I was up early this morning as I seem to always be these days. It doesn't seem to matter what time zone I'm in, by 5:30 or sometimes 5:00 a.m., I'm done sleeping. So I got an earlier start than the previous two days with plans to walk to some of the monuments I had not yet seen this trip. Before leaving my hotel, I asked for a late checkout and they offered 12:30 p.m. (30 extra minutes). I would have really appreciated later than that because my train didn't leave until 6:30 p.m. but 12:30 turned out to be a good stopping point for my morning's activities.
With my food and beverage credit at the hotel used up, I headed to Panera for something different for breakfast and then continued on to the Zero Milestone. I mentioned earlier in my blog that I hoped to return when there were less people. I still had to deal with a few people but did manage to get a few minutes alone with the stone. I saw this zero milestone as a symbol for the start of my new beginning. I suspect this trip has been transformative and with the divorce likely to be final in the days or weeks to come, it felt like a moment of transition from one chapter to another. I've found symbols and rituals to be really helpful throughout this process.
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| Funny story - for as long as I can remember, I have avoided grates. They always made me nervous - the uncertainty of what is below, a fear of how high up I might be, etc. Well, with the uncertainty of a single life as a woman in her 40s who has never lived alone, these other fears don't seem so scary anymore. So I boldly walked over every grate I came across in New York City and Washington DC (and trust me there are many in cities like these two)! |
I then continued on to the Jefferson Memorial to catch some of the monuments I had missed in the earlier days including one I stumbled upon that I was not even aware existed.
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| Jefferson Memorial |
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| Washington Monument |
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| Jefferson Memorial |
As you continue around the pond clockwise from the Jefferson Memorial, tucked away is the George Mason Memorial. I almost walked past it as the statute itself is buried in a ways so it was only a plaque that caught my eye. He is holding a book by Cicero, a Roman politician. A gentleman also viewing the memorial commented that it's the only statute with a book. It is said that Cicero was an inspiration to George Mason when he wrote the Virginia Declaration of Independence in 1776, which was the first document to protect individual rights. A month later when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he was inspired by the words of the Virginia Declaration of Independence.
Continuing around the pond, I came across the memorial for Franklin D. Rosevelt. Last time I visited DC, I only stumbled upon this memorial in the dark of night and with the amount of trees surrounding it, not the best lighting, and being alone at the time, it was a pretty creepy memorial to walk through. I'm glad to report that by daylight it actually is really interesting and neat to tour.
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| There are several waterfalls throughout the memorial. |
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| Eleanor Rosevelt |
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| Franklin D. Rosevelt with his dog, Fala - the only presidential pet memorialized like this |
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| President Rosevelt suffered from polio and was paralyzed in his legs so used a wheelchair during his presidency although it was downplayed at the time, not wanting to look weak. This was at a time before live video. |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Korean War Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam War Memorial
On my way back to the hotel, I had enough time to stop in at the National Archives Museum to see the actual Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Magna Carta. These documents really are not readable today (so my photos are less than ideal) but it is neat to say I was in the same room as them.
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| Declaration of Independence |
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| Constitution |
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| Last page of the Constitution |
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| Bill of Rights |
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| Room that holds those three documents |
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| Magna Carta |
I made it back to my hotel a little after noon and they hadn't re-programmed my key to work until the late checkout time so I had to get my key re-programmed before I returned to my room to gather my belongings. I then headed out once again with all my stuff this time to find some gardens and have fun with my macro lens which I really hadn't used the whole trip yet. I started at the German-American Friendship Garden, west of the Washington Monument and then worked my way towards the Capitol Building and eventually Union Station where I would catch my train.
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| The wheels on my luggage put on some miles today! |
These first photos are all from the German-American Friendship Garden.
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| I just love Pink Muhly grass! |
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| A petal missing and the tips of those remaining starting to wilt yet no less beautiful than the other flowers |
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| A bench in The Moongate Garden where I took refuge for a while. |
I believe these next photos are all from the the Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden.
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| Solanum Quitoense - native to South America, part of the tomato family |
I then moved on to the National Art Gallery Sculpture Garden as the day before I had seen numerous flowers I wanted to photograph. (I didn't have my macro lens on me at the time. To minimize weight and leave room for a journal, I was sticking with just the lens I wanted to use most days.)
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| Bearded Iris - These flowers always catch my eye and there is something especially beautiful about the pure white with a bit of yellow. |
I sat on a bench near the Pavilion Cafe for a while but then a little after 4:00 p.m. started making my way towards Union Station.
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| I made sure to walk past the Capitol Building on my route as I had not yet gotten close to it this trip. |
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| Not knowing what this was at the time, I later looked it up to learn it is the Taft Memorial Carillon. |
As I neared Union Station, this car fire caught my attention. I didn't see how it started. There was no sign of the owner anywhere so I think it was parked when it happened. And the police and fire department quickly responded and put it out but obviously not before the car was totaled. Somebody was not going to be very happy when they returned to their car.
And then I arrived at Union Station and made my way to the Metropolitan Lounge, a lounge for first class and sleeper car passengers. Aside from having no views or outside light, it really is a nice space with comfortable chairs, outlets to charge your devices, and complimentary drinks and snack. And then when your train arrives, they escort you out to the track so there is no battling the crowds.
Our train arrived about 10 minutes early so we got to get settled a bit early.
I was happy to see my roomette was in the Bag Dorm, which is a Viewliner II (the newer model) with half roomettes and half baggage. So there is no toilet in the room but instead two common restrooms in the car (along with a shower which each sleeper car has). I prefer to go down the hall to use the restroom. This also gives just a little bit more storage under where the toilet would have been, has more outlets (some on both sides of the room), and everything is in a bit better condition.
My car attendant has been amazing, nothing like the previous two I have experienced. He lifted my suitcase up into the car, was prompt to take my food orders, checks in on me regularly, and was ready to put down my bed when I needed it. It sure is quite a stark difference from the last one who I didn't even meet until after breakfast the second day!
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| I had the Pan Asian Meatballs, the vegetarian option. Although I don't mind the Salmon option (the only other one that I think is safe for me to eat), I think this is a better dish. |
Shortly after we were supposed to leave, an announcement came on that they were having trouble re-connecting to the navigational system so they were going to back up the train to try and get a better signal. This ultimately ended up delaying us about 30 minutes. But then we were on our way.
I spent the evening editing photos, blogging, and trying to read a little bit before I went to bed.
I woke up a number of times throughout the night but overall slept fairly well for being on a train. I was up around 6:00 a.m. By this point, we had made up the time we lost and were on time. I walked to the sleeper car in front of mine to grab a cup of a coffee and settled into the lower part of my roomette where I could still make use of the chairs and table and spent some time journaling. Later today, I have a divorce support group and so went over the notes from the last session I missed and wanted to have gathered my thoughts so I was ready to share.
A little before 7:00 a.m., I made my way to the dining car. I think I was the first one there and only two other people came in to eat while I sat there. I think quite a few people got off overnight and plenty others are eating in their rooms. This train also has one less sleeper car - maybe less people are booking sleepers. In my observations of watching the Amtrak train in Birmingham, this train usually has 2 sleeper cars and a Bag Dorm. This trip we were missing an entire sleeper car. Last trip, we were missing the Bag Dorm (it was a traditional baggage car instead).
It was nice to get out of my room, eat with real silverware, and have larger windows to enjoy the sun as it rose. We passed Gainesville, Georgia as I enjoyed breakfast.
We have arrived in Atlanta, 24 minutes early, although will sit here for an on time departure so it is looking like we will probably get to Birmingham reasonably on time. I'm going to end this blog here although I will come back and update if there are any major delays. It's overall been a good trip and an important time to reflect and heal. Now it's time to get back to reality with whatever new version of myself I'm coming home with.
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