Notes From the Nation's Capital

With the holiday season past us, it’s great to reflect on the many things that we’re fortunate for. This year has been a fantastic year and one that I’ll certainly cherish. This Christmas the Goltry clan, Elizabeth, and I traveled to Washington D.C. Elizabeth lived there for about six years. Her brother and his family (Bryan, Heather, little Owen, and Savannah) live in the suburbs of D.C. They were the best hosts as the whole clan set up camp in their house and the nearby Marriott.

The first day we made it over to the Mall. It was amazing to see the memorials and monuments in person, especially since they are features that every American sees in the media. Most of the tour was like being a little kid again, because so many of the places and structures are icons that I associated with grade school. The scales were especially shocking.

There’s a lot that can be said about the memorials, however I’ll keep this section brief. The Washington Monument was huge, I only expected something about three or four stories tall. The World War II memorial was a fantastic addition and I especially enjoyed seeing how they respected the visual corridor of the Mall. The Washington Memorial was by far my favorite. To me it symbolized how strongly this country felt about Lincoln. The Vietnam memorial was interesting. Both it and the Korean memorial tried to touch something within people in a way that was strangely different than the rest of the places mentioned above. Almost in an eerie fashion. One of the most interesting memorials was the one to F.D.R. This little known memorial was fascinating not only because of the quotes and symbology used to try and adequately describe the person, but also because it was contradictory to his wishes.

The travels through the D.C. area were mostly done by automobile. However, we did have a short adventure on the Metro system. Elizabeth has made me into a true believer concerning the majesty of the Metro. It’s simply amazing how many people it handles. However, like many features in D.C., it appears that funding for maintenance is sorely lacking. Also, the shier density of the area leads one to believe that the Metro system has a great future and that further expansion is inevitable given its popularity.

There are many more stories about the trip, the comments above are simply some highlights. I would strongly encourage everyone to make a trip to D.C. if they have not already. It was a wonderful experience. Also, it’s one of the cheapest vacations. Just think, you’ve already paid for most of the attractions!

Cheers,

Scott