Well once I made it to the Lincoln Memorial on my cycle around DC, the pressure was relieved a bit. There were a couple of things that had to be accomplished on this trip: I had to make it to the convention and register so that my friend (who made it possible for me to take the trip) would have a representative there and would reap whatever benefits that involved; the second must do was to see and photograph the Lincoln Memorial for R., she had put in a special request.
Having achieved those goals, I could now relax - as long as I could make it back to the bike rental place by 6 PM. You see, that's how I operate at times, from one "have to" to the next "have to".
My next stop was the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. It was a solemn walk. I kept reminding myself that each name represented a full lifetime.
With the pace of the traffic, I would walk past literally hundreds of names in just a few steps, but for every name I passed so quickly, some Mom or Dad or loved one had spent countless days and even years, grieving.
After going through the exhibit once, I located an index and was able to find the location of a cousin's name. I don't recall ever meeting him, he was killed in '67 so I was very young. I do remember his portrait over the fireplace in my Granddad's home.
Before taking in any more sights I had to have sustenance. Food choices were very limited. Just outside the Mall area there were almost identical hot dog stands on a couple of corners, I made my way to one and plunked down the better part of Ten DOLLARS for one hot dog with chili, chips and a bottle of water.
I lunched with Albert Einstein (monument) and a bold little squirrel who scrounged chips near my feet.
Feeling refreshed and somewhat lighter - at least in the wallet region - I was off to view more sights. This time it was the newly completed World War II Memorial. I am so proud of my country's behavior during that era. People, Organizations, Industries from diverse origins pulled together on behalf of the cause of freedom. They were united, and every effort from Hollywood, to the local Ladies' Garden Club was aimed at pulling folks into the cause.
It worked. We beat back the malignancy of despotism and liberated a better part of the world.
An amazing thing about that war after we won - our arch enemies (Japan and Germany) became our friends: that says something about how this nation responds to victory - immediately they went to work rebuilding the nations they had had to destroy.
I circumnavigated the Washington Monument but missed an opportunity to go inside, I did spend a little time cooling off in the shop at the base of the monolith. From Washington's Monument I could view the White House and the Capitol but didn't care to try and get any nearer on this trip.
I'm not a big fan of Jefferson - oh I think he was eloquent when penning his draft of the Declaration of Independence, but it seems I may have read that he bore some jealousy toward Washington. I really like Washington. In a match between the Father of our Country and the man credited with founding the Democratic party - I going with the patriot -George Washington. . . I'm just kidding... I do appreciate much of Jefferson's actions and writings. I think the famed "wall of separation" statement he made regarding church and state has been grossly misinterpreted and misused; and that has probably coloured my opinion of him.
The Jefferson Memorial was on my way so I stopped by. I found it inspiring. I also found it helpful in that I was able to pick up a map there which assured me of the proper track back.
After leaving Jefferson, I stopped off for a Gatorade (highly over-priced but worth it).
Finally, my travels brought me back to Alexandria just across the Potomac from my Hotel. I had some time to spare and it looked like some things were going on on the harbor boardwalk there, so I locked up my bike and explored.
There were some entertainers there, a magician, a musician and some folks with live parrots.
I walked around and listened but -along with a number of other folks - walked away as they made their pitch for donations (I'm being real transparent here!).
I hope to post some pictures soon - it was a neat walk.
As I approached the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge I had to detour under a portion of the bridge and it was a tough pedal up the hill to the bridge. Earlier, I had considered taking in "Old Towne" which was near there before returning the bike, but by this time I was beat.
When crossing that bridge the first time earlier in the day, it had seemed that the majority of the bridge was up hill - I looked forward to the downhill run on my way back... somehow it seemed that this bridge was up hill both ways.
I got the bicycle back with an hour to spare. I expected a surprised look from the attendant who had suggested that morning that I "just go across the river to Old Towne, and see how I felt" instead of making the trek to the National Mall -HA!
Unfortunately, he registered no surprise neither did he seem to remember me at all.
By my estimation (and I don't think I am exaggerating) I logged in about thirty miles that day.
It was quite an adventure and one that has me jazzed about the possibility of taking my family back there some day.
One week later, I am already having trouble recalling the inspiring words that I read in those hallowed halls, but I haven't forgotten how they made me feel.
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