DC Vacation Revisited

Welcome to the last Tatting Tea Tuesday of July. Can you believe that it’s almost August? In many ways this year has seemed to have gone very fast. Is this a sign that I’m getting old? (Don’t answer that.)

Today I’ll start with the little bit of tatting that I’ve gotten done. I’ve decorated another candle holder. I thought this variegated Lizbeth thread would look so good for this, and it does look okay, but I’m thinking solid colors would stand out against the glass better. I also plan on adding beads the next time. I had a bad time this morning trying to take a picture that showed the tatting to advantage. My husband finally helped me get this shot, one of many pictures but one of the few that came out well.

Okay, now I have pictures from our Washington, DC vacation. If you’re only here for the tatting that was it.

While we were in DC we took a Hop On, Hop Off tour. This is where you buy tickets for a day or two to ride buses that tour the city. They have a lot of stops and a lot of buses, so you can get on where you want and get off where you want and spend time at the stops you want. The tours start at Union Station. This had been let to rundown but has been redone beautifully. It’s a tourist stop in itself. It has a round-about in front of it that you do end up going round and round before you can get out.
We rode one of the double-decker buses from Union Station until the White House Visitor’s Center. This place has items in it from the White House and a lot of history about it. It is also very lovely inside. And like most of the sites here and elsewhere you have to go through a metal detector to get inside. If you visit here make sure you leave your pocket knife, no matter how small, at home. (Experience speaking.)

From there we walked to the front of the White House. We could have been a little closer – just across the street from where we were. There weren’t quite as many people on this side, though, which made picture taking a little easier. This is as close as I’ll probably ever get to tatting at the White House.

From there we headed, on foot, to the Washington Monument. That’s around the Ellipse, which is open ground, like a park, where there was a soccer game going on – they were using shoes to mark the goals. I don’t know how far it actually was, but it felt like a long way around. We were very hot by the time we crossed Constitution Ave. There are these fountains there that we took the time to let the grandsons play in. They had a lot of fun there and didn’t want to leave!

You can see the Monument in the background and how far we still had to go!

Then we walked from the monument to the National WWII Memorial. It is very beautiful with lovely fountains at the center. There is a lot of relief images on the walls going down to them. You can see past my husband to the fountains and then the Lincoln Memorial way in the distance.

That was our next destination. When walking in the heat it seems a very long way.

This is one of my daughters and her little boy looking toward the Lincoln Memorial with the Reflecting Pool behind her. And we had a lot of steps up to go before we reached Lincoln. TV and movies had not really given me the true impression of just how many steps you have to go up to get to Lincoln’s chair. It was very impressive and awe-inspiring. It was also very busy! Even in the heat there were a lot of people. One gentleman had the job of spraying a water hose into the air to let the water rain gently down on passers-by if they were interested. Most people were interested.

After we visited Lincoln we were all ready for a break. We bought frozen lemonades and took a rest in the shade. The grandsons weren’t quite sure they liked the lemonade at first, but as everyone else was having some they tried it and liked it. Here’s most of us cooling off. I took the chance to take out my shuttles so I can say I’ve tatted there. (Yes, I know it’s silly, but I did it anyway!)

To Lincoln’s left is the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. Walking along that wall can be emotional. It was one place that the visitors were very quiet. Before getting to the Wall there is a new statue that isn’t quite done yet, but you can see it through the Plexiglas. These figures are larger than life and very detailed.

South of the Wall is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. Again, these figures are larger than life and very detailed. It is a very moving memorial to the women who served in Vietnam, mostly as nurses. The standing figure is named Hope, the praying figure is Faith and the one holding the solder is Charity.

To Lincoln’s right is the Korean War Memorial. I hadn’t realized there was such a memorial, though I should have. These figures look to be moving through wet weather as they are wearing capes/ponchos over their uniforms, and carrying their equipment. All are very distinct individuals. There is a quiet pool ahead of them. The granite wall to their right has images of a lot of people, watching them silently.

I was able to capture the reflection of the walking solders in the polished surface of the wall.

I was very moved by these memorials. There were a lot of others we didn’t have time to visit this time around. I guess we’ll have to go back again sometime.