Mrs. Hummingbird's Nest

Today was an adventure where we walked across all of Washington DC, stopping off at a few of the well known (and less well known) monuments along the way. We easily logged over 8 miles on what had to be the most beautiful day we've had since I arrived in DC, with temperatures around 70 degrees F. I wore short sleeves and even left my jacket at home!

Washington has a tower, Lincoln and Jefferson have monumental buildings, but Teddy Roosevelt's monument is an island, literally. In the middle of the Potomac, it's covered in trees and has several miles of hiking trails. It's a wonderful oasis from the City.

After leaving the island, we crossed the river into the City and joined another lesser known-memorial devoted to Einstein and his contributions to science. The statue is moving, with Einstein's endeering expression of wonder gazing down upon us. The three of us (me, L, and Einstein) enjoyed a picnic lunch together. We also took a peak inside the original National Academy of Sciences building, which has a fantastic ceiling with depictions of humans harnessing the power of nature through science.

We spent some time at the WWII memorial and went on a nice Park Service tour. We try to take advantage of these whenever possible because they are informative, personal, and free! This one gave nice insight into the intricacies of the memorial that has been criticized as too plain and simple to honor the efforts of millions of Americans during wartime and the 400,000 soldiers that lost their lives.

We ended the evening well beyond Capitol Hill where we joined some of L's friends for a housewarming party. It was great to stay late into the night discussing all sorts of topics. And it was even better to be able to take the Metro home, which runs until almost 3 am on weekends!.