Night Tour of the DC Monuments

I'm in the DC Metro area this week teaching a class at the U.S. Census Bureau and on Gretchen's suggestion, I signed up for a night tour of the monuments to make sure I did take a break and have some fun while out in our nation's capital.  I signed up for the Washington DC After Dark Wonder Tour and Tunde was our tour guide for our small group of 11.  I have been to DC many times before, but despite Gretchen telling me that we saw the Iwo Jima Memorial (formally known at the Marine Corps War Memorial) together years ago, I simply cannot remember seeing it and it was the deciding factor for me to plop down some money for this outing.

We started last night's tour by visiting the Capital.  Yes, it is summer so our "night tour" actually started before the sun went down. 

We drove by the Washington Monument instead of stopping, but you can see this 555-foot marble obelisk from just about everywhere in DC.  It makes it relatively easy to "right yourself" whenever you are a bit spatially confused.  

Our next stop was to my favorite monument; the Jefferson Memorial.  A solid American for sure and a BEAUTIFUL monument.

Here is the big guy himself.  If you cannot read the quote behind him, check out quote.JPG (a man after my own "progressive" heart & mind).

We then visited the MLK, Jr Memorial which was a treat for me as it was my first time to see this monument.  An inspiring sight for a man who inspired so many then, and now.

The detail and craftsmanship are very impressive.

When then walked among the soldiers at the Korean War Veterans Memorial and yes, the sun was finally starting to give out on us.

The natural next stop was the Lincoln Memorial which was very cool to visit at night.  Here's a shout-out to Georgia; my adopted home.

For those that know their way around the National Mall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is up next.

So many names...  If you have not been there, you will be amazed how long this wall is and how small the names are.  Never forget!!

Speaking of humongous loss of life, the WWII Memorial was long overdue and I for one am grateful it was constructed.  It is another great reminder to Never Forget.

We then meandered over to the White House; or Casablanca as Tunde referred to it.  You might have thought I would be reflecting at that time on the state of America and the recent polarizing presidential election, but I was missing my son.  The young boys in our tour group forced memories of the "boys trip" Connor and I took years ago to the front of my mind.  I am even getting sappy thinking about that right now as I type this.  I love my young man and am glad we have so many solid memories.  I hope as he gets older he reflects on all the good times we have had and knows in his heart how much I love him.  I am a blessed father to have TWO awesome children who I would be privileged to do ANYTHING for.

The only real bummer of the night was that because we took so long at all the other stops, we did not have enough time to make it over to the USMC Memorial.  Again, this was the real driver for me coming on the trip.  It was such a bummer that I decided at the end of today's work day to drive back out and see it.

The detail on these gigantic Marines is sharp indeed.  Speaking of sharp, how about that cool silhouette photo I took!?!? 

All in all, I'm glad I took some time out on this work trip to be a tourist.  These attractions are just the start of what DC has to offer and you could spend a week in our national capital taking it all in.  If you have not been, I highly encourage you to do so – you'll be glad you did!