September 11, 2013

It's hard to believe it's been twelve years since that day on September 11, 2001.
I don't think any of us will ever forget where we were when it happened.
Or how we found out what was going on.
I know I won't.

I mentioned in another post that we spent a week in Washington, DC at the beginning of August.
When we made it down to the mall area, this sight greeted us.

The Washington monument covered in scaffolding. Only due to earthquake damage though which is bad enough.
And then we went to see my favorite...Lincoln's Memorial.

More scaffolding. Really?! Some woman had thrown green paint on it. Ugh. But then I think, it could have been worse.
So I focused on the positive. I haven't been to DC in twenty years. I visited in the summer of 1993 with my family and a few friends. And one of my favorite memories from the trip is the night we went down to see the monuments after dark. Pretty late actually. I think it was after 10pm for sure. So the crowds were much lighter and it was so peaceful.

Mike and I decided to give it a try even though Evan and Erin are so much younger and typically are in bed before 9. :)
And it was just how I remembered.

 There is just something so peaceful about being there at night.

Words cannot capture just how it made me feel to be standing there once again enjoying the evening  breeze blowing through the memorial just as I remembered it.

Then there is the beautiful glow of the Washington monument despite the scaffolding.

And my favorite.
We had visited during the day. But it is so much more magnificent at night. During the day as you walk up, you really can't see Lincoln until you get inside. But at night...

he is waiting like an old friend welcoming you home. And silly as it seems, I had tears in my eyes as Evan and I walked up toward him sitting there so majestically.

No, there is nothing like visiting the mall in Washington, D.C. at night. :)