My cousin Clark was recently visiting, so I took him on a walk of the monuments at midnight. This is awesome for many reasons.
We continued south past the Ellipse (stopping at some statues along the way). We walked down 15th St. past the Commerce Dept. and out to the Washington Monument. From the top of the hill where the Washington Monument is you can see the Capitol building, the White House (from the other side), the Reflecting Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial (among other things).
From there we went to the WWII memorial and then down past the reflecting pool (finally refilled!) to the Lincoln Memorial. I think Clark counted 58 steps up. Did you know that the Lincoln Memorial was made to be 19 feet tall instead of the original 11 or 12 because the building was too big and it dwarfed the prototype statue? It was originally considered an eyesore - as was the Jefferson Memorial, which we saw from a distance.
By the time we got to Lincoln, our legs were feeling the burn. Some Washingtonians would say we were out of shape. Some of you who are less familiar might think we'd gone pretty far. In reality, I'd say it was about 2 miles (so far).
We asked the guard for directions to the Foggy Bottom metro. Our tour then continued heading north on 23rd St. We went past the Dept. of the Navy, the State Dept., George Washington University, and through Foggy Bottom to get to the metro.
**As a side note, on this leg of the trip a man who was lost looking for Union Station (clear on the other side of town) asked us for directions. I was proud to be able to give him simple directions AND landmarks. This is exceptional because until that point I was pretty certain we were on the wrong road to get to the metro!**
Our whole trip (including metro) was about 40 blocks, three hours, three sets of directions (two for us, one for the lost man), and three metro trains. It was gorgeous weather, a clear sky, and well-lit, tourist-free monument touring.
I'm glad Clark came to visit, because I'd never actually done that whole walk before, and it was really fun. Come visit and I'd be happy to show you around too!
Love always, ~Heather
- There are significantly fewer tourists in the middle of the night.
- Some of the monuments are easier to see or look nicer at night.
- The chances of getting hit by a car in traffic is eliminated because there is no traffic.
We continued south past the Ellipse (stopping at some statues along the way). We walked down 15th St. past the Commerce Dept. and out to the Washington Monument. From the top of the hill where the Washington Monument is you can see the Capitol building, the White House (from the other side), the Reflecting Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial (among other things).
From there we went to the WWII memorial and then down past the reflecting pool (finally refilled!) to the Lincoln Memorial. I think Clark counted 58 steps up. Did you know that the Lincoln Memorial was made to be 19 feet tall instead of the original 11 or 12 because the building was too big and it dwarfed the prototype statue? It was originally considered an eyesore - as was the Jefferson Memorial, which we saw from a distance.
By the time we got to Lincoln, our legs were feeling the burn. Some Washingtonians would say we were out of shape. Some of you who are less familiar might think we'd gone pretty far. In reality, I'd say it was about 2 miles (so far).
We asked the guard for directions to the Foggy Bottom metro. Our tour then continued heading north on 23rd St. We went past the Dept. of the Navy, the State Dept., George Washington University, and through Foggy Bottom to get to the metro.
**As a side note, on this leg of the trip a man who was lost looking for Union Station (clear on the other side of town) asked us for directions. I was proud to be able to give him simple directions AND landmarks. This is exceptional because until that point I was pretty certain we were on the wrong road to get to the metro!**
Our whole trip (including metro) was about 40 blocks, three hours, three sets of directions (two for us, one for the lost man), and three metro trains. It was gorgeous weather, a clear sky, and well-lit, tourist-free monument touring.
I'm glad Clark came to visit, because I'd never actually done that whole walk before, and it was really fun. Come visit and I'd be happy to show you around too!
Love always, ~Heather
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