Thursday, July 3, 2008

LOTS of WALKING today....





Today, we got breakfast early... and jumped on a bus to go to the capital area... to meet Phil Jones, the Church of the Brethren Washington Office Director and then we walked from his office to the Capital for a special tour he had arranged for us. Then we walked out onto the part of the Capital that will be used in January for the Presidential Inauguration and stood where the new President will take the oath of office.
While there, we hear the practice session for tomorrow night's fourth celebration with Huey Lewis and the News.... From there, we walked to the Lincoln Memorial touring it and the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, WW Memorials and the Monument. From the Monument, we walked back to the capital and then to Union Station.... it was a LONG walk... we are all sore and the kids are questioning my guiding ability... though I did know where I was going and when they were concerned, I stopped two people to confirm my great sense of direction! It's just that is was about 25 block farther than I told them it would be!


The steps we are walking down in the pics are the very steps that the president walks down to get to the inauguration. The chamber is the old senate chamber and the pics with the large paintings are in the rotunda. The biggest disappointment of the day is that after taking these pictures, my camera memory card died!


It was my first time ever seeing the Vietnam War Memorial... and I was amazed at the wave of sadness that overtook me when I started walking down reading the names.... I almost burst out crying... what a sad thing war is!

1 comment:

cathy b. said...

I can relate about the War memorial. When I was there, I found a name of a boy I knew in church youth group.

Great pictures and what a handsome group you are!!!