Arlington Memorial Bridge

Washington DC has many bridges in it. This one is the Arlington Memorial bridge. The arches on it are beautiful and the Potomic river peacefully flows under it. The side opposite Washington DC is adorned with 8 ft high eagles. I'm sure that you guessed that this bridge takes you to Arlington National Cemetary. Also on that side of the bridge is the former home of General Lee. It seems ironic that the first thing on the Washington side is the Lincoln Memorial. This was done on purpose to symbolize the coming together of the North and the South.

This huge statue is one of the four

that were given to the U.S. from Italy. They stand on pedestals near the Washington side of the Arlington Memorial bridge. They are beautiful Greek revival horses and riders. One is called Music and Harvest. Another is Aspiration and Literature. This one is called Valor. The last one is Sacrifice. I love the smoothness and detail in the muscles of the horses and people depicted in the statues. They seem so noble and honorable -two characteristics that I value greatly.

Washington Monument

This is a view of the Lincoln Memorial from the other side of the reflecting pool. It is calm and peaceful around the pool.

Many people seem to enjoy walking and jogging around the pool. It's hard to believe how many joggers we saw. They made me feel guilty (and tired). Ducks also enjoyed the pool.

The picture below gives new meaning to 'bottoms up'. I knew my kids would love to see that one! I'm sorry to inflict that on you but I just had to <:)

At the other end of the reflecting pool is the Washington Monument. It is amazing. I seem to have hundreds of pictures of this monument. It seemed like no matter where you were you could see it. Some of the people in our group used it as a compass to find their way around the city.

Here is a closer shot. It's easier to see the two different colors of the monument. We wondered about this. It so happened that the building of this monument was disrupted and after a time started again. The builders I guess used slightly different stone to finish it.

WWII Memorial

This is the World War II Memorial. It is between the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. I really enjoyed the small and larger fountains. Lit at night it is beautiful!

Some where on this memorial is a wall of gold stars. These 4, 048 stars are in honor of the 405,000 plus American lives that were lost during WWII. I'm sure I missed many significant features at this memorial, but it is hard to miss the two large pavilions. One is dedicated to the Pacific area and the other the Atlantic area.

This is a picture looking through one of them. The sculpture inside looks like a wreath being carried by doves (maybe eagles ?). I'm sure there is a lot of meaning behind this. I like to think of them as a vision of peace. It just seemed so natural for these birds to be carrying these huge wreaths and working together for peace.

Another thing I noticed was this doodle on one of the walls of the monument. (I did the one pictured below) I couldn't understand why no one cleaned it off. I should have realized that it belonged there since that area was kind of 'roped off'.

As it turns out, this was a sign of hope used during the war. It's beginnings is almost like an 'urban legend'. The most popular story of its origin was about a shipyard inspector who signed the items he inspected with a version of the figure above. The sailors would see this and liked it. They would then leave it in ports where they docked. The troops would then see it and like it and leave it other places. Soon where ever troops went they would find the figure and in turn would leave it for others. It was great comfort to know that Kilroy was there before them paving the way and stayed behind bringing up the rear. This website http://www.kilroywashere.org/ has many stories about Kilroy sightings. I really enjoyed the one about Stalin in a latrine!

Vietnam Memorial

This memorial is located near the Lincoln Memorial. It is the Vietnam Memorial. I guess I should say that it is a part of the memorial. It is the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall.

It is a very emotional memorial to visit. It starts small and gets bigger as you go down then smaller again as you go back up. The top of it is level with the ground. When you get down in you are surrounded by all these names. Over 58,000 names of members of the U.S. Armed forces who either died in service or were(are) unaccounted for during the Vietnam War.Many people come to find the name of some one they lost in the war. There is a directory up above on the main walk that tells you where the name is. Often people make a rubbing of the name when they find it. The lady in the green jacket is doing that above. Down below is the corner of the wall. Someone has left a wreath for their loved one. I also saw a note pushed into one of the cracks of the walls. It can be seen in the top picture on the right side.

There are two more parts to this memorial. This is the Three Soldiers Statue. It is located near the front of the wall.

This is the Vietnam Women's Memorial. It is located off to the side. They are both very touching dedications to those who gave of themselves during the Vietnam War.

One emotional moment for me was when I saw two men grasp each other's hand and shake it. One was a Vietnam War Veteran and the other was a WWII veteran.