nathan jara

Over this past weekend, I was blessed to have the opportunity to visit for the first time, our nation’s capital, Washington D.C.. Thanks to a handful of my best friends, I was able to experience something I’ve been wanting to do for many years.

My weekend began on Saturday, July 3rd, with my first stop in Arlington National Cemetery. This was such an overwhelming place. I’ve always known that there would be many, many tomb stones, but I didn’t believe there were as many as I actually saw. It  seemed that no matter which direction you turned, the stones looked to go on forever. Walking through the cemetery I tried to put myself in the shoes of the family members who come to visit their fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. On several occasions I saw families doing just that. I also made the walk around to section 60 of the cemetery which is now the eternal earthly home of the men and women that have given the ultimate price in Iraq and the Middle East. It was very strange to walk by these stones with dates as recent as June 2010. It boggled my mind to think about it.

Another impressive stop within Arlington was the visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This memorial was constructed in honor of all the servicemen who gave their lives and have never been identified. The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day 7 days a week by a U.S. Infantry soldier. In the tradition of the 21 Gun Salute, the soldier takes 21 steps, holds for 21 seconds, and returns in the same manner back and forth in front of the tomb. During the summer months, the guard is relieved of his duty every half hour, every hour during winter months. While visiting the tomb, I was able to experience this changing of the guard. The ceremony was impressive, regal, humbling; it can only be seen rather than described.

After my visit to Arlington, we took the metro further into D.C. and visited the Thomas Jefferson Library at the Library of Congress. This sight was one I was very surprised to see. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was certainly very impressed when we walked into the main hall of the Library. The interior was very ornately decorated with gold flourishing details, marble floors, stairs, and sculptures. The architecture reminded me most of an Italian Renaissance style. Frescos and paintings also adorned the walls and ceilings. In what seemed to me to be the heart of the library, was the Reading Room. This room, which is only accessible with special permission, was a large circular room with desks oriented in multiple rows going around the circular room. The Reading Room was also exquisitely decorated and produced a very intellectual and respect demanding persona. This room was very much one of my favorite stops in the Library. Across the street from the Library I visited the U.S. Senate building. It was neat to see the place where our elected officials have been meeting to make the decisions that affect us all. And as one who enjoys architecture, the U.S. Senate is another beautifully architected building, also emitting the Roman/Italian style.

The following day, Sunday, July 4th, we first spent a few hours at the Natural History Museum within the Smithsonian Institute. Dinosaurs, octopus, giant squid, whales, dolphins, sharks, rhinocerous and elephants galore. After leaving the Smithsonian, we came outside on the sidewalk along Constitution Avenue to find the tail end of the Washington D.C. Fourth of July parade. None of us had really planned on watching the parade, but it definitely seemed to stop us in our tracks that day. Just seeing the bands come by playing patriotic tunes, kids and adults alike in Uncle Sam hats and red, white, and blue, and everyone being joyful in the hot July sun, seemed to make the parade become something we all had to be a part of on this Independence Day.

Further down the street, I made sure to stop at the National Gallery of Art. I very much enjoyed the art gallery and was excited to see many oil paintings, drawings, and photographs, include paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Degas, and Leonardo DaVinci. On my next trip to D.C., I would like to visit the many other art galleries in the area along with more of the Smithsonian museums.

A long trek through the mall and around the Tidal Basin brought us to my first major memorial stop, the Thomas Jefferson memorial. This memorial is definitely one of my favorites. The openness and simplicity of the structure gives it a very comfortable feeling, one that I thought was most inviting compared to the other memorials. I think this was evident in the way that many of the visitors that were there take time to sit on the marble floor of the memorial and just take in their surroundings. The larger than life size statue of Thomas Jefferson stands prominent in the center of the circular memorial surrounded by four of Jefferson’s most significant writings. This memorial certainly explains and projects the respect and honor due to a man that without his work and dedication, our great nation may not exist as we know it today.

With the sun beginning to set, we decided to take our place in the National Mall to prepare for the Independence Day fireworks. We found a spot and camped out listening to the sounds of the Navy Concert Band playing American tunes. Thinking back, this experience was one that I’ll never forget. As we sat and talked, the crowd of thousands continued to gather around us under the Washington Monument. It truly was awesome to see so many Americans gather together in this historic place to celebrate the Fourth of July. Kids playing soccer, people throwing frisbee, friends playing volleyball, and families just talking, chatting, and laughing together in every direction. The scene made me think how those that came before me really did do everything they did so that I could have this. That is a very awesome thought.

As the sun finally fell below the horizon, the lights and colors lit up the sky. We sat and watched the fireworks shimmer over the Reflecting Pool. The show ended with a grand fireworks finale. Afterward, we walked through the streets of D.C. with thousands of our closest friends back to the metro, stopping along the way to take a peek at the White House.

On Monday, July 5th, we made our final trip on the metro back into town to visit the rest of the memorials. We first visited the World War II Memorial. This grand memorial gives honor to all soldiers of the second world war by noting those who served in both the Atlantic and Pacific campaigns. The first of my two favorite features of this memorial was the relief sculptures along the outside walls of the space depicting scenes from various WWII battles. The second was the wall of stars. This arced wall situated at the center of the memorial housed over 4,000 stars. Each one of these stars honors 100 American soldiers who died in the war. This fact leaves one speechless.

Next I visited the Korean War memorial. My favorite aspect of this memorial was the wall which lines the side of the monument. On this wall were ghost-like etchings depicting men, women, and scenes during the time of the war. We stopped at the famous Lincoln Memorial next at the end of the Reflecting Pool. As I grew to know from seeing the other buildings and memorials around the capital, the massive scale of the Lincoln Memorial was no different. A grand statue of Honest Abe placed in the center of the memorial depicts the 16th President of the United States sitting humbly in a mighty chair. On the walls to either side of him are etched his two inaugural addresses. My final stop was the Vietnam Memorial. This simple memorial is definitely most powerful. The stone wall constructed in the shape of a ‘v’ is inscribed with the names of the thousands of casualties from the Vietnam conflict. Walking past these thousands of names demanded my reflection upon what these people did for our country.

My first trip to Washington D.C. is one that I’ll never forget. I learned a lot and gained a refreshed respect and love for my country. And I have to thank Ashely, Steve, Sam, Turbo, Aunt Carol and Uncle Carl for an awesome weekend :) You can find more pictures from my weekend in my online album.