For most of us, this summer in DC wasn't our first or even our second time in the city. Many of us were here with our 8th grade classes around 7 years ago (or 9ish for some of us old folks). In turn we weren't as super jazzed about seeing the sights when we arrived. My first visit to DC was so long ago now that I forget what it was like to see the White House, Capital Building and Supreme Court for the first time. This past week however I had a chance to relive this feeling through my best friend when he came to visit and see the city for the first time.
The first night of his visit, I insisted that we walk past the Capital Building at night. This has come to be one of my absolute favorite things about the city. Even still, I had not expected his reaction. This friend of mine is one of those cynical people who often utilizes the word "overrated" in everyday conversation. This being said, he was blown away by the sight of the Capital Building lit up against the night sky and took no hesitation to tell me how impressed he was; aw struck, even. It was such a cool experience for me to watch him experiencing DC for the first time and being so amazed almost everywhere we went.
I thought, maybe, I was spoiled to have seen the Capital at a young age when we are all a little cynical and not easily impressed by the things around us. I was almost jealous of his innocence and ignorance as he discovered all of the cool things in the city.
The excitement continued as we spent his last night in town doing some night-time "monumenting". Our first stop was the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which I have to say I was not so impressed by the first time I visited it, but in the night it was much more majestic (further proving my DC-is-better-at-night theory).
MLK was nice but the best view from this stop was most definitely opposite of it. The Jefferson Monument lit in the distance, reflecting off of the Tidal Basin is breathtaking and, I must admit, much prettier than a man cut out of a slab of mountain rock.
After MLK, we followed the loop to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial which is my favorite of them all. I'm not sure how many times I've visited the memorial by now but it is always exciting for me; the lack of pictures at this stop serve as evidence to my attentiveness. Our final stop was of course the Jefferson Memorial. By this time we were coated in sweat from the muggy evening and sure we had been bitten by a handful of bugs so we set back for the Congressional. Despite the sweat, bug bites and very tired feet, we were excited about the night of monument visits we had as a capstone to a nice few days visit and first exposure to DC.
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-Elena
The first night of his visit, I insisted that we walk past the Capital Building at night. This has come to be one of my absolute favorite things about the city. Even still, I had not expected his reaction. This friend of mine is one of those cynical people who often utilizes the word "overrated" in everyday conversation. This being said, he was blown away by the sight of the Capital Building lit up against the night sky and took no hesitation to tell me how impressed he was; aw struck, even. It was such a cool experience for me to watch him experiencing DC for the first time and being so amazed almost everywhere we went.
I thought, maybe, I was spoiled to have seen the Capital at a young age when we are all a little cynical and not easily impressed by the things around us. I was almost jealous of his innocence and ignorance as he discovered all of the cool things in the city.
The excitement continued as we spent his last night in town doing some night-time "monumenting". Our first stop was the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which I have to say I was not so impressed by the first time I visited it, but in the night it was much more majestic (further proving my DC-is-better-at-night theory).
After MLK, we followed the loop to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial which is my favorite of them all. I'm not sure how many times I've visited the memorial by now but it is always exciting for me; the lack of pictures at this stop serve as evidence to my attentiveness. Our final stop was of course the Jefferson Memorial. By this time we were coated in sweat from the muggy evening and sure we had been bitten by a handful of bugs so we set back for the Congressional. Despite the sweat, bug bites and very tired feet, we were excited about the night of monument visits we had as a capstone to a nice few days visit and first exposure to DC.
.JPG)
-Elena
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