Today was the day to do the memorials - the Lincoln, Vietnam, WWII, Korean, etc. Plus Ale wanted to go to the National Aquarium. I didn't even know there was a National Aquarium. What a great country we have an aquarium! The great thing about our trip was that we were not getting up at 6 or 7 to have breakfast at 8:00 and be someplace by 9:00 a.m. No the museums open at 10 till about 5:00 so you're not rushing. We had little maps galore to make sure we got to the places we wanted to go. The day before we had walked up to the Washington Memorial and I picked up this map that would serve as my guide the whole time. Those in my familia KNOW that I love maps, I have to be the "map girl". That is I need to know where I am heading and I want to lead the way! Just a slight personality trait of mine. So I mapped out the walk and we headed out first to find the National Aquarium which looked like it was located under the Department of Commerce Building one block from the White House. So we found the aquarium, saw the fishees as well as this great video kiosk on whales! Ale loved it, the kiosk described different whales and their sounds. They sound so beautiful!
So then we headed out to the WWII memorial first, past the Washington Monument, where I have yet to go in and take the elevator to the top. Today I went prepared with a lavendar umbrella (which I paid $15 in the hotel even though I have 2-3 at home), my favorite walking shoes - black addidas. The WWII Memorial is a circle of pilars with a beautiful pond and water falls in the center. Each pillar represents a state.
Next, on to the Vietnam Memorial which is along the path of the Reflecting Pond which lies between the WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. I was too young to really remember the Vietnam War but I still remember the protests as the war touched the country and it seemed to drag on forever. And yes, G's brother Virg served in this war as a very proud MARINE! I even called Virg with no success, I remember he had a friend he wanted us to look up on the wall. I also remembered that Monday was Memorial Day and so there were flower arrangements around the Women's Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. It's impressive and as you walk you feel the presence of ALL those soldiers. There were just so many of them! My heart and body feel heavy I barely hold the tears back as I walk along the wall. The day was overcast and gray, not cold. For me the weather was just right - not cold not hot but it was going to rain for sure.
From here, we go to the Lincoln Memorial. I could just feel the emotion of history in my soul as I look over the Reflecting Pond and imagine the crowd listening, enthralled with Martin Luther King's I have a Dream speech. And so I had to stand exactly where he stood to feel "the dream". There was preparation for a rededication of the memorial and we were lucky they were letting people walk up the stairs. G said that two days ago they were not letting anyone up the stairs and into the memorial. We stayed in the Memorial overlooking the mall and then it hit, the rain started to pour. I looked at the Lincoln statue and felt at peace.
Another long walk back along the Pond in the rain, down Constitution Ave. up 14th Street past the Regan Center to F Street, down 7th street to Jaleos for some tapas and paella. I found out Jaleos is on the top 100 restaurants in D.C. Actually we ate at 3 such restaurants. Ale had paella - mushroom and chicken for the first time and he loved it the here flan is THE BEST!. We got to the restaurant just in time because it started to pour like crazy for about an hour until it was time to WALK back to the hotel. Dinner was excelente, the company was stupendous and we had an exhausting but fulfilling day.
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