I took the Metro from Rosslyn to the Smithsonian. I wasn't sure which stop was the best one to walk to the new MLK Memorial. Foggy Bottom might have been closer. Had I gotten off at 23rd and I Street, I would have missed my walk around the Tidal Basin. In 2011, I did not walk the whole circumference. I saw the Jefferson Memorial from afar, but I did not make it onto the steps or under the rotunda. When you get off at the Smithsonian, you come out at 12th Street and Independence. I walked past the Department of Agriculture and then down along side the Holocaust Museum. I have not been inside and I'm not sure that I am strong enough to go in there. I should. But I'm not ready.
I could have walked across of the Tidal Basin and skipped the long walk around. Since I hadn't made the trek before, and I wasn't in a hurry to be anywhere else, I decided to take the long way around. I am so glad I did. I love the Jefferson Memorial.
I love the columns,
the view,
the coolness on a hot afternoon (hard to capture digitally), the contrast of curvy rotunda and the grid formation of the columns,
and the statue.
I exited the Memorial and continued walking around the water. Not too far into my stroll, I realized that a ton of people had stopped and were taking pictures of something to my right, near the basin. Turns out, baby geese (goslings?) were out with their parents. Too cute. Am I going to pass up fuzzy babies, mais non!
I stopped on the bridge that links the Potomac with the Basin. Love the reflection of the Memorial on the water.
I tried to frame the dome in the architecture of the bridge. I wasn't totally successful as it is hard to kneel down in concrete when wearing a long dress, but I did my best. Overall, the concept was a good one.
I was happy to get to the shady side as I walked on the western edge, going north to the MLK Memorial. I took pictures as the white stone came into view and the wildlife was naughty.
I didn't know what to expect. I didn't walk all the way around the space, reading the quotations etched in the perimeter as my I was starting to flag. The figure of Martin Luther King emerging from the stone is very powerful. The massive "mountains" seemed a bit unrefined compared to the other memorials around the Mall. But I am so happy that it is there, looking across the water to the Jefferson Memorial and close to Lincoln.
Even though I went to the Lincoln Memorial a few times in 2011, I decided to revisit because the reflecting pool had water in it and I wanted to see what that looked like from the steps. And it was on the way to the Metro. There were so many people on the steps and inside by the statue, that I didn't linger. I did, however, call Selim from my new phone and we "face timed" so he could see the Washington Monument in the distance and he got an up close look at Lincoln. Technology is so wild!
Starting to feel my feet, I didn't try to see anything else. I walked up 23rd street to I. Before going down into the Metro, I noticed the Whole Foods store a block away. I went in and bought dinner -- fizzy water, salad, avocado rolls, fresh pineapple chunks, and a few cookies. I knew better than to go crazy in the market and bring back to the hotel all sorts of stuff that I would never eat. The subway ride back was just one stop. In no time, I was back in the room, ready to devour my feast. My eyes were bigger than my stomach and I could not eat it all. Luckily, I have a refrigerator in my room.
As I did in NYC last month, I mapped my walk today: 3.2 miles. Not bad after an early morning wake up call to finish chores, followed by a bus ride and plane flight. Now off to bed so that I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed -- and ready to learn tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment