Unlike my recent Venice trip, I have been here before. But much like that trip to
Italy, I decided to tour D.C. by wandering around. I hadn’t prebooked tours so getting into the Capitol or White House wasn’t really in the offing. But I did amble past them. I might even have sashayed once or twice.
The morning started early enough with a drive to the Lincoln Memorial. I parked on the street, afforded free parking on the weekends which was a truly unexpected bonus. It seemed like a centrally located spot so I thought I’d just hoof it to the various spots around the National Mall I wanted to see.
Few things are as inspiring as the stone carved Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural. And yet here I am slurping a Double Gulp before the guy. There are things more American, sure, but not many.
From there I wandered through the FDR memorial and onto the Jefferson Memorial. I was struck by how when carving our monuments to the past we often smooth out the rougher, troubling and unflattering edges to focus on the best aspects. But that doesn’t diminish that our best has been and will continue to be pretty darn good. As we move forward, I hope we the people can strive for ever better.
As I said on Facebook, I was expecting TJ to look more like Daveed Diggs, post “Hamilton.”
I ducked into the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian and visited the good ship Enterprise. I know I should be proudest of the various real world craft on display, including our own NASA’s lunar module. And yet, to boldly go…
Heading up to the Capitol, the last time I really thought about it was when I was recently watching the pilot for “Designated Survivor.” I’m several episodes behind but President Kirkman was be doing a bang up job as the rebuilding’s coming right along!
On a political satire note, one could argue this “closed” sign for the Capitol couldn’t be a better sign given the gridlocked Congress.
As for Grant’s Memorial, I suppose the answer to the riddle of who’s buried there is no one.
Given that there was no line, I wandered into the Library of Congress. I didn’t realize that almost 2/3 of Jefferson’s replacement collection after the War of 1812 fire also burned later. But it was neat to see his selections reconstructed. And the main reading room, despite being cordoned off, was as visually arresting and impressive as movies would have us believe.
Even though Fonzie’s Jacket had left the building long ago, I still went to the American History museum. For such a loudmouth man, Archie sure did have a small head.
Bert and Ernie are always nice to see…
And I got to be a president for a brief moment… it’s all in the thumbs.
Before heading to the White House, I stopped by the old post office at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue. I swear I smelled sulfur and brimstone…
From a far off vantage point, I did snap a selfie of 1600…
I doubled back to the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial. I don’t know… there’s a lot of design work, a mountaintop vibe that’s cool, but the actual statue for me doesn’t quite work. It feels like a Hollywood prop more than a stone statue. Not sure how else to describe it — it just has a feeling of plaster rather than the deserved heft of history that the man and his legacy deserves.
I struggled to remember where I parked – I was sure it was somewhere between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument… but that’s kinda like saying I parked at Disney World without any further details. As I circled the reflecting pool, I came across the mile 15 flag for tomorrow’s race. So here’s a preview of where I’ll be circa 10 AM!
It’s the little things sometimes that make a big difference — I found the rental car!
So as I head back to the hotel to prep my morning and the grab some dinner, I am prepared to run… from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.
Visiting D.C., especially in light of the malarkey that is this election season, I am surprisingly hopeful. This country has endured some dark times and some craziness and some awful detours. But as Barack Obama is fond of saying there is more that unites us than divides us. And one of the great unifying concepts is that our democracy, our history, and our future is one of overcoming dark, crazy, awful times.
In Venice, a few people asked me about the election and I sheepishly admitted I was embarrassed by what was going on. But I remain proud to be an American and fervently believe that we will be and we will do better. Today, tomorrow, and into the future.