Finally rested, I headed over to the white house. It was intially quiet other than all of the security people watching me. They are overt, semi-overt, and I am sure quite covert. I have never seen so many people sitting around in vehicles with tinted windows. Many of the overt Secret Service people were carrying black bags that were about the right size for some serious weaponry. I was accordingly inclined to follow the signs about what not to do and where not to go.
The white house looked so peaceful, almost bucolic in one picture, as you will see in the DC gallery when I get it up. Then, as I was leaving, two airforce one helicopters roared directly over my head and landed on the south lawn briefly and then headed right back over me. Too far away, because of fencing, I could not get a good picture. I did feel special though, having the president fly by me on my first visit.
I have been looking forward to seeing the Lincoln Memorial, and standing before him, I felt just like the little boy pictured above. It was like being in Lincoln's presence--definitely something everyone should experience.
The WWII Memorial was also impressive and moving, but for a different reason; as I walked around listening to the small groups of old men talking to each other, I heard a repeated theme, "...we were pinned down for hours...," and "...they were coming at us from the north...." and so on. Large monuments, however grand as this one, cannot convey the personal impact that is memorialized like the people themselves. It makes one feel quite patriotic.
The Vietnam Memorial was almost dissapointing in comparison. It looked like just a long low slice of black granite. Not until I had walked past so many names and was standing among visitors touching individual names did the sheer size and personal nature of the list hit me. It was devoid of the granduer of the WWII Memorial. By not glorifying the onflict, the personal impact on our loved ones and neighbors was conveyed more clearly.
The Korean War Memorial was dissapointing. The statues and ghostly images on the granite gave me a feeling of Hollywood more than anything.
Arlington National Cemetary is aptly situated right next to the Pentagon. I hope they look out the windows often. I visited the graves of many people, from JFK and Jaqueline to Justice Marshal. Walking around the cemetary is like walking through the military history of the US. The endless gaves of our dead put perspective on the brief entries from my history class textbooks.
At the tomb of the unkown soldier, I watched the interesting and almost bizarely formalized ritual of the changing of the guard. And then to my surprise, a busload of foreign soldiers rolled up from Fort Meyers. Four uniformed soldiers, two Jordanians, an Afgani, and a Georgian, of the group participated in a wreath laying ceremony honoring the unkown soldier.
I was exhausted after walking all day in the heat and trying to assimilate all I had seen, so I took the Metro back to the hostel, stopping to get a delicious dinner at a Pakistani Deli.
Daily Expenses: $65
