It's really mind boggling to think of all we did today from the Gettysburg Battle grounds to the Smithsonian Museums to the Memorials dedicated to Vietnam Veterans, Korean Veterans and our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. And I failed to include the Einstein Memorial.
The magnitude of Gettysburg Battle Grounds blew me away as we seemed to pass a monument every 1/2 mile. We learned that over 50,00 soldiers were killed during the three day battle and those losing their life during those 3 days ranged in age from 7 to 88. The guide did have quite a sense of humor and was quite knowledgeable of the battle. Back at the Smithsonian's, the Natural History Museum had quite a mammal exhibit and the dinosaur exhibit wasn't half bad either. We managed to sneed a peek at the Hope Diamond but Paul was rather disappointed that the insect exhibit was not open. We slipped into the National Museum of Art for a few minutes and that was interesting as there were quite a variety of pieces. A bus delay provided an opportunity to walk to Union Station and get our first close encounter with the Capitol. The sun was setting behind the Washington Memorial providing yet more photo ops. The Vietnam and Korean memorial were very moving as we thought about the sacrifice those young men made so we can continue to enjoy our freedoms we sometimes take for granted. The Lincoln Memorial is one that we are all familiar with but as they say "pictures don't do it justice."
Jonathan K. Uncle Jon to Paul
