I saw George Bush today. Seriously.
My chicas Crystal, Beth, and Lisa B got in yesterday (yesterday as in Friday) around 8. I brought them back to the apartment. Then we decided to go and see "The Grudge 2" in honor of Friday the 13th. We went to Union Station (yes, there is a movie theatre there. There's everything there.) The movie was surprisingly engaging. I haven't seen the first one, but I enjoyed the second one. It actually made me jump in a few places. Then we came home and talked for a little while, and went to bed.
In the morning, we woke up and went to Starbucks. We decided to take a tour of DC, because Lisa has to leave tomorrow morning, and she wanted to see the monuments. We went to Arlington Cemetery, toured that. The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns was especially heartwrenching; we witnessed two separate wreath-laying ceremonies. As usual, I cried. Then we finished the Cemetery tour and went into the city. We saw the Lincoln and Korean War memorials. There was a dedication ceremony for the new Air Force memorial by the Pentagon, and Crystal really wanted to see the air show that was supposed to happen at the end, at 1:30. We decided to walk over to the Arlington Memorial Bridge so that we could see the memorial across the river, around 1:30. Nothing happened for quite some time. The Coast Guard pulled over a few boats on the river. A couple helicopters flew by. Nothing was happening. Around 2:30ish, we saw two police SUVs drive by, toward Virginia. Then we noticed that the traffic on the bridge had stopped. A long line of motorcycle cops came whizzing by. And then, there was the presidential limosine, flanked by a small army of Secret Service thugs. Laura was waving out the window; George wasn't paying attention. It was pretty cool. I may not support the guy in a lot of his current decisions, but he is the leader of the free world. Well, sort of. Finally, after 3 there were a few maneuvers done by some cool looking planes. A stealth plane flew over, a couple older planes. Then George and Laura drove back the other way across the bridge. He was waving this time. Very cool.
After that excitement, we went back to the Vietnam Memorial, ran our hands over some of the many many names of beautiful men and women who went to a strange land and died to stop the spread of ideology. There is an inscription in front of the Korean Memorial that says "OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET." Does that idea bother anyone else? But enough of my propoganda. After the Vietnam was the WWII. Then we picked up the tour bus again and rode to Union Station. We got off and headed toward Mecca, I mean, the United States Supreme Court building. I got goosebumps looking up at the 4 beautiful words carved above the majestic pillars: EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW. My love.
Next stop was dinner. We took the Metro to Metro Center. Then we decided to go to Chinatown, at 7th and H. We picked a Chinese restaurant (surprise, surprise) and tucked in to some scrumptious grub. A little while and several to-go cartons later, we set off back to the apartment. We picked up some beer and a couple movies ("American Wedding" and "Paycheck") on the way and sat down in the living room. It was a great night. Got a little tipsy. Played a few drinking games. Went to bed around 1 finally. It was going to be a short night. Lisa had to get up at 4 to get to the airport on time, but more on that later.
In the morning, we woke up and went to Starbucks. We decided to take a tour of DC, because Lisa has to leave tomorrow morning, and she wanted to see the monuments. We went to Arlington Cemetery, toured that. The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns was especially heartwrenching; we witnessed two separate wreath-laying ceremonies. As usual, I cried. Then we finished the Cemetery tour and went into the city. We saw the Lincoln and Korean War memorials. There was a dedication ceremony for the new Air Force memorial by the Pentagon, and Crystal really wanted to see the air show that was supposed to happen at the end, at 1:30. We decided to walk over to the Arlington Memorial Bridge so that we could see the memorial across the river, around 1:30. Nothing happened for quite some time. The Coast Guard pulled over a few boats on the river. A couple helicopters flew by. Nothing was happening. Around 2:30ish, we saw two police SUVs drive by, toward Virginia. Then we noticed that the traffic on the bridge had stopped. A long line of motorcycle cops came whizzing by. And then, there was the presidential limosine, flanked by a small army of Secret Service thugs. Laura was waving out the window; George wasn't paying attention. It was pretty cool. I may not support the guy in a lot of his current decisions, but he is the leader of the free world. Well, sort of. Finally, after 3 there were a few maneuvers done by some cool looking planes. A stealth plane flew over, a couple older planes. Then George and Laura drove back the other way across the bridge. He was waving this time. Very cool.
After that excitement, we went back to the Vietnam Memorial, ran our hands over some of the many many names of beautiful men and women who went to a strange land and died to stop the spread of ideology. There is an inscription in front of the Korean Memorial that says "OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET." Does that idea bother anyone else? But enough of my propoganda. After the Vietnam was the WWII. Then we picked up the tour bus again and rode to Union Station. We got off and headed toward Mecca, I mean, the United States Supreme Court building. I got goosebumps looking up at the 4 beautiful words carved above the majestic pillars: EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW. My love.
Next stop was dinner. We took the Metro to Metro Center. Then we decided to go to Chinatown, at 7th and H. We picked a Chinese restaurant (surprise, surprise) and tucked in to some scrumptious grub. A little while and several to-go cartons later, we set off back to the apartment. We picked up some beer and a couple movies ("American Wedding" and "Paycheck") on the way and sat down in the living room. It was a great night. Got a little tipsy. Played a few drinking games. Went to bed around 1 finally. It was going to be a short night. Lisa had to get up at 4 to get to the airport on time, but more on that later.
posted by Kat @ 00:17
1 Comments:
At 9:45 AM,
Anonymous said…
I enjoy that you describe them as secret service thugs. I don't know that keeping the leaders of our country and their families from harm counts as being a thug. Slightly crazy, but not necessarily a thug.
Honestly, the inscription on the Korean monument gives me a greater sense of pride. I know that doesn't make much sense to you, but to me it takes a lot more courage to fight to protect a weaker person you've never met, than it does to defend those you have. And the South Koreans did request and greatly appreciate the UN involvement in helping them. I personally will probably always be impressed when someone from this country fights for the rights of someone who can't fight for themselves. Whether that means joining the RAF during WWI years before the US entered the war in order to help the French or fight in Desert Storm to protect the Kuwatis when they couldn't protect themselves, it's a very honorable thing and I can't help but admire all those who were and are willing to do those things.
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