On the Road Again

I am so glad that we decided to drive to DC rather than fly. I often forget how beautiful Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland are. Rolling hills, tidy farms and lots of trees are we saw on our trek on I70 and I68. No color yet--may be more on the way home.

We stopped at Olglebay Resort in WV to stretch our legs on Friday evening. We stopped there with the kids on a trip East years ago. It was a summer retreat/farm for the Olglebay family in the 1900. It's now home to a resort and some of the grounds have been turned into a Municiple Park (Wheeling, WV). Lovely.

Two days on the road and we made it D.C. We're staying in Alexandria and after checking in took the Metro to see some monuments. (Lincoln, Korean War, IIWW, and Vietnam) by night. It was all very moving.

The World War II monument is something to see. Pillars with the states and territories names on them (56). Garlands and wreaths and fountains. It is a magnificent monument to a magnificent sacrifice. It is also very noisy. It was full dark when we got there. The fountains were lit up. I was standing in front of a wall and the sound of the water sounded like applause. Maybe a thankyou or a thanksgiving.
As great as it was, I found that the Korean and Lincoln monuments moved me more profoundly. I felt that there was a greater feeling of context--for sure with the Lincoln memorial because two of his famous speeches were carved in the wall. The silence prompts emotions that sound doesn't. You have to be more with yourself--introspective. Even from a distance you can get a feel for Lincoln's character.

At night, the monument to the Korean War is just spooky with lifesized statues of men on patrol. Accurate down to the last detai--rifles and radios. There is a wall at this monument too. A wall of faces instead of names--sacrifices to "the forgotten war."