Washington DC Continued

On we walked until we reached the World War II memorial. Also new, dedicated in 2004, this memorial is very dramatic. It's majestic in size and overpowering in its feel. This memorial contains 12 bas-relief sculptures which recall scenes of Americans at war. There are 56 pillars representing the “Roll Call of the Nation” showing each state, territory and the District of Columbia . There is also a Freedom Wall made up of 4,000 gold stars which commemorates the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives in the war. In the middle of all of this are a series of beautiful fountains. Additionally, this memorial was constructed in perfect alignment with the Washington Monument at one end and the Lincoln Memorial at the other. You cannot visit this memorial without crying. I can't describe this memorial properly—you need to see it for yourself.

What a day and it wasn't over quite yet!!!!!!

By now it was almost 3:30pm but we decided to go to the National Gallery of Art. The National Gallery of Art was created for the people of the United States in 1937 by a Joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier, art collector, and public servant Andrew Mellon. His gift included old master paintings and sculptures and a building to house the new museum. This grand building, designed by John Russell Pope and now called the West Building , was at the time the largest marble structure in the world. On our way, we made a quick stop in the Gallery's gardens where many sculptures are situated. Priscilla stopped for a picture at a sculpture entitled…”Thinker on a Rock”—see if you can figure out which one is the thinker.

We knew that we wouldn't have much time at the Gallery but …As soon as we entered we learned that there was going to be a special tour, given by one of the docents, to describe and compare some of the Museum paintings. We immediately signed up—and there were only four other people in the tour. It was great. We learned about three different Crucifixion paintings by German and Dutch painters, we evaluated two very different portrait paintings and their artists and closed out our afternoon by reviewing two very different scene paintings!!!! We left the Gallery at closing and headed back to the boat. Right now, we're relaxing on the aft deck with cold drinks and veggies. Life is good!!!!!!

Tuesday, April 25 th

At port

Well, we're off on another day of exploration—this time we're focusing on Arlington National Cemetery . We got an early start, got on the Metro and were at the Cemetery ready to walk and walk and walk. Best known of more than one hundred national cemeteries, Arlington 's green slopes shelter veterans from every war that has involved the nation. Over 290,000 servicemen and their families rest on the 624 acres of Virginia across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial. About 24 burials are conducted every day at Arlington .

We started at the JFK grave which is actually pretty close to the Visitor Center . It's somber at the cemetery—very quiet and reserved—especially given the large crowds and tour groups. There are signs posted frequently to remind you that you're in a cemetery not a park and that silence and respect are necessary. Jackie Kennedy is buried alongside JFK as well as their unborn daughter and three day old son. The eternal flame was a bit eerie, but poignant. RFK's gravesite was close by, more conservative but equally chilling.

We found our way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is guarded at all times. We watched the changing of the guard and felt the ceremonial nature of that event.

We started back to the entrance and found our way to the gravesites of the Challenger and Columbia astronauts and the gravesite for those killed in the Iran Rescue Mission. Next to that area was the gravesite for those killed in the sinking of the USS Maine, which was sunk in Havana Harbor.

Our last stop was at the newly dedicated memorial for all women who have served and been killed in our wars. This memorial is housed in a newly constructed building on site in Arlington Cemetery and which houses a wide array of pictures, interviews, letters, and other memorabilia related to women's activities during our different wars. Also on display in the memorial is the exhibit, “Fallen Faces” which is a series of paintings and drawings of men and women killed in our most recent wars. Both the memorial and the exhibit were excellent.

Our next stop was a visit from and dinner with a dear friend from Prudential, Michael Chesman. We talked for hours, ate for hours (forget our diets) and laughed for hours. Michael's been working in Washington for the past five years and it was great to see him!!!!! He's ready to come aboard and help with the boat!!!!!

Wednesday, April 26th

At port

Today we were busy doing ‘boat' things as we get ready to leave first thing Thursday morning. I've spent ‘hours' on this website and Jean's been busy in the engine room and doing a variety of other boat ‘things. We're doing laundry, paying bills and all other kinds of mundane things. Yuck!!!!! The weather's cold and grey which makes staying inside a little more bearable.

At about 1pm we walked over to the Archives Building in order to see the three ‘Charters of Freedom—the Constitution of the United States , The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. All documents are housed in the Rotunda of the Archives building and are interesting to view. There's also a copy of the Magna Carter, the only in Western America . This was a good visit.

From here, we headed back to the national Gallery of Art since we had so little time there earlier in the week. We had a wonderful visit and were able to see quite a bit of the gallery's paintings. The Gallery has a Leonardo DaVinci painting of which we've provided a photo. Surprisingly, you can take pictures inside the museum as long as you don't use the flash attachment. This painting of a woman is oil painted on wood. This piece also happens to be two-sided. The opposite side has a painting of an olive branch and wreath. This painting was beautiful (unfortunately, we only photoed one side).

The hallways are extremely wide, made from marble and adorned with sculptures. Additionally, in the center of the building, as you enter, is a beautiful fountain, capped with a bronze statue of Mercury. This Museum is simply magnificent—you could spend years here.

One special feature of this gallery is that they allow artists to come in and paint pictures right in the gallery. Jean took this picture of an artist following exactly a Monet painting.

One other item that we liked was this huge wall mural depicting Colonel Shaw and his troops as they headed up to defend Fort Wagner , near Charleston , during the Civil War. Colonel Shaw was the Harvard-trained soldier who led the Massachusetts 54 th , one of the country's first all black troops. These soldiers, who came from many different states, enlisted shortly after Lincoln made them free men. Their story is famous as many of them died in their efforts to defend the Fort.

Lastly, if you can bear one more picture, I'd like to include one of my favorites from the Gallery. It's by a painter I've never heard of—Heade—but I absolutely loved it—it's gorgeous.

Well, what can I say—we LOVED Washington . We'd both forgotten how much this city has to offer and how rich it is in history and culture. There is So much to do and see here that you'd really need to live here to fully take advantage of everything. We think we actually did a lot and yet there's so much that we didn't get to do. We now realize that we need to visit here more frequently whether by land or by sea. Our stay has been absolutely wonderful and gave us a tremendous opportunity to reconnect with the history and glory of our country. We walked a lot, learned a lot, laughed a lot and cried a lot. Ooops, I almost forgot that we ate a lot!!!!! We're two very fortunate people!!!!!!

Our Log for April 27th to May 2nd Washington DC to Solomons, Maryland