Margaret and I started our day by walking to Lake Accotink
and geocaching in the surrounding park.
It was Margaret’s first time caching and we found one Earthcache. Finished caching and returned home where we
were greeted by the delicious smell of frying bacon. Pete
was cooking breakfast. I could
get used to mornings like this!!! (Mona says not to get my hopes up.)
As with the Flight 93 Memorial, this visit brings back many
memories of that horrendous day. This
particular spot has special significance for us because Mona’s brother, Monte,
was in the Pentagon on 911 and it was hours before we found out that he was
safe.
The Benches |
Visiting these memorials bring tears to your eyes as you
have “personal” contact with the victims and their families. I think it’s important that we visit these
sites, to honor those gave their lives for others, to memorialize those who
were victims and to remember that our way of life comes at a cost…a cost much
more precious than gold or silver. We will never forget.
Air Force Memorial |
After the memorial, we crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge
and then drove around D.C. to view some of the city’s sights. As usual for a weekend, there were thousands
and thousands of people in the parks, at the memorials and on the
sidewalks. Our drive took us by the
Lincoln Memorial and then by the Washington Monument (I saw it first!). Then we took a drive around Rock Creek Park
and the Tidal Basin. (Not a single
cherry blossom yet again!)
See the Secret Service Agents? |
Our next stop was The W Hotel, formerly the Hotel
Washington. We’ve been coming here for
years to enjoy the view from the rooftop restaurant. From this vantage point you can look down at
the White House where you see Secret Service agents on the roof. Sometimes they have submachine guns; today they had spotters’ scopes and were
scanning the area. I took my usual
picture of the agents using all the zoom I had…you can barely see them. However, Pete had his “spy” camera with him
and his picture showed a little more detail….just a little.
Can you see them now? |
After lunch, we headed back through D.C., weaving our way through
the traffic and crowds. Along the way,
we passed by Indiana Street and the courthouse where Mona and I were
married. This brought back lots of
memorials of that hot hot HOT day in our limo with no air conditioning, the
driver who knew nothing about D.C., and the bottle of champagne that erupted in
the car, covering us all with totally unwelcome stickiness…that went so well with
the 115 degree heat. Good times!
Sh'boom! |
We made our way across D.C. and on to the Chesapeake Bay
where Margaret and Pete’s sailboat, the Sh'boom!, is moored.
No cruise this time, but we had a good time sharing stories and
relaxing.
Finally, we headed back to Springfield and ended up at
Kilroy’s for dinner. This local eatery
was named to honor the dock worker who created the famous expression, “Kilroy
Was Here”. He was a rivet inspector for
WWII boats and he marked his inspections with those famous three words. The words were supposed to be painted over,
but they were in such a hurry to get the ships out that they skipped painting
the riveted beams. GIs saw the phrase,
liked it, and started writing it everywhere they went; eventually spreading the
phrase around the world! And now, you
know… the rest of the story!
Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Went to the Pentagon Memorial with my class of 7/8 graders on my last trip to DC in 2009. It is quite eerie at night and still very touching.
ReplyDeleteThat's my first time setting those benches. I didn't even know they were there. Very moving!
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