AGU in America 2006

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Memorials and a Monument

Today, Saturday August 5, we had our first major field trip, to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We met in the hotel lobby, walked to the metro station, and took the metro to Foggy Bottom, where George Washington University is located. It was quite a long walk from the metro station to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, our first destination. After visiting the Wall, the Three Servicemen Statue, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial, we went next to the Lincoln Memorial. There were so many steps up to the top, but everybody made it. The weather was sunny and clear, hot in the sun but not too humid, with a nice breeze, and the views of the Mall were great. Everyone took lots of pictures. Then wewent to the Korean Veterans Memorial, and by the time we had seen that it was noon and everyone was tired and hungry, so I decided to skip the FDR and Jefferson Memorials, and we went directly to the Old Post Office Pavilion for lunch, visiting the World War II Memorial on our way. It was a pretty long walk to Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street, but I think it was worth the trek. The OPOP had a great food court, live music (jazz again!) and some stores to browse in. We stayed there about two hours, eating and resting in the air-conditioning. The only unfortunate thing was that we couldn't visit the tower because the elevator power was out. :-( Ji Won entertained everyone with card tricks.

At 2:45, we walked back to the Mall to await our turn at the Washington Monument. We had tickets for 3:30. When I decided to go there, back in May, I assumed that it would be hazy, hot, and humid, and that the visibility would be poor, but the weather was perfect: it was so clear that we could see 35 miles from the top of the Monument!

After we came down again, the majority of the students opted to go back to College Park and relax, but three intrepid young women (Miki, Mimaki, and Eriko) chose to visit the National Museum of American History instead! I sent the mentors home with the rest of the group, and together we four saw several very interesting exhibits. After that, we took the metro back to College Park. We were really tired!

Here is a sampling of pictures from our trip, courtesy of Ji Won Moon:

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8 Comments:

  • Wow!
    These pictures remind me of the things I saw there and how hot it was.:)
    Anyway, I really enjoyed watching them!

    By Blogger Hiromi, at Mon Aug 07, 09:11:00 AM EDT  

  • I enjoyed these photos.
    They are fantastic!!

    By Blogger bon, at Mon Aug 07, 09:15:00 AM EDT  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Blogger bon, at Mon Aug 07, 09:19:00 AM EDT  

  • They look really good in these photographs.But they look a little warm.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at Mon Aug 07, 09:22:00 AM EDT  

  • Good morning!
    Thank you for many nice photos.
    These photos made me happy, because everyone seems enjoying very much.
    I am enjoying this stay very much.
    Moreover,I am leaning a lot of things in this stay.
    So, I decided write diary every day.
    I would like to write in my blog.
    Thank you for very very very nice plogram.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at Mon Aug 07, 09:25:00 AM EDT  

  • Oh~~!The pictures are very beautiful.The Washington Monument's picture is very very nice!I wish I could go with everyone!!

    By Blogger yuiko, at Mon Aug 07, 09:30:00 AM EDT  

  • Thank you for taking us to beautiful places!! The weather is too hot, but I enjoyed walking. I was most impressed by the Washington monument.
    I ‘m looking forward to visiting many other places.
    Nina, your cicada’s shirt is so cute!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at Mon Aug 07, 09:34:00 AM EDT  

  • Thank you all for your nice comments! I had a great time on this field trip (even though we couldn't see the FDR and Jefferson Memorials, which are two of my favorites), and I am glad you did, too!

    By Blogger Nina Liakos, at Mon Aug 07, 10:29:00 PM EDT  

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