Washington, DC

My oldest grandson, Joshua, who is Mike's oldest son, is finishing up a week in Washington, DC  where he has been attending the National Youth Leadership Forum.   Mike is a graduate of George Washington University in DC, so  he knows the city well.  The family will meet up with Josh after his completion of the forum and they will visit some of the many monuments and memorials.  (Actually there is only one monument, I believe, and that is the Washington Monument; the rest are all memorials.)   

When I lived in Falls Church, VA, across the Potomac from DC, I loved getting up early on a Saturday and driving into the city.  I had my choice of parking spaces along Constitution Ave., which were free on weekends. and I loved spending the day there exploring the sites and especially going through the Smithsonian buildings.   I always visited the Vietnam Memorial and have always been touched by its power, for all its simplicity.  The design is brilliant and the experience is so moving,  for all the crap the designer of the memorial had to endure.  I think the designer was a woman of Vietnamese descent, which could explain some of the original animosity towards her, but you can't get away without shedding a tear.

The weather is hot again today, and I will be so happy when the temperatures drop a bit - down to 90 would be fine with me.  In the 80's would be better!   I finally gave in and turned on the A/C and closed the windows.  It's a shame because it's breezy outside, but breezy hot air isn't very pleasant!  It's a shame that so many areas of the world are flooding, while we are dry as a bone and extremely susceptible to fires.

 National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): National Security - Diplomacy, Intelligence & Defense