The Viking Run, Day 4 - Washington D. C.

 

The United States Capitol

Today I spent the day in our nation's capitol. I/ve been to D.C. multiple times in the past, seen many of the sights. Today I didn't plan to stray too much from what I already know. I had never been to the Iwo Jima memorial so that would be new. My only other plan was to go to The Wall, the air and space museum and go watch the sunset parade at 8th and I. 

The Marine Corps War Memorial

The memorial was nice, I walked from the hotel there, took about 15 minutes and man was it hot. The day was going to be a scorcher. It was actually hotter here the last two days than it is in Florida. So I decided to rent one of these Capitol bikes that they have posted all over the city. That proved to be the right mode of transportation as it really cut down on the walking, which by the way I put in more than 14 thousand steps today. 

Benjamin Franklin Nimox

A quick ride over the Potomac and I made my second destination, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I arrived at "the Wall" with a purpose; and while I had done this once already once before, finding Benny's name would have more meaning this time. Found there on panel 22E, line 111 was Benjamin's name. It was a heavy moment for me. I never met and know nothing about Benny, but he was my dad's closest friend in the early days of of Vietnam, and that makes him important to me as well.

The Lincoln Memorial

It would later turn out that the air and space museum has been closed and entirely moved out to Dullas. So that scratched that idea. So I decided to ride up capitol hill and visit the Library of Congress. Something I'v done before but I really think it's a stunning piece of architecture and wanted to see it again. From the LoC i went to the Museum of American History and there, they had the best part, the American Pop Culture section closed for renovations. It had been a long day and I had about 3 hours to kill before heading to Headquarters Marin Corps, also known as 8th and I. When I walked out of American History the sky was angry. Rain was starting to fall and the thunder and lightening were moving in. I decided that the parade was unlikely and called an Uber to get me back to the hotel. Yeah, it wasn't a perfect day in D.C., but I can't complain. I didn't miss anything I haven't seen. 

So tomorrow I'm back on the bike for a 150 mile jaunt up to Philly. It's gonna be a long day.