Time traveling

D.C. War Memorial, Washington, D.C. (Memorial honoring the 26,000 D.C. citizens who served in World War I.)

Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space.  If you can bend space you can bend time also, and if you knew enough and could move faster than light you could travel backward in time and exist in two places at once.

~ Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye

Looking up. (In the D.C. War Memorial.)

We can’t physically travel through time, but I can take you back to our D.C. trip by traveling back through the archives.  This period of being off of my feet has created time for me to do something I should be doing on a regular basis.  Organizing.  My photo files are a mess, and it’s been over a year since I did a secondary back-up.  My primary back-up is on an external hard drive.  My secondary involves burning everything to DVD, a time-consuming task.  Organizing and backing up my images is on my Master List of Things to Do This Year.  Isn’t it convenient, and wonderful, that Life has handed me both time and opportunity to get it done?

Looking back (at the D.C. War Memorial).

During our last trip back through time and the archives, we left off at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (see Love Harmonizes).  The next memorial we came upon was the D.C. War Memorial.  This was my first visit to the D.C. War Memorial.

The names of the men and women from the District of Columbia who gave their lives in the World War are here inscribed as a perpetual record of their patriotic service to their country. Those who fell and those who survived have given to this and to future generations an example of high idealism courageous sacrifice and gallant achievement – D.C. War Memorial Inscription

I bet it looks really pretty when the trees are leafed out in the spring and summer, and with the colors of the fall foliage in the autumn.

On our way to the Lincoln Memorial.

We didn’t stay long at the D.C. War Memorial.  We were on our way to the Lincoln Memorial, something my oldest granddaughter, Emma, really wanted to see.

Passing by the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

I would like to have stopped at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.  I’ve been there before, but for some reason I don’t have many photos of it.  The statues, to me, look ghostly.  There are 19 of them, larger than life (around 7 feet 3 inches), and I think the girls would have been fascinated by them while learning a little history.  We had already done so much walking by that time, and it was nearing the lunch hour (which would involve a lot more walking to get to a restaurant) so we decided to skip the Korean War Veterans Memorial this time around.

Going up.

There are 57 steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial.  It looks like more than that, doesn’t it?  While we climb up, I will tell you a story about Maddy (my youngest granddaughter).  She might not appreciate the telling of this story so let’s keep it between us, shall we?

Dizzying.

As we were approaching the Lincoln Memorial, Maddy had a seat on a bench and declared that she didn’t want to go to the Lincoln Memorial.  It took me a while to figure out the why of it because Maddy was shy about the reason.

Looking out over the National Mall from the top of the steps.

You see, Emma and Maddy had recently seen the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.  (You can watch the trailer here if you’re unfamiliar with it.)  In the film, the statue of Abraham Lincoln comes to life.  (If you watcher the trailer, you’ll see Lincoln get up and leave his seat about two minutes into it.)  Maddy was afraid that might happen while we were visiting the memorial.  It took a few minutes to convince her that the statue of Lincoln wasn’t going to move, get up, or go anywhere.  Mostly it was a matter of reminding her that what she saw was just a movie, something Emma thought to do.  She’s smart that way (and knows her little sister pretty well).

One more look at the National Mall before we go inside the Lincoln Memorial.

Thank goodness we were right!  I don’t know what I would have done if that statue had come to life.  Maddy would never have trusted any of us again.

The famous statue.

If I were a little girl (or boy), I might find the statue intimidating even without having seen the movie.  Even as an adult, I feel like old Abe was looming over me.

A side view.

I’m not sure if this is true, but judging by the number of people always milling about whenever I’ve visited the Lincoln Memorial, it seems to be one of the most popular memorials on the National Mall.

Just to give you a sense of scale.

It is time for us to leave the Lincoln Memorial and Washington, D.C. for now.  Our next stop, when I get around to it, will be the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the White House.  Or at least a glimpse of the White House.  I might resurrect Thursday Travels (something I used to do on my old blog, Life in the Bogs).  I still have travel photos from years ago that I haven’t shared (Maine, anyone?).

Turning heads. (Leaving the Lincoln Memorial.)

Thanks for dropping in today.  It’s currently snowing here at the Wabi-Sabi Ranch.  So far, it’s not sticking.  Nonetheless, I’m excited to see it, and I’m hoping that eventually it will stick and accumulate so I can go out and play in it tomorrow.  There’s no point in heading out to the dock or the Point for sunset since we won’t be able to see anything except clouds and snowflakes.  (Yay, snowflakes!)

I know my friends up north are not excited to see this, but I am.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Today’s joys:  Snow!!!; my wellies because they keep my feet warm and dry (we’ve had so much rain that it’s boggy out there); garden thoughts and planning; seed catalogs arriving in the mail; watching the tide go out.