Julie and I decided that we weren't going to hang around for another snowy Memorial Day in Park City. We headed to the burbs of Washington DC to visit our friends Jim and Kathy. They live in Old Town Alexandria, which is a great place to eat, drink and be merry.
Our biggest outing was on Sunday. We walked across into DC and watched the Rolling Thunder parade.
Rolling Thunder’s mission is to educate, facilitate, and never forget by means of a demonstration for service members that were abandoned after the Vietnam War. Rolling Thunder has also evolved into a display of patriotism and respect for all who defend our country.
Like so many events, this one starts with the police leading the way.
Then came the real bikes. Most were Harley Davidsons, but you could see almost anything.
...including lots of trikes.
... and chicks on Hawgs in pink tutus.
They started at the Pentagon, crossed into DC at the Lincoln Memorial, ran up to the Capital, and then back to the river to park.
They started riding promptly at 12:00, and they kept streaming.
When we eventually left at 3:00, they were still coming. I never heard a count of the motorcycles that participated, but it was at least tens of thousands. Even after three hours of non-stop bikes, they were coming so frequently that after about 10 or 15 minutes, we decided we would never find a gap to cross the street.
Our only job was to wave to the bikers. Of course, if you waved to them all, your hand would fall off.
When they got the to the end they parked in a big grassy field. If you like motorcycles, this might be the most interesting field you will ever be in.
The go on, and on, and on and thousands more were still rolling in.
Neither Julie or I had done any D.C. sightseeing in recent years, so we have missed a lot of the new museums and memorials.
Every statue, including this one for nurses that served in Vietnam, were covered with flowers, photos, and little memorials.
The World War II memorial is very impressive. When we saw the park rangers chasing people out of the water, it was always adults, not the kids.
Our last stop was the Martin Luther King memorial. It is a gorgeous facility in a great location. I took this photo of his likeness, but what really made it interesting for me was a long wall of his quotes. This man was incredibly articulate and inspiring.
We also got to do dinners with some of Jim and Kathy's friends that we have met out in Park City. A wonderful visit with great friends, and sure enough, it snowed in Park City.
1 comment:
A nice visit. I've not seen the WWII memorial or the one to MLK, and I really have no excuse except not wanting to park in DC to do it. They've been working so much on Metro lines on the weekend that they aren't really dependable. Perhaps in the fall...
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