Ricky outside of Ford's Theater
The da Vinci! The let me take a picture!!!
It goes on for miles...
... and miles... and yet it is silent
Ricky and I at the Iwo Jima Memorial
So the next day was fairly full as well. I was fortunate to have woken up without any remnants of the heat rash and I was ready for a new day. This time without sunscreen and without sneakers. Yes, you heard me, I was going to walk DC in flip flops (and it was the best decision I ever made).
We started out the day by meeting Kenneth and Kristine at Arlington. Kristine really wanted to see the eternal flame and since I had walked all of Arlington previously, I was more interested in seeing Iwo Jima. So we walked around Arlington and saw the staple portions of this amazing location. This time I actually did see a tombstone of an individual who I recognized (aside from famous political or national figures). I didn't realize Joe Lewis the boxer was in Arlington, but he sure was. One of the things Ricky wanted to do was to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. It is such a great thing to watch because of their precision and the fact that such a simple task can captivate an audience. It was amazing. After walking around to see other portions we finally made it all the way out to the Iwo Jima Memorial. All I have to say is geez that monument is huge. From all of the pictures that I have seen of the statue I for some reason always assumed it was small. Apparently I was misinformed. It was amazing. Ricky told me about a trick that you can do with the statue that I of course had to try. He said that if you walk around the statue in a certain way it appears as though the soldiers are actually raising the flag. I didn't believe him at first, but it actually does work. Incredible.
After Arlington, Ricky and I had arranged to meet his 2nd cousin Darcy at the National Gallery. I knew Kenneth and Kristine were not overly interested in the Gallery, so they decided to head over to Teddy Roosevelt Island to see his memorial. We decided that we were going to meet up later to see the Spy Museum. So Ricky and I headed to the National Gallery. I met Darcy and her daughter (both of whom were extremely wonderful). As we went into the gallery, I picked up a map and we started looking around. I hadn't really considered what was on the front of my map until I held it for a minute and realized that there was a picture of a da Vinci on the front. Not just any da Vinci, but one of my favorites. So half way delirious I checked the info inside the cover of the map and sure enough it said it was in the National Gallery of Art in DC. I almost fell over. I found the nearest docent, pointed to the cover, and very eloquently I said, "Where is this?" and jammed my finger into my map. She knew exactly where it was since apparently she gets that question a lot, and I was off. I didn't even know if everyone was still behind me but I just kept walking until I got there. It was amazing!!! I stood for a few moments and just kept reminding myself to breathe. It was absolutely stunning. Now for those of you who know me, I am not a fan of the Mona Lisa. I find her to be dull, but I do love da Vinci and being able to finally stand in a room with his work was literally breathtaking. I seriously believe I may pass out if I ever go to Italy.
Obviously we walked through the rest of the museum as well, but da Vinci was definitely the highlight for me. After the gallery we decided we were going to meet up with Kenneth and Kristine to go to the Spy Museum. Unlike most of the areas in DC that are free, you actually have to pay to get into the spy museum. I knew Ricky wanted to go so we didn't mind paying a few bucks. I had originally gone to the Spy Museum on opening week back in 2002, so I knew what was coming, but Ricky was having a ball listening to the bugs they had set up throughout the exhibits and just seeing all of the cool gadgets and gizmos they had. The one bad thing about the spy museum is that you cannot take any pictures. So I took a picture of the outside of the building and will have to settle for that.
Down a couple blocks was Ford's Theater, so we decided to hit that up before heading to dinner. We took some pictures of the outside as well as the building across the street where Lincoln actually died, but it was getting darker and we decided it was dinner time. Kenneth and Kristine joined us near Toni's place and we went to a little mediterranean restaurant. It was good food, but the table we were at had a slight issue with the sun being directly in Kenneth's eyes. Aside from that it was a nice dinner together. After dinner we made plans for our trip home and went back to Toni's place to relax for the rest of the evening.
The next day we just took it easy. Kenneth and Kristine met us for lunch at Toni's place since they had to be out of the hotel by noon and we had a nice lunch at an irish pub down the way. Our trip home was much more smooth than our trip out to DC and I am fairly confident that we all really enjoyed our trip. It was short, but it was worth it. After all, its always nice to get away for awhile and just be the tourist instead of driving around them annoyed.
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