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Ocracoke, New Folks and a Hot Idea

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The morning started out with a light misty rain which would continue most of the day but the day would end with some new sights and meeting some new people.

We started out with Breakfast at the Hatteras Island Inn and decided to head for Ocracoke. We wanted to do some shopping and look around some in the village where we hadn’t before.

We arrived at the ferry dock at about 20 past the hour, not sure what the schedule was today since we had watched the crossings on Friday being more frequent than the advertised on the hour sailings. As it turned out, they are still on the hour but will put a second boat in service when the need makes itself known. We were to ride the Croatoan, one of the newer, larger ferries with the portion of the deck that’s covered. Sharing the ride with us were some of the folks who are in town for Bike Week in the OBX, the motorcycle kind.


The ferry was to be packed. The motorcycles were not all one big group when they got on but when the crew saw the second contingent of bikes, they had two of the cars back out from under the cover to allow all the motorcycles to be sheltered. Sure it took a few extra minutes but it demonstrates putting your guests’ comfort first with just a little extra effort. Good show!

When we arrived on Ocracoke Island, the rain continued and the line stretched from the dock around the curve, past the visitor parking area. A significant part of the line was motorcycles and their riders waiting in the rain. Well, truth be told, a significant part of the line was motorcycles and their drivers as their passengers stood under the shelter out of the rain. I heard one of the riders relating how she had asked about the priority system which allows residents to jump to the head of the line and why those folks riding motorcycles in the rain didn’t qualify as priority. The story was told with some good nature so let’s give credit. Of course, she hadn’t yet gotten to experience the ferry crew making a space under the cover for the motorcycles and their riders.

We stopped at Howard’s for lunch as per usual, along with many many motorcyclists. Although we usually chow down hearty, we decided to go a bit lighter this time and got a “small” pizza. Small wasn’t especially and their crusts are thick so it filled more than we expected. It was tasty as Howard’s food usually is.

We next went into town to shop at Mermaid’s Folly which seems to be the only place we can find a particular maker of skirt but they had none in the right size this time.

Our next stop was a ride out to the beach and to see the area around the South Point. Plenty of strings and signs and a few fisherman were braving the rain. The rough waters didn’t seem to be helping them at all. We turned and headed north to what I believe may be the only place in the entire Recreation Area where you can ride from one ramp to the next on the beach, that being between ramps 70 and 72. The beach was blocked just north of 70. Cruising up the highway later, it appeared you might be able to enter and exit at ramp 67 as well but you wouldn’t be able to get to the next ramp. Supposedly, under the new ORV plan, the Park Service may add a few ramps to allow some spots where you can enter through one ramp and exit at the next one instead of doubling the traffic as you enter then backtrack to the same point to exit. Time will tell, I guess.

We went back into the village to see some of the backstreets. We went past the school, several inns and shops but none that seemed worth a special stop. So it was back to the ferry and ride over to Hatteras again.

We swung by the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum which was about to close so we skipped i(hours are 10-4, Monday through Saturday). Next we decided to try again to find the Ramp 55 wreck. Per the latitude and longitude coordinates, we sat on top of the spot but saw nothing.

Net we drove out the pole road and reached the soundside where it became clear how close the channel has shifted to shore. Repeated dredging when you can’t/don’t move the sand any significant distance just doesn’t hold long.

Back to the Hatteras Island Inn and gave a call to Rob Schonk. We had been trying to get together for a face-tot-face this weekend and finally managed to join he and his wife Linda for dinner at the Atlantic Coast Cafe in Avon. Betty had the grilled shrimp and Keith had the special which was crab cake, coconut shrimp and herbed mahi-mahi. We think this may qualify as the best meal we’ve had so far this trip.

After dinner, we horned in on an invitation to meet JAM and some of the folks from the OBC forums at JAM’s place. As I’m horrible with names, I won’t try to name all the folks we met there but will speak highly of the great hospitality and some interesting folks. We are appreciative both for the hospitality and the invite.

Keith was particularly taken by the bonfire keg which is a stainless steel keg which has had one end removed and vent holes. Very efficient burner and clever idea. Conveniently its also sized right for the grill and lid from a weber. Keith is now on the search for a stainless steel keg for himself.

Considerable discussion of life on Hatteras Island and the ongoing issues with the NPS including the Congressional hearings relative to HR 4094 and a companion bill in the Senate.

Then it was back to the hotel to settle in for the evening.

A Different Beach and An Anniversary

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Thursday April 26 found us traveling around Currituck County and Corolla at the northern end of the Outer Banks. It also marked the occasion of our 32nd wedding anniversary. Congratulations to us!

We were staying at the Hampton Inn in Corolla. It’s located beachfront and we were in a “partial view” room. Partial view means you are on the side of the building. Currently, Hampton Inn has vacant land on both sides so it’s really a pretty good view of undeveloped Outer Banks with low scrub growth, the dune line and the water. Since the National Audubon Society decided (after years of paying the lower conservation area tax rate) that the land donated to them had no value as conservation, they decided a couple of years ago to sell it off for future development and $25 million. Seems a little underhanded to me as they were suing to shut down public access to much of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area just 20-30 miles south but there was apparently nothing illegal about the transaction. The development called Pine Island will fill in the area to the north and south of the Hampton soon as construction is currently underway.

After breakfast, we decided to head to the beach for a walk. The Hampton has a boardwalk over the dunes and we headed that way then north along the shore. It was a glorious day. We appreciated our jackets and met another couple walking along the shore. We continued as far the first few houses. Individual homes had boardwalks over the dune line. As the wind moves the sand, the boardwalks get covered and homeowners build new ones, sometimes on top of the old one! It makes for an interesting sight with the double decker boardwalk with the lower level being only a few feet below the new one.

In our investigations, we had discovered there was another shipwreck sometimes visible next to the dune line in Corolla. Since our adventures last year, we have sort of “gotten into” finding the wrecks on the Outer Banks. With the shifts in sand due to the storms and just routine erosion by wind and water, what’s visible today may be buried tomorrow and vice versa.

Armed with an address for the house in front of the wreckage, we drove to Corolla where the Metropolis site is marked with an historic marker alongside Hwy. 12. We also discovered that Corolla has no on street parking. It looked like we would park n the shopping center and walk the half mile to the beach but we discovered a public access (including vehicle) at the end of the street. Carefully reading the sign, we discover that Currituck County allows driving on the beach from October 1 to April 30! Score! We drive the truck over the ramp to discover the beach is pretty much hard pack, similar to the beach at Daytona. While I wouldn’t recommend it in 2wd, it’s potentially doable.

The description we’d seen of the Metropolis indicated it was visible depending on the tides, erosion and the amount of digging the kids (primarily) had done on the beach and sometimes gave off the aroma of turpentine (pine). From the marker, we learned it was a steamer that had wrecked in 1878 and lost 85 lives. As a result of the tragedy, changes were made in the Coast Guard policies regarding beach rescue. We walked around a bit and took a few pictures and decided to drive along and see what the beaches there were like.

The hard pack continued north all the way to the fence which separates the “4wd area” at the north edge of Corolla. The fence is primarily to keep the wild ponies out of town. There is a walk through gate (unlocked) with enough of a turn to keep the horses from walking through. There is a also a drive through gate which is locked and limited to “authorized vehicles” only. We took a couple of pictures and headed back south. The beach was pretty sparsely populated. We did see one or two other vehicles with a fisherman and all his gear and some tracks from earlier in the day. We headed back south just a short distance to the first off ramp which came out by the Corolla Lighthouse and turned north into the 4wd area.

The local news is abuzz with the Currituck County Commission considering adding a fee for a permit for the 4wd area beaches. In the past year, the tour companies which conduct the wild horse tours getting attention due to the amount of traffic they generate in the residential areas as well as a number fo folks not giving the horses the distance the rules require. On past trips, we had seen a few of the horses but always back behind the dunes in the residential areas. On this trip, we saw the horse on the beach. We were seeing more horses than we ever had seen anywhere and they were all on the beach. By the time we had gone north to the Virginia state line and back, we counted 44! For the most part, they were in groups of 5 or 6 but there was one by itself. We just couldn’t believe it. 44 horses sighted over a period of around two hours!

The one horse by itself was at the foot of the dunes and eating the sea oat plants. I guess this is near the embodiment of the question: What am I supposed to do if I see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? Neither comes under the category of endangered but both are protected.

One group of 3 or 4 were in the dunes next to another discovery for us, a life saving station! We had visited several on the Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands but not one that far north. It turns out that this one, Wash Woods, had been in service until the 1950s and was restored in 1999. It is currently in use as the Twiddy Real Estate office for the area. Parked outside was a neat bus that had been restored as well for touring the 4wd area.

As we came off the beach, we were in search of the deli where we had those terrific sandwiches on an earlier trip with friends Donna and Mike. We found the building but it was obviously in the process of changing tenants. Across the parking lot was the OBX Deli and Cheesesteaks which we hoped was the same establishment in a new location. As it turned out, it was another new business with a phenomenal selection of fudge and other candies but the deli sandwich was nothing special. It was good but disappointing after psyching ourselves up for the other place.

After lunch, we ventured over to the shops around the lighthouse for a couple of souvenirs and then went back onto the beach to see where we came out if we headed south. We continued south past the Hampton and the houses of Pine Island. Just offshore, maybe 20 years, we discovered a previously unknown to us piece of wreckage sticking up out of the water. There were three pieces to it, 2 looked as if they could have been most anything, but the third was definitely machinery. It was shaped somewhat like an engine connecting rod (its the part that moves up and down and transmits the rotational motion of an engine’s crankshaft to up and down motion of a piston). I did a little internet research afterwards and found another reference to its existence but no help with identification. A gentleman walking along the beach also pointed out that there was a piece of wood further along the beach that could easily be wreckage as well. So we continued along to find a strong straight piece of wood with the rusty iron spikes common to the wrecks to be found in this area.

We continued along into Duck. The beaches in Duck are also open to drive but there is no public access from the town. It appears the only accesses are on private property or from the beach, as we entered and exited. As we got into Duck, the sand was softer and I was beginning to regret not lowering the tire pressure more when we had entered the beach. The beach also was getting narrower as it got softer so we turned around within sight of the Research Pier.

We traveled back north and exited the beach where we had entered in Corolla. We treated the truck to a full tank and went back to the hotel with plans for dinner at the Rt. 12 Steak and Seafood. As we were standing outside the doors, we ran into one of those fellows who is able to see the virtually invisible mark our family carries that apparently says “Talk to me”. He proceeded to share that business in America should be conducted more standing by the tailgate of a pickup truck than in an office or over the exchange of documents. After telling us how he had just worked out the details of the plumbing for his construction there, he launched into his political leanings and his opinion of the current occupant of the White House. Not generally a conversation one gets into with someone you just saw (but haven’t yet met) but apparently it worked for him.

Dinner was Shrimp Aristotle and Broiled shrimp. The Shrimp Aristotle was a combination of a cheesy garlic sauce with olives and was quite tasty. The broiled shrimp also pleased the palate. The vegetable medley (green beans, tomato and carrots) was just a bit too close to raw for our tastes but complemented the meal well. After dinner, we walked the shops which were mostly closed and then headed back to the Hampton and eventually to bed where the day’s activities in the sunshine and fresh air lead to a peaceful sleep.

Important numbers from today:
44 horses
32 years
3 new to us shipwrecks
1 new life saving station.
1 new beach where we could ride and enjoy the sights.

 

Friends Playing Tourists: Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (Part 4)

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The Uno Championship was complete and bragging rights go to the visiting team. The cranberry juice was getting low and thoughts of work and paychecks led Russ to pack his truck and head for home on Sunday morning.  Steve checked Mass times and got a ride to services. After church, we stopped by Taco Bell for lunch (it was Sunday, Chick-Fil-A was closed ;)) When he got back we made plans to head for today’s destination, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. 

In making our preparations, we called Ryan to join us. She agreed to meet us there with her friend, Steve. After circling like vultures for a couple of rounds, we managed to find on-street parking on Constitution Avenue and so entered through the older entrance.

The Museum of Natural History is probably best-known for the Hope diamond, the dinosaurs, and the mastadon. We saw all those things…and then some. In center court, the display includes the mastadon.

Next we went into the geology and fossils section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although our pictures didn’t turn out so well, there was an extensive exhibit on the Chilean Miners’ rescue. You can see more of it at this link. Steve and Keith agreed that mining should not be our profession as our bulk would not fit into the rescue capsule.

An unusual exhibit for the Smithsonian is an exhibit called Butterfly Garden. It includes a walk through garden where you can mix and mingle with the butterflies. There’s more at the link.

Steve made a quick run into the Skeletons and Mummies Exhibit. 

We met up in the mammals exhibit before a stop at the gift shops on the way out just before closing time.

Following our afternoon at the museum, dinner was in order. We decided to try the Burmese fare at Mandalay in Silver Spring. Burmese was a new experience for us although Ryan and Steve had eaten there before. It was quite tasty and the service was good with reasonable pricing and only a short wait for our party of five.

Our long weekend with friends was drawing to a close. We settled in at home for the evening without Uno or cranberry juice.

Monday morning was a slightly earlier rising but we did manage to sleep in. Monday brought us to breakfast and then to ferry Steve toward the airport and back home.

It was a great weekend with great friends. We had played tourist and played cards and built a few more memories. When do we get to do it again?

Friends Playing Tourists: Exploring Baltimore (Part 3)

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Saturday found us turning our sights toward Baltimore, Maryland’s largest (and perhaps best known) city. After furthering the world championship of Uno and consuming significant quantities of cranberry juice (with just the slightest hint of Cape Codder fixings), our morning got started around 10. Our quest for the day included Fort McHenry, the Zappa bust and the Baltimore Basilica.

This year, Maryland will be celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812 (as evidenced by our current car tags as much as anything else). Following the Battle of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key observed the Flag (15 stars and 15 stripes at the time) being flown over Fort McHenry from his vantage point in Baltimore Harbor and penned the words to The Defence of Fort McHenry which would become our Star Spangled Banner. An interesting piece of info is that the tune was that of an old drinking song.

 

The original tune was “To Anacreon in Heaven,” an English drinking song written by John Stafford Smith with words by Ralph Tomlinson, Esq.  According to tradition it was first “sung at the Crown Anchor Tavern in the Strand, circa 1780.” Tomlinson was president of the Anacreontic Society, a gentlemen’s club popular with upscale London boozers. Anacreon (563-478 B.C.) was a Greek poet known for his songs of wine and women.

Copyrights were a different issue in those days.

Key was a Washington lawyer. He was onboard a British truce ship attempting to negotiate the release of a civilian friend of his who had been captured. While onboard, Key’s delegation learned of plans to launch the attack on Baltimore. He was detained onboard to protect the plans. Thus he witnessed the dawn’s breaking from the ship and saw the over-sized American flag which was raised at first light.

The Americans were under the command of Brevet Lt. Col. George Armistead and  did suffer casualties, amounting to four killed and 24 wounded.

The War of 1812 came about largely because of an ongoing tussle between the French and the English for control of the seas. The very young United States wasn’t really a player in that tussle but suffered on-going collateral damage as the English and French were constantly trying to disrupt the others’ supply lines. Along the way, American sailors were conscripted into service on foreign-flagged ships. Eventually, having had enough, President James Madison requested a declaration of war against the British.

Other events in the War that may stand out in your mind include the Battle of New Orleans (In 1814 we took a little trip, along with Colonel Jackson down the Mighty Mississipp’, remember Johnny Horton?) and the burning of Washington by the British and moving of the capital to Brookeville Maryland for the day.  The Americans had designs on removing the British from Canada as well but that wasn’t to be.

Our tour guide was an historian with the National Park Service. It was obvious that the man enjoyed his job! Our tour included the facts and enough drama and humor to make his presentation particularly memorable.

The fort is positioned at the mouth of the Baltimore Harbor at the convergence of the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay.  Although the count of hits vs. misses show that much of the “rockets’ red glare” was visual effects. Cannon fire from the fort was designed to skip across the water and penetrate the hull near the waterline where the red hot cannonball was likely to start a fire and lead to the loss of the ship.

The fort is of the five-pointed star design with a dry moat around it which could be used as cover by musket men to fend off a land attack should an invading naval attack make it to shore. The fort was active until 1925 when it became a National Park. In 1939, it was designated a National Monument and Historic Shrine. It was also used as a Coast Guard base during World War II.

The Fort contains several buildings which served as officer and enlisted quarters, a brig and an ammunition store. Exhibits depict these uses as well as artifacts from the fort’s life.

The flagpole which supports the flag is two-pieces, much as a ship’s mast would be. This was apparently fairly common design for forts of this era. There was also an exhibit showing how the flagpole is anchored and a display of the original flagpole anchor.

There is a newly-constructed visitor center which contains the obligatory gift shop and a series of exhibits on the War of 1812 and the Star Spangled Banner. The audio-visual presentation is entertaining and has a quite dramatic ending with a view of the soaring and (on the day we were there) brightly sunlit view.

We made the requisite stop at the Gift Shop both to do our part to support the operations plus we needed to get a few things (postcard, shotglasses and a DVD featuring history and our favorite Park historian).

  A big commemorative celebration with tall sailing ships and fireworks and enough pomp and circumstance to be worthy of the occasion is planned to begin June 18, 2012.  Sounds like quite the party.

All this fresh air and exercise of climbing around the fort worked up our appetites. The suggestion was put forward to find some lunch, or considering the hour, maybe an early dinner and noodles were requested for the menu. Sounds like its time to find Baltimore’s Little Italy!

Bridge construction had the most direct route blocked so we wound our way back out to 95 and then on to circle the Inner Harbor.

  We headed to Little Italy with no particular restaurant in mind (as we’d never been there before) and cruised until we found a parking spot on High Street, conveniently in front of the door at Amicci’s. After perusing the choices, we decided that Amicci’s to be our choice.

Seated quickly, we ordered drinks and calimari as an appetizer. Our dinner choices included pasta dishes including mussels and chicken marsala. All our choices were tasty, served promptly and attractively. Amicci’s was a good choice. Happenstance was in our favor.

By the time we had finished our meal, it was nearing dark so we continued on to find the bust of Frank Zappa.

The bust of Frank Zappa was a gift to the city of Baltimore to honor a native son and matches another bust in Vilnius Lithuania. It was of particular interest to Steve as he had seen the matching bust during his travels in Lithuania. Finding it is a bit more of a trick. We were aware it was outside the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. There are at least 3 Enoch Pratt libraries in Baltimore! It seems Enoch Pratt was a friend of Andrew Carnegie and also a successful businessman and philanthropist. The Zappa bust is located at the Southeast Anchor Branch on Eastern Avenue and was celebrated by the city with Frank Zappa Day when it was unveiled on September 19, 2010.

This picture is getting shared as I'm trying to figure exactly what happened. A slow shutter speed accounts for the light trails but the center shows a relatively clear face of the bronze Zappa bust.

We still had hoped to make one more site in travels around Baltimore but we weren’t sure we had time to make it. America’s First Basilica is in Baltimore. It usually closes at 6:00 and we were past that BUT on Saturday evening, the church is open for Evening Mass. Mass brings parishioners and parking was at a premium so we dropped Steve and Russ by the door and went to circle the block. Second time around we found a spot as Mass was letting out.

It’s a beautiful building and the night lighting shows it off dramatically. The Baltimore Basilica, built from 1806-1821, was closed from April 2004 until November 2006, for a major restoration to return the church to its original design, as envisioned by America’s first bishop, John Carroll, and as planned by renowned architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The Basilica reopened with much fanfare and celebration, just in time to commemorate her 200th Anniversary. Within the first year of reopening, over 200,000 visitors were welcomed from all over the world, to walk through history, rejoice in faith, and admire the Basilica’s stunning architecture and artwork. The Basilica is also one of Baltimore’s beloved cultural institutions, offering educational tours daily, as well as hosting uplifting concerts and informative lectures.

It had been a full day and the Uno cards were calling. We drove past Camden Yards and back to Germantown for some more serious socializing.

 

 

 

Friends Playing Tourists in DC: A Tribute to Our Military Heroes (Part 2.2)

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From the Declaration monument, we made our way to one of the newer and more well-known memorials, the World War II Memorial. It is both striking in its design (even with the water drained for the cold weather as it is now) and awe-inspiring in its sobriety. It is also very popular at all times of year.

The World War II Memorial honors the service of sixteen million members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, the support of countless millions on the home front, and the ultimate sacrifice of 405,399 Americans.  On May 29, 2004, a four-day “grand reunion” of veterans on the National Mall culminated in the dedication of this tribute to the legacy of “The Greatest Generation.” See more at the official website.

It is situated between the Washington and Lincoln adjacent to the Reflecting Pool. This was the first time that Steve and Russ had been to see it.

The Memorial includes granite columns for each of the states, districts and territories that sent their sons and daughters to fight.

Connecting the granite columns are bronze ropes just as the country was bound together in a common purpose. (More than a few lament the passing of these binds while rejoicing that their cause has ended.)

At opposite ends of the circle are soaring pavilions to signify the two major fronts of the war, the Atlantic (sea, land and air)  and the Pacific (sea, land and air).In the center of the circle are pools of water (during normally warmer months). At various spots are bronze bas-reliefs and engraved granite recalling significant events or thoughts of the period.One of my favorite parts of this Memorial is the wall of over 4,000 gold stars commemorating those who were casualties or missing after the war. (We didn’t get a picture of them.)

Our next stop was the Korean War Veterans Memorial, located southeast of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. The Memorial commemorates the many who died (USA 54,246 United Nations 628,833), went missing (USA 8,177 UN 470,267), captured (USA 7,140 UN 92,970), and wounded (USA 103,284 UN 1,064,453) for a country of people they never knew.

The Memorial contains 19 larger-than-life figures are made from stainless steel and are depicted marching next to a wall of polished granite where a multitude of faces look on. There is something haunting in the sculpture as well as the faces etched and reflections. The visit to the Korean Veterans Memorial was a first for the guys.

Our next stop was the Iwo Jima Memorial.

“The United States Marine Corps War Memorial stands as a symbol of this grateful nation’s esteem for the honored dead of the U.S. Marine Corps. While the statue depicts one of the most famous incidents of World War II, the memorial is dedicated to all Marines who have given their lives in the defense of the United States since 1775. ” You can read more about the Memorial at the official website.

The Pentagon September 11 Memorial opened on September 11, 2008 to honor the memory of the 184 people who died in the attack there on September 11, 2001 both on the ground and onboard the airplane.

The Memorial is located on the rounds of the Pentagon complex and not easily reached. The options include taking the Yellow or Blue Line Metro to Pentagon Station and then walking around to the opposite side of the complex or driving and parking on the opposite side of I-395 (although 5 handicap parking spaces are available next to the Memorial). There is also a walking tunnel under 395 from near the Pentagon City Mall. I believe that there is also a drop off for tour buses nearby so the “difficulty” and long walk is only if you’re traveling on your own.

For each person who died there, there is a bench rising from the ground on one end and suspended in the air on the other. Below each bench is a pool of moving water. On the end of the bench, the name of the person is engraved. You can tell whether the person was inside the Pentagon or onboard the airplane from which end of the bench with their name is anchored in the earth and which end is elevated. If the anchored end is closer to the building, they were inside the Pentagon. If the anchored end is away from the building, they were onboard the airplane.

The benches are arranged based on the year of birth of the person. The younger children onboard the airplane are closer to the entrance. Thankfully, there are also fewer of them in that area. If more than one member of a family died during the attack, family names are listed in the reflecting pool under the bench, in addition to the separate benches that have been created for each individual. A wall along the edge of the Memorial begins at a height of 3 inches and rises to a height of 71 inches, the ages of the youngest and oldest victim of the attack, and approximately 85 paperbark maple trees are planted on the memorial grounds.

Friends Playing Tourists in DC (Part 2.1)

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Friday morning rolled around and not too early after a full night of Uno and Cape Codders but we were out and about after breakfast. Our goal for the day was the National Mall in DC. Since our last friends’ visit, there were a couple of new Monuments and Memorials as well as several we had never visited. One thing about DC is that there is always something else to see and do.

Our first stop was to be the new Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the Mall adjacent to the Tidal Basin and the FDR Memorial and in line between the Jefferson Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. We had visited before and the monument is truly impressive and somewhat emotional for me, at least. There was a young woman with her cameraman there from the Voice of America (VOA) broadcasters. She was interviewing visitors and asking folks to share their opinions and impressions of the man who is recognized largely for his work and stance on civil rights and his position on peace, including voicing objections to the Vietnam War.

This visit, we chose to participate in the Park Rangers tour/talk. He spoke a bit about King himself and also offered some information about the monument itself and some of the controversy that accompanies it.

The main rocks are made of pink shrimp granite, which we had never heard of before. First, it’s less pink than pink granite and was imported from China because pink shrimp granite is not available in this country. The carving of the likeness was also performed in China as

the talent for this size statue is no longer readily available in the US.

There is also some controversy regarding the inscription on on one side of the large statue. The inscription appears as “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” In context, King said “If I was anything, I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” The concern is that the shorter quote reflects an egotistical attitude that King didn’t have.

The NPS store at the monument was closed for the day due to an upgrade of the computer software but we did get to peek in the window to see that the dedication engraving still shows the August 28, 2012 date. The dedication ceremonies were re-scheduled for October due to Hurricane Irene passing through the area.

We crossed the street and visited one of the oft-overlooked memorial on the Mall, the District of Columbia World War One Memorial. This commemorates those residents of the District who gave their lives in WWI. It’s made of white marble. Recently it gained attention on the floors of Congress when DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton spoke in favor of preserving its original purpose rather than expanding its role to include others from WWI. One surprise (especially for late January) was blooming cherry trees! It’s been a mild winter but really!Daughter Ryan has been temping downtown lately and we had decided to have her join us for lunch. As we started heading that way, we passed by the Washington Monument. In truth, there aren’t many places you can go where you don’t see the Washington Monument. It’s temporarily closed though.

We walked over to retrieve her from the secret confines of her latest assignment and then went to the Food Court at National Place. Steve and Russ got lunch from Five Guys, Betty and Keith chose Moe’s and Ryan got sushi. Nice lunch where everyone got to choose something different and we managed to meet the time constraints to get Ryan back to work on time and we continued on our touring after taking a little time to check out the Old Post Office building, Ben Franklin and Steve got his picture taken with the sign for the folks who did his most recent audit. (Just to be clear, that seemed to go well although he was waiting on a final disposition on some of his deductions.)

We walked along Constitution Avenue and took a break at 14th Street and then continued to the Ellipse where we saw the Monument to the 2nd Infantry Division. Somehow that one hadn’t shown up in our travels or conversation before.

We crossed over to the Lockkeeper’s House for the old Washington City Canal at the corner of 16th and Constitution.

Speaking of things we’ve not seen nor heard mentioned, did you know there is a Monument to the signers of the Declaration of Independence?

It’s located along Constitution across from 18th and between the Lockkeeper’s House and the Vietnam Memorial.

We continued on the Mall but that’s subject for another post.

New Names

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With this post, the blog BRandK moves to Happy-Tracks.com.
Happy-Tracks is more reflective of the focus of the blog, our travels.
Daddy (I’m a child of the south, that’s the way Rufus will always be known – no apologies here) was a fan of the song performed on the local AM radio station by Kenny Price. I think it fits and hope you will stay with us.