Monday, March 5, 2012

A Different Kind of Day

Many might assume that since I live a mere five miles from the nation's capital that I can often be found roaming the halls of any of the many museums found in the area.   The truth is that I spend most of my time across the river living my life in Alexandria and Arlington.  Like most people I get caught up in the daily activities of my existence and don't think too much about the artistic and cultural opportunities that are so close--which is why I love when visitors come.

Visitors arrived late yesterday afternoon, which meant we had just enough time to view the Capitol as the sun was setting.  With Mars shining brightly in the night sky we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial to stand in the shadow of the grand marble statue that is Abe.  Yes it was cold but we didn't let that stop us from walking around to the back of the building to see the eternal flame of JFK's grave light up a small section of the hillside across the Memorial Bridge.  We did a drive-by glance of Mr. Jefferson before heading back to Virginia to see the illuminated Iwo Jima Memorial.

Today we put on our tourist footwear, grabbed our cameras and headed back downtown to the Natural History Museum and National Gallery.  Seven hours of acting like a tourist was fun, educational and exhausting.  Not surprisingly, I drove back over the Potomac thinking about how I really need to get downtown more often.


4 comments:

  1. Totally agree! Glad you had a great day.

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  2. Need some more visitors? I'm sure many of us would be happy to help you out.

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  3. My husband and I visited DC many years ago . . . visiting the same memorials and museums. We LOVED the city and can't wait to go back. I live 25 min. outside of Chicago . . . same goes here! We rarely make it downtown! We'll need to make an effort because there is so much to do!

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  4. I think most people tend to get involved in daily life and don't bother with the wonderful things their city has to offer. Having visitors is a win-win.

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