The trip was pretty special and important. I was meeting my boyfriend's mother and best friends for the first time. Both encounters went smoothly and I relished in how much Chad laughed and seemed so relaxed and himself, in their presence.But that's not what this is about. This is about Washington DC. Our nation's capital! We spent our last day in the DMV touring the National Mall which induced an unexpected emotional roller coaster. I was excited at first, admittedly, for the Instagram photo opportunities. What I was not prepared for, was the weight the momuments and the tourists surrounding them would place on me.
It was hot. Sticky. Humid. We were wet to the touch before we even got started. (Hence the frizzy hair!) There were three things I wanted to see: a museum, the WWII monument (its new-ish), and the Lincoln Memorial. What I didn't know, is that my agenda included a four mile walk one way down the National Mall. If you go, rent a bike. And go in late September when it's not so humid.
So we walked up to the Natural History Museum. This was directly across from the IRS building, so we appropriately gave the building the finger and continued on our merry way. We had to stop for a twisty cone first, because, vaction. Then meanered through 3 floors of awesome dinosaurs, gem stones and terrifying underwater creatures! There was a butterfly exhibit I wanted to see that was closed, but the Hope Diamond was there and I've never seen anything so big, and almost fake looking. Beautiful though! The air conditioning was a nice break, but unfortunately, the free museum closed at 5;30. So our walk began...toward the Washington Monument. The tallest feature in the city.
As my boyfriend has walked these museums and these monuments countless times, he shared stories and fun conspiracy theories of earthquakes in West Virginia that could have been nuclear bomb testing, and explained why the monument was two-toned!
We strolled down toward the WWII memorial and I saw The White House to our right. Looking at the pictures again, the flags are all at half-staff, because we were mourning Sen. John McCain. We were not in town for the massive brigade and funeral, but I did feel a deep sense of pride the rest of the walk in our country despite what is happening inside the White House and the media frenzy surrounding it. (Notice all the people outside the gates!)
Next up, was the WWII Monument. Massive! It took up an entire city block. You could stick your feet in the water and watch the fountain spray back and forth while you take in the 56 pillars that represent the 48 states at the time and 8 territories. I didn't anticipate sitting there watching so many people with their feet in the water feeling disrepected on behalf of the soldiers who went to battle. I didn't expect to feel angry it took us so long to make this tribute to those soldiers and their families. I also didn't expect to feel united with all the people that suffered having to watch their loved ones leaved for battle. Because as this Colonel said, "This was a people's war. And everyone was in it."
Down the reflection pool we go. I now know why they call it that, because not only does it beautiflly refect the monuments, but its a good long walk to think about all the mosquitos. No, just kidding, it was a wonderful walk discussing with my boyfriend why white was the chosen color for the city. Why Martin Luther King's memorial was so small in comparison (maybe because he wasn't a president?) And how shockingly it felt like I was in an episode of House Of Cards.
The Lincoln Memorial must have been the hot touristy spot because it was littered with people. But as you walk through the crowd to climb the slippery marble steps, not one person was speaking English. It was like being in a foriegn Disneyland but I couldn't understand anything.
I felt naive and confused. Was there a test for citizenship and Lincoln held the answer? Were our immigrant brothers and sisters more interested in this country than those born here? The Lincoln Memorial was huge and a bit overwhelming. An important president, for sure. I felt mostly annoyed because people were a bit pushy to get their Instagram worthy photos. So we didn't stay long. The view was incredible, though!
I thought that was going to be the end of the walk, and we'd begin to hike back toward the car. However, Chad took me through the Vietnam memorial, and I didn't expect to tear up. The wall had the name of every American soldier that died, in order, on a surface that reflected...you. So it was like you could see yourself in every person that died. Only eight names were those of women. There was a wreath in the very center decorated with flowers, and around it, were police badges, cards and candles. The mood was quiet and surreal and I can't even write this without tearing up. There are over 58,000 names on that wall. There is a special book you can look up a relative or friends name, and find out what panel it is on. (I think this one just hit a little close to home because Chad and I had just watched Platoon, the Charlie Sheen film written by Oliver Stone...Stone wrote it based on his experience in Vietnam. The movie was terrifying, eye opening and heart breaking all at the same time because the soldiers saw some gnarly shit in war, and then came "home" to some just as gnarly bull-shit)We had a comedy show to perform in that night, so we skiddadled back to the car. On the way out,
Chad detoured so we could go see the famous Ford Theater. It was closed, but appeared like you could go inside and take a tour to see where our 16th president was assassinated. Chad said "Now we've seen where two presidents have been shot," referring to our earlier trip to Dallas this year.
I laughed and said "Is that our thing? We go see where presidents are shot?" "Well, there were only two, so I guess we're done with that." It was just the laugh I needed.
History is pretty remarkable when you get to see it and experience it. Plus, it's so much different in context as an adult when you can think and feel for yourself. My takeaway? Despite how dark some moments of our US history have been, I'm proud of us. I'm excited to be an American. And I think that we can continue to grow and own up to our mistakes and shine. America. Fuck yeah.
