Day 8 of 30 - A Place You've Traveled To

I've been to 45 states (still missing Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Hawaii and Alaska), Mexico, Canada, and numerous islands in the Caribbean (Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands).  I have many, many fond memories of travelling.  I have amazing snapshots stored in the recesses of my brain that slip out to comfort me when I need them.  I have favorite places to visit (Walt Disney World, Siesta Key, Lake Tahoe, the Outer Banks, Indiana cornfields, South Carolina lakes).  I also have places I want to visit (the 5 states I haven't visited yet, Belize, Bora Bora, Scandinavia, the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island, and Atlantis Cayman Brac, the Atlantis dive in of the Cayman Islands).  But recently, my mind has stayed mostly on Washington, DC.

I visited Washington, DC, in October 1988, when I was 10 years old.  It is one of those places where I only have brief snapshots stored in my head for memories.  I remember the Spirit of St. Louis, the Wright Bros flyer, and the Rutan Voyager at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.  I remember the torn and tattered American flag at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.  I remember the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.  I remember NONE of the famous monuments, though I know we visited all the biggies.  I do have a vague memory of walking up to one, but I don't know which one it was; I only remember the feeling of walking up to a huge monument.

Most of my memories of that trip are from Arlington National Cemetary.  I remember vividly seeing the eternal flame at the grave of JFK (and learning then that he'd had other children, not just JFK, Jr, and Caroline).  I remember seeing the grave of Audie Murphy, and asking, "You mean Eddie Murphy?"  Daddy then explained who Audie Murphy was.  Audie Murphy is now one of my favorite historical people.  I remember seeing the mast of the USS Maine, and then making a point to learn what part the ship played in US history.  I remember the memorial to the astronauts on the Space Shuttle Challenger, and already recognizing and understanding how much that disaster affected my life.  I remember the Tomb of the Unknowns, and the changing of the Guard, and having no clue at that time how fascinated I would become with the US military.

I'm 23 years older, and atleast a few years wiser.  I understand so much more about the history that DC and it's surrounding areas house.  I can appreciate it now in ways I couldn't even dream of when I was 10.

Stay tuned:  I return to DC in spring of 2012.