Lincoln Memorial – Valerie's Voice

Week Two in Virginia

*Forgive me if this comes to your email twice. I tried publishing this at 6:30 am but it hasn’t gone through so I recreated the post and am trying it again.*

Continuing a photo journal of our adventures from week two, visiting family, in Arlington, Virginia (showing one to three…photos a day).

The impressive nave and chancel of the National Cathedral. It filled up for the advent service.

Sunday, November 30, was the first Sunday of Advent, and it was a special one. We went to an advent service in the Washington National Cathedral.

Heavenly voice and Bible readings filled the spectacular cathedral, and made for a memorable event.

Gary and I decided to take an overnight trip up to Pennsylvania to visit Gary’s family. His hometown is only about three hours away from where we were staying in Virginia, so we got up early Monday morning and drove to Pennsylvania for an over night visit.

One perspective of the farm where Gary grew up, in Pennsylvania.

We stopped at his younger sister’s farm for a visit. Then, we drove to the farm where Gary grew up. The friendly Mennonite folks who live there invited us in for a chat. They are lovely people.

Another perspective of the farm…this is the field where one of my favorite pictures was taken of our two young boys running in the field.

Later that evening, a lot of family members joined us for a dinner out, even though it was last minute.

We decided to drive back Tuesday morning, forgoing another farm visit to Gary’s other sister’s farm, simply because it was snowing and slick driving conditions. But we were grateful to be able to take this time to reconnect…our short stay was very enjoyable.

On Wednesday we ran errands and did some laundry and just hung out. Zoey and I made enchiladas for dinner.

We were ready again on Thursday to take the Metro into the city. The Metro is such a great system. We stopped at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, honoring the 34th U.S. President, on our way to the United States Botanic Garden.

The Lincoln Memorial model made of plant parts.

There was plenty to see indoors with special December exhibits: models of DC landmarks made from plant parts, and thousands of poinsettias were placed in groups all around the gardens.

A lovely display of pink/white poinsettias…I don’t think I’ve seen this sweet color of poinsettias before.

Next, we walked to the White House to check out the new ballroom construction, but we couldn’t see a thing.

After school the kids helped us count the miscellaneous coins the family had accumulated over the year. The bank said the coins had to be counted and put in wrappers. It turned out to be a fun project…and profitable.

Fun looking at and counting all the coins, and finding several foreign coins in the mix.

We went up to the rooftop to observe December’s full moon, Thursday December 4.

Lunch on Friday was in DuPont Circle. We met friends who were former neighbors in Northfield for many years. They moved to the DC area a few years ago.

We had a lovely lunch with our friends from Minnesota.

We arranged to meet at a restaurant along the Metro line so both parties could just hop on the Metro. We had a great time. As we walked back to the Metro station we stopped at a pop-up Christmas Market which was fun to peruse. There was leftover dusting of snow on trees and roses… it felt “Christmassy.”

Still swinging on the playground. The previous dusting of snow melted.

Zoey had Portuguese lessons again on Saturday. We went on another pleasurable walk with Ezra. Mid-afternoon we walked to a park near their apartment. The kids still enjoy play grounds. We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home. It’s never too cold for ice cream.

The National Mall, Day 1

We visited the exciting city of Washington, D.C. where there is an unlimited number of interesting things to see. We saw a fraction of them, yet we saw a lot.

First, we were visiting our son and his wife and their two children. That was the best part, and the reason for our visit to the area. They moved in January for our son’s training to become a Foreign Service Officer. It was great to see all of them. The kids were on spring break from school so, while the parents went to work during the week, we took the kids exploring.

We took two days to walk around the National Mall; the area with the reflecting pool surrounded by the domed U.S. Capital, the Whitehouse and many monuments and Smithsonian museums. We missed the peak of the famous cherry blossoms which were in full bloom one week prior to our visit. However, there were a few lingering trees in bloom near our son’s apartment.

Our first day on the Mall we began our walk past the Whitehouse.

The reflecting pool and the Washington Monument, April 2025.

Next, we walked towards the reflecting pool and the World War II Memorial, and on to the Vietnam War memorial.

Walking towards the long black marble Vietnam War Memorial, April 2025.

The Vietnam War memorial is an impressive, black marble wall with the names carved into it of all who died in the war, or from causes directly related to the war.

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial, April 2025.

Next to this memorial was the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, created to commemorate the 265,000 women that served in the Vietnam War, many of whom worked as nurses. It was significant to see because I had just finished reading Kristin Hannah’s book, The Women, a story about three nurses who served in Vietnam (a recommended read).

After a snack lunch, we walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial. This is a very impressive monument that brought tears to my eyes. We stood in awe at the looming sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, with some of his quotes carved in the marble walls that surrounded his figure. And though there were many people crowding the area, it was a very poignant moment.

We made a quick stop at the Korean War Memorial, but by now, we were tired and started our walk back to the metro station. We passed the Washington monument on our way, which we could see throughout the day, towering above us from every angle on the Mall.

These monuments and memorials are a tribute to great men and women who served in leadership positions and the United States military service. It was good to see them.

Memorable Hikes – Washington D.C. 2018

Continuing my series on memorable hikes…

After a beautiful Easter morning service that included the singing of Christ the Lord is Risen Today and hearing the Hallelujah Chorus at a church we were visiting in the D.C. area, we decided to take the train to the National Mall and walk around.

The metro system in Washington D.C. is user friendly and we hopped on the train, along with our host for the weekend, and “people watched” for thirty minutes while we enjoyed the train ride to the National Mall.

As soon as we stepped out of the metro station we saw the Washington monument standing tall. There were lots of people everywhere…and this was April…I can’t imagine the crowds during summer. We turned and looked behind us, to the East, and saw the U.S. Capitol from a distance, and then started our hike walking west toward the Washington Monument.

It was wonderful to see the cherry trees in bloom.

The day was cool but the cherry trees were in bloom and it was beautiful. We walked from memorial to memorial, beginning at the Washington Monument (built in 1848). I have been up in the Washington Monument on a prior visit, but it is currently closed for renovation until 2019. We glanced at the White House to the north as we passed it, then walked through the WW II Memorial (dedicated in 2004) on our way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (dedicated in 1982), and a Vietnam Women’s Memorial, a sculpture dedicated in 1993 for the women who served in the Vietnam war.

Next we stopped at the Lincoln Memorial (dedicated in 1922) which is a favorite of mine, and for many I believe.

A classic view of the Lincoln Memorial from one end of the Reflecting Pool.

Next we walked to the Korean War Veterans Memorial (dedicated in 1995) and then to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is a fairly new memorial dedicated in 2011, and this was the first time I saw it and it immediately became a favorite for me. The Stone of Hope is a granite sculpture out of which the carving of Dr. King emerges. The memorial covers four acres and is located on the Tidal Basin. The walls surrounding the statue are etched with several different quotes from Dr. King Jr. such as:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

At this point we were on a trajectory to see the Jefferson Memorial (dedicated in 1943) which took us past the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (dedicated in 1997), also new to me.

A view of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin.

The King, Roosevelt and Jefferson memorials are all on the Tidal Basin, off the Potomac River, surrounded by blooming cherry trees.

The cherry trees along the Tidal Basin were given as a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan in 1912.

When we started out we had no idea we would hike a total of six miles that afternoon, but it was fun to see these truly amazing memorials. There are interesting stories behind each one.

They are continually adding new memorials and museums in this area. For instance, they are planning a Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, under construction at this time, and we visited the newly opened Museum of the Bible which was very interesting.

Washington D.C. is a very unique place to visit and a fun place to hike around, and I am grateful we had the opportunity to do so in the cherry tree blooming season.

Click here to view a good map of the National Mall.