Vietnam Memorial.

The Lincoln Monument.  

The Korean War Memorial.

The MLK Memorial.  At this point, we were really appreciating how unique each memorial was and how intentionally it told the story of who it honored.  Dr. King was a minister and a speaker, his ministry was one of words.  All around his likeness were his most powerful quotes carved into the walls.  A visit to his memorial was another opportunity to grow and be challenged.

I've always liked the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial.  Delia said this one was her favorite-- though shade, cool waterfall mist, and an air conditioned gift shop may be factors in that!  Did I mention we were very hot? ;)

(Dave catching me doing "my job".  I think of myself as the family memory captor and carrier and will never feel bad for taking too many pictures!)

The Jefferson Monument.  Lots of feelings about this founding father!  From his vision and majestic words, to his hypocrisy and unapologetic use of slaves, to his portrayal in Hamilton (he IS one of our favorite characters!), we talked about how people can be both good and flawed and how hard it is to reconcile that and live in that tension.  As we experienced lots of contradictions in this city, that became a bit of a theme.  

At this point we switched to bikes using this amazing Capital Bike Share app!  Every few blocks around the city are bike docks where you can check out a bike, ride it as long as you want, and return it to any other docking station.  It only cost $.05 a minute!  We did lots of biking on this trip.

This trip around the monuments took us until early afternoon.  We still squeezed two Smithsonians into this day!  Say tuned...