There's so much to see and do a person would need a week or two to see
it all.
Of all the memorials we visited, the Vietnam Memorial was the most
emotional. As we approached The Wall the people around us were
talking, carrying on their regular conversations and doing their
thing. As we got closer and along The Wall, it was almost silent as
everyone took in the names on The Wall. It really hit home that each
name on The Wall was a real person, someone's loved one, father,
brother, son.... It was more than just a monument representing a
period of time, it represented individual people. Loved ones left
flowers or pictures or other items along The Wall, like what is left
at gravesites in a cemetary. Uncle Pat told us that they collect
everything at the end of the day and mark where it was left along The
Wall. We took a rubbing for a friend of ours and even though we
didn't know him, it was still an emotional experience, a sobering
experience. It was impossible not to let the emotions of everyone
around us affect us.
The Korean Memorial was also different than the others. It's a wall
not to much unlike the Vietnam Wall, except instead of individual
names there are faces engraved on the wall. It's almost like ghosts
coming out of the wall from the past.
We also visited the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Monument and spent
some time at the Smithsonian. We walked for what seemed like miles.
It was a great experience. Tomorrow on the way out of town we'll stop
at Arlington Cemetary and visit the Iwo Jima Memorial.
Since leaving Baker City, we have ridden 5,046 miles, had one flat
tire and one gravelly parking lot dropped bike. Not bad. Like Jim
says - if that's the worse that happens, we're doing great.
We're heading to Long Island next - taking two days to get there.
Hopefully we'll be able to post some photos in the next few days.
We appreciate all the well wishes and prayers we've been receiving.
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