A Night on the Town

They say you should never drive in to D.C. to see the sights. Traffic is terrible and parking is pretty much non-existent. So after arriving at Cherry Hill Park Resort in College Park, MD, on Sunday we decided to drive into D.C.! We had spent a week here four years ago, and one of our favorite times to visit the monuments was at night time. So at 9 p.m. we started our 18 mile journey into the nation’s capital, arriving about a half hour later and parking about a ¼ mile from the Lincoln Memorial. We walked over to the Memorial and spent some time just gazing from the top steps all the way down the National Mall looking at the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol beyond.

From there we walked along the Vietnam Memorial, and although it is dimly lit at night, it still brings a very humbling feeling toward the war that we grew up with. Since the day before was Flag Day, there were a number of small flags and floral tributes along the entire length of the wall. Even with its simplicity, we believe that this memorial perhaps is the most emotional experience of all those monuments and memorials throughout the country.

From there we continued down the mall to the World War II Memorial, which we had visited on its opening day four years earlier. This tribute to “the greatest generation” not only honors those men and women who fought in WWII, but the “Rosie Riveters” who stayed behind but added so much to the war efforts. Turning back towards the Lincoln Memorial, we walked the other side of the Mall stopping at the Korean War Memorial. This memorial consists of a number of life-size bronze soldiers in full battle dress depicting their units march across an open field. From there we returned to our car finishing an approximate two hour walk along the National Mall.

We then decided to go by the White House (even though George and Laura weren’t home). We were able to park right around the corner within one block of the residential home of the American President. Our next stop was the Capitol building, again parking within a short walk. It was now around 1 a.m. and with the exception of Capitol police, we saw almost no other visitors. This allowed us time to not only pose in our own pictures but to reflect on all that this historic site has seen. From Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the protest during the Vietnam War, standing there the vision of Jenny running through the Reflection Pool to embrace Forrest Gump came to life. The solitude of the moment allowed us to just sit on the steps, enjoying the full moon, with the Capitol behind us, and the Washington Monument shining brightly to the front.

You would think that it would be time to head home, but with the streets empty, we chose to just drive around for awhile past the Smithsonian Museums and Federal buildings. As we slowly toured the sights with the windows down and the sunroof open, we were able to enjoy the area as few others take the time to do. Finally around 2:30 a.m. we headed back home. It was a great start to our visit here in Washington.