Explore America Series: Washington DC

Washington DC- our capitol!  Such a vibrant and exciting city with memorials and monuments at every turn!  It was fantastic!  It was also tiring:-).  The memorials are so huge, they are quite far apart, which requires walking- lots and lots of walking!  Because we wanted to see it all, we never really stopped to have an afternoon beer and people watch.  This is something I encourage every one to do, and hope that I follow my own recommendation on our next trips.

Each Memorial represents a very specific and very emotional moment in our history.

Everyone knows about Washington DC, so further comments are not warranted.  Here is our adventure through our capitol.

Rich and Cody on the Arlington Bridge

 The Korean War Memorial!  After the Viet Nam Memorial, this is the most emotional memorial on the Mall.  Comprised of multiple statues of soldiers in rain gear slogging through Korean wetlands- the thought of these men in these horrible conditions is tearful:-(

Goofing off with the Washington Memorial

World War II Memorial

The Washington Metro is clean, efficient, and huge!

The Washington Zoo- free to get in:-)

Cody's alligator tattoo with an alligator in the background:-)

Monitor lizard!  Largest lizard on earth.  We were there when he was fed- frozen rats!

Lincoln Memoria

reflecting pool

Soldiers watching over the Viet Nam Memorial

The Viet Nam Memorial is the most tearful, with our soldiers names engraved in a reflective wall:-(

 White House!  We were able to arrange a tour of the White House through our representative Devin Nunes' office

Things prohibited when visiting the White House- 

Gardens

THE painting

The Capitol!

Helen Keller

Sakaguea

The Dome of the Capitol

The center of the Capitol

The Holocaust Museum brings the horror of the Holocaust to our hearts:-(

Jefferson Memorial- off the beaten track, but a must see

FDR Memorial

MLK Memorial

Explore America Series: Lancaster and Gettysburg Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania- I have to say, is incredibly beautiful!  The forests, the flowers, the farms- everything is so green!  We are home now, and it is hard getting used to so much brown, dry countryside!  On the other hand- the humidity was daunting!  We were always wet:-).  The local news has terms for humidity from "tolerable" to "over-bearing"  LOL.  After each morning walk, I would take my shirt off to dry- even my shorts were wet.  But the beauty was incredible!

In planning our time in Lancaster, I wanted to visit many Amish-oriented sites.  I thought a weekend would be perfect!  But if I had given it any real thought, I would have realised the Amish are a religious group, and Sunday is observed for no working.  The day I had scheduled for Amish-watching?  Sunday- LOL.  Luckily on Monday on our way to the airport, we did see Amish riding their horse and buggy's.

But what to do? Gettysburg!  National Park (another stamp for my passport:-)) and a cute town- score!  From school, I knew Abraham Lincoln gave an address there, and a civil war battle was fought.  So much more!  Turns out it was a deciding battle for the civil war because the south tried to take northern territory, and the north turned them back- through chance, not strategy.  The death toll- horrible.  Anytime I hear the word "Gettysburg" from this day forward, a tear will form in my eye- it was horrible:-(: Casualties at Gettysburg totaled 23,049 for the Union (3,155 dead, 14,529 wounded, 5,365 missing). Confederate casualties were 28,063 (3,903 dead, 18,735 injured, and 5,425 missing), more than a third of Lee's army.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg).

Lancaster town and County
Lancaster and the surrounding area is so beautiful!  On my morning walks, there were farms and farm animals just around the corner from our hotel.  We also went to a cute little town- Lititz Pensylvania, considered one of the cutest towns in America.

Lititz- cutest town!

A mural became the perfect canvas:

Gettysburg- the town is very cute and very tourist-oriented.  We spent very little time in it, as the National Park consumed most of the day.  Their website says 2 to 3 hours- we spent about 6.  First stop, the visitors center- probably one of the most extensive visitors centers we have gone to, although over=all, the National Park Service has done an outstanding job of putting together visitors centers in the National Parks.  This center is very extensive!  one of the must-see sites in the center is the film on Gettysburg- it is about 15 minutes long and tells the story, then, for a fee, the Gettysburg Cyclorama (https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/gettysburg-cyclorama.htm),  a 360 degree mural, with props creating a 3-D effect, a story is told, and areas of the cyclorama light up, showing the battles.  It is fantastic!  It really brought the battles to life! Then you are lead to a museum, which we spent about 2 hours walking through!  It talks about individuals, both officers and soldiers, living conditions, medical care they received (hint- almost none), has actual uniforms, weapons, flags, films, interviews, written materials- all about this battle and the war.

 The park itself is huge!  Memorials are placed, with explanatory plaques, at every site- more memorials than I have ever seen in one place!  You must drive it because it is so large, or take a tour.

a statue of Lincoln sitting is just outside the visitors center

Us in the cyclorama

The various cyclorama's around the world

The spot of the Gettysburg Address

The grave yard is sadly large- reminded me of Arlington in Washington DC

Each state who provided soldiers for the civil war erected statues to
 memorialize their participation.
This is Minnesota's