What a joy to wake up to a clear sky this morning. The sunshine was so welcome.
We had a full day! Someone should have worn a pedometer so that we would know how far we walked. Our first stop was in Arlington at the new Pentagon Memorial, rich with symbolism. Spending time there also got us very close to the Pentagon itself. We continued up the hill to the Air Force Memorial. Besides the stainless steel structure itself, there were bronze statues and quotes from Air Force personnel regarding their commitment and service. One of the most gripping was, "Tell them that we gave our today's for their tomorrows."
We continued into Washington DC with our first stop at the Jefferson Memorial at the edge of the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees (they do not produce fruit) are ready to come into full bloom any hour and are so pretty. From there we were dropped at the west side of the Capitol. We
saw where President Obama was inaugurated and then walked all the way uphill to the east side of the Capitol. The new Capitol Visitor Center was very impressive. Our visit started with an excellent movie, followed by a guided tour of the rotunda, Statuary Hall (each state is invited to
contribute two statues of people it wants to honor, and some of those are in the Hall) and the Crypt where George Washington was to be buried. After our tour, we had lunch at the visitor center and had time to look at the displays or go to the gift shop.
Across the street from the Capitol we saw the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court buildings. We then drove on Pennsylvania Avenue, past the Canadian Embassy, to the Navy Memorial. After a stop there, we had a wonderful guided tour of the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean Memorial. We ended our sightseeing with a tour of the FDR Memorial, built along the Tidal Basin with red South Dakota granite. Our return walk to the bus was under the cherry blossoms.
We ate tonight at Union Station, a lively place with many choices for both food and shopping. The benefits of Advil, Tylenol and Aleve will probably be discussed tomorrow after this busy day!
Laurel Johnson, Tour Director
We had a full day! Someone should have worn a pedometer so that we would know how far we walked. Our first stop was in Arlington at the new Pentagon Memorial, rich with symbolism. Spending time there also got us very close to the Pentagon itself. We continued up the hill to the Air Force Memorial. Besides the stainless steel structure itself, there were bronze statues and quotes from Air Force personnel regarding their commitment and service. One of the most gripping was, "Tell them that we gave our today's for their tomorrows."
We continued into Washington DC with our first stop at the Jefferson Memorial at the edge of the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees (they do not produce fruit) are ready to come into full bloom any hour and are so pretty. From there we were dropped at the west side of the Capitol. We
saw where President Obama was inaugurated and then walked all the way uphill to the east side of the Capitol. The new Capitol Visitor Center was very impressive. Our visit started with an excellent movie, followed by a guided tour of the rotunda, Statuary Hall (each state is invited to
contribute two statues of people it wants to honor, and some of those are in the Hall) and the Crypt where George Washington was to be buried. After our tour, we had lunch at the visitor center and had time to look at the displays or go to the gift shop.
Across the street from the Capitol we saw the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court buildings. We then drove on Pennsylvania Avenue, past the Canadian Embassy, to the Navy Memorial. After a stop there, we had a wonderful guided tour of the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean Memorial. We ended our sightseeing with a tour of the FDR Memorial, built along the Tidal Basin with red South Dakota granite. Our return walk to the bus was under the cherry blossoms.
We ate tonight at Union Station, a lively place with many choices for both food and shopping. The benefits of Advil, Tylenol and Aleve will probably be discussed tomorrow after this busy day!
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