Marble and Memorials

First Division Monument

Spending some time in Washington, D.C. almost requires one to walk on marble and view a memorial or two.  Firstly, we were pretty impressed that the curbs are, literally, made of marble.  How awesome is that?  

Washington Memorial from across the Reflecting Pool

Well, other than that it's really rather wasteful and expensive, but still, beside the fact that I have not one inch of marble anywhere in my house, it's pretty amazing that the streets are curbed in marble.  



Once a person gets over that fact (and yes, it takes a while for some of us) it's rather interesting to try to figure out how much marble D.C. actually has.  

Korean War Memorial

I could not, of course, that would require way more math than I'm capable of, so we'll move on to the monuments....which are made of, you guessed it, MARBLE.

World War II Memorial

So, there we were, a family of gawkers taking in the marble, and walking.  The plan was to spend most of one day viewing the memorials around the Tidal Basin, which is a good 2 1/2 mile hike, if one doesn't waste steps taking any long routes.  


I carefully figured out where to get off the Metro (gotta love that system), the walking route and a return with as few steps as possible, and researched some info on each of the memorials.  

Lincoln Memorial

Well, things change sometimes.  We ended up tired before getting to the Washington Memorial, which happens to be the first one on the route!  


By the time we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial, we were all done for.  There was no more pushing or cajoling kids, nor did the adults want to push, prod or promise anything.  We just couldn't deliver.

Arlington Bridge Equestrian Statues

So, no where near the Metro, we had to figure an affordable way to get back to the hotel.  Turns out one can walk across the Potomac River Bridge and catch a Metro fairly easily.  


Thank goodness we all found a second wind crossing the river.  By the time we reached Georgetown, we were ready for a sit-down supper, showers and sleep.  Isn't it amazing how well we can sleep even when we're away from home?