June 29, 2009
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OUR NATION'S CAPITAL ...
We just returned from several days in Washington DC and it was a precious time spent. Our primary reason for traveling there was to visit Dustin's gravesite. We haven't been in a long while ... and it was time ... but we wanted to take this trip to also soak in the awesome history of our country that shouts from every inch of that city.
We spent each morning at the cemetery, then worked our way into the city for some sightseeing. I think we ended up walking an average of 5-7 miles a day and though we wanted to see it all, it was impossible. We only touched on a tiny portion of what DC has to offer but I stood in amazement of what we beheld.
We carried our cameras everywhere and took over 700+ images that I will not ask you to view here ~ smile. I wish I could have captured in my photographs, the massiveness of the buildings and the majesty that they each held. Hope you don't mind me sharing a few as an overview of our time there.
Arlington National Cemetery
Lincoln Memorial
Korean War Memorial
The Capital Building
The White House Garden
The Washington Monument
The National Mall ~ Smithsonian
The Smithsonian ~ American History Museum
Union Station
FDR Memorial
Walking Through the City
Doors of DC
We were also blessed to see some special friends while we were there .. unfortunately, we missed a few special friends as well. I'll be looking forward to getting back to DC quickly so I can hug their necks.
We have a special place in our hearts for Rowan and his staff of instructors at IPS (Institute of Photographic Studies) ... they are the ones who gave BK, Jared and I our beginning in photographic instruction. We were excited to find out that they were in DC conducting a school while were there so we hung out with them at Union Station one afternoon and participated in their 'school project'. I'm embarassed to say, I didn't do as well as I would have liked. No matter how good you become or how much you think you know, there is always a desire to make your 'teacher' proud of what you do ... no pressure though! Anyway, we shared some yummy Chicago-style pizza with the crew and the students that night and were so blessed by their sweet, Godly spirits. They even invited us back the next morning to be the student's couple models. We should see the images soon but I figure if they can make this old, chunky couple look good, they are on their way to stardom. =0)
We continued our day with a precious friend from our Arkansas days. Todd and Jen are living in Philadelphia now, so Jen drove a long 3 hours down to DC to spend the afternoon with us. Unfortunately, Todd wasn't feeling well. It was a blessing to catch up on all the goings on of the last few years, to hear about Jen's victory over breast cancer and to share some time with her at the cemetery. They were our prayer warriors while we ministered to the church in Arkansas and Todd was one of Dustin's teachers in the college class so he had a special place in their hearts. It was a precious time that would have only been made better by more of it. I'm afraid I have no photo to share ... for ... the three of us, trapsing around DC with our cameras and not one of us remembered to take a picture of US. I'm using that as an excuse to get back together with her real soon.
Our time in DC was a precious time spent ... some moments were sobering but many were joyful. That is how life is most of the time, I think. Sometimes the journey is rough but we must take the bad with the good to get to our destination. Prayerfully we see beautiful things along the way and we become stronger and wiser and better for having traveled it.
We are on our journey ... thanks for sharing this part of it with us.
