Women in Glass and Stone @ The National Cathedral

After spending some time at the Japanese American Memorial got back on my way to head to the National Cathedral, which is an Episcopal Cathedral. The Cathedral is said to have been Washington's longest running construction project. The first stone was placed in 1907 and the West Tower was completed in 1990, which made the Cathedral complete 83 years after it was started. To see more about the timeline of the Cathedral click here.

There was a special tour scheduled called "Women in Glass and Stone." I got off the Metro and headed the direction I needed to go and ended up on a street not on my map. All was good, I just needed to take a stroll though the side streets of Embassy Row and see the Dominican Republic Embassy, Sri Lanka Embassy, South African Embassy and many more. Some of the houses and buildings are amazing. After locating myself on the map I kept walking, and walking, and walking some more. I walked by the Naval Observatory, the Vice Presidents' House and lots more Embassy buildings. Just when I thought I couldn't keep walking up this eternally long hill the towers of the National Cathedral peeked through trees and buildings. Hallelujiah, I was almost there.

I don't plan on narrating most of these pictures, so just enjoy the beauty.

Tour guide Anne.

The cremains of Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan and Polly Thompson all are placed in St Joseph's Chapel at the Cathedral. The niche is behind the iron-work bars below.

What an beautiful, grandeur and artistic building.

Japanese American Memorial

After leaving the Capitol I was heading in the direction of the Metro. I stumbled upon the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During WWII. It was a stunning tribute. The simplicity speaks to the quiet, unassuming lives that Japanese Americans had to take on during WWII as they were confined to interment camps or the few that chose to serve their country in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After reading and re-learning about the Japanese American struggle during that wartime, I am amazed at the experiences they had.

What a beautiful and peaceful place to honor these Americans.

Standing on Capitol Hill

I hadn't originally planned on going by the Capitol. Once I was in DC I decided that I needed to go by it. So, up Capitol Hill I went. It is an amazingly large and powerful looking building. It suites what goes on in it. This building has seen over 200 years of change, growth and expansion for this country. I am in awe of what the walls of this building have seen, heard and been a part of. Below are some facts about the Capitol building along with pictures.

~Congress first met in the Capitol Building on November 17, 1800.

~No one is buried in the Capitol. A tomb area was created for George Washington's body, but Washington's will expressed his wish to be buried at Mount Vernon, and that is where he is buried.

~The U.S. Capitol Dome is made of 8,909,200 pounds of cast iron.

~The dome iron is painted white to look like the rest of the building.

~The Supreme Court held sessions in the Capitol until its own building was completed in 1935.

~The Rotunda, used for inaugurations and distinguished individuals lying in state, is a circular room located on the second floor. It is 96 feet in diameter and rises 180 feet from the floor to the canopy.

~The custom of flying the flags 24 hours a day over the east and west fronts was begun during World War I.

~The top of the U.S. Capitol is 209 feet lower than the Washington Monument.

The Rotunda is modeled after the Pantheon.

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At the base of Capitol Hill is the Ulysses S. Grant statue. He faces toward the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument being in the exact middle of the two, which also serve as the ends of The Mall. The second largest equestrian statue in the US is part of the U. S. Grant Memorial. The sculptor, Henry Merwin Shrady, died two weeks before the memorial dedication of the statue after working on it for 20 years.

On each side of Grant are the Artillery and Cavalry Groups and there are also four bronze lions as part of the memorial.

Although I hadn't planned on going by the Capitol, I am glad I did. Next time I hope to tour it.

March Poem of the Month

"Daffodils"

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:


For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth

Terra Cotta Warriors

The first tickets that I purchased for my trip were for the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. Josh came down to DC after he got off work. After eating dinner we headed to the Museum and got in line. When they opened the door to our timed entrance we joined the thongs of people already in the exhibit. We made our way around and saw lots of artifacts and warriors and read a lot about the very paranoid Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China, who came into power at the age of 13.

In 1974 there was a group of farmers digging a well and accidentaly stumbled upon a pit of buried, life-sized terra cotta figures portrayed as warriors, cavalry, horses, infantrymen, etc. It is approximated that there are 6,000+ figures buried and 1,000 have been unearthed and studied. This terra cotta army was meant to protect Emperor Qin Shihuangdi during the afterlife as he was entombed in the center of this group. It took hundreds of workers 36 years to create all the figures that span 19 miles and numerous pits.

I was amazed at the number of palaces and home the Emperor had built. According to the exhibit literature he built something like 400 palaces and 300 homes and was so paranoid that he was going to be killed that he more disguises and slept in a different place each night.

He also did things to contribute to the society such as creating a widespread road network, built the beginnings of the Great Wall of China, and standardizing the currency. To read more go to this site.

We made our way through the exhibit. No picture taking was allowed, but if you are interested you can look at these pictures. I recommend looking at a few of them at least. Pretty impressive stuff.

When we reached the end of the exhibit we were able to have a photo op with this replica statue.

Josh and warrior

Steph and warriror