DC, Sightseeing, and Marching (Apr 29, 2017)
Today was just the opposite of yesterday, picture-wise. There were lots of picture opportunities and I’ve had to pare them down mercilessly to not have an overwhelming number in today’s blog!
We started our morning as usual, with breakfast at the buffet here at the hotel, then the shuttle to the Metro, and the Metro to L’Enfant Plaza. As we exited there, the LCV (League of Conservation Voters) was handing out green signs. I picked up one (I contributed once and now I’m on their mailing list), then we pretty much followed the crowd. Our first “encounter” was a couple with great signs (I specifically liked the “We, not Me” one.
We made our way toward 3rd and Jefferson, where we’d read that we should go if we didn’t know where “our” group was. Along the way, we saw some organized groups who had banner-type signs, some multiple-person signs, and a lot of individual signs. As usual, there was a lot of personality and creativity on display.
We did find some organizer-type folks who found out where our group was gathering. I send money monthly to NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), among others, but they’re all along the same lines. When you see the picture with the fellow holding the sign that’s orange on the bottom, you’ll note that he’s on the phone. He was calling someone to find out where NRDC was. The answer was in the light blue area.
It was early yet (around 11:30, with the march not supposed to start until 12:30), so we just walked in a big square among the crowd. I got some pins from a street vendor and decided to wear the “Love Trumps Hate” one for the day. You’ll see it in the middle of my chest in the one parade picture of me today (blue shirt, if you’re reading this but don’t know me).
We were in place by 12:30, but the march didn’t start on time. Don’t know why, but after about a half hour, we decided to move more toward the front. We got to a shady spot and stayed there for a while.
The march actually started about 1:15, and it was great to be on the move! When we turned down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, it was a great feeling. The street was wider and people had more room to move. Spirits were high all day long, even though it was hot and the march was long (over 16,000 steps today, people!).
We passed a few notable things on Pennsylvania. First, one of the buildings had an open area on its top floor. You can see the folks standing up there watching and taking pictures. We waved back and forth. I choose to believe they were friendly folks, because that’s the building that has the First Amendment engraved on its front face.
Then we ran into a couple of Ben & Jerry’s vehicles. They were clearly supporting the march.
The next thing was not so great–the Trump Hotel. Before we could tell what building it was, we could hear people chanting “shame, shame, shame…” When we realized where we were, we joined in the chant!
I had seen a sign that said our group should turn down 15th street, which took us to the Washington Monument. This is the first we realized that we wouldn’t be going to the White House to surround it as we’d read. The earlier groups did that, I believe, but those of us at the tail end took a shortcut to the end.
Not far from the Washington Monument (a bit before it), was where the stage was set up. On the way, we contributed our signs to the “recycle your signs” pile, then headed to the porta-potties (:)).
After getting comfortable again, we conferred about what to do next. By this time, we were so close to the Viet Nam memorial that I suggested we could go there. I wasn’t really interested in sitting around on the lawn listening to speeches and Sharon wasn’t either. After a bit of thought, Sharon agreed to head toward the memorial, but we both wanted a bit of a sit-down first. We’d been on our feet a long time already!
At the memorial, I got another shot of yours truly reflected in one of the panels, another of Sharon, and the final shot of the day looking along one arm of the memorial toward the Washington Monument.
Hot and tired, but satisfied, we headed back to the Metro station. Despite an apparent non-running of the Yellow Line, which was our way back to our shuttle stop for the hotel, with a little patience we found it was back in service and we made our way on board. By this time, there were a LOT of folks who were waiting to get on board and it was really crowded! Most people were good-natured about it, though, and we finally got back to the shuttle stop and hotel.
Italian food sounded good to both of us, and so after a quick clean-up, we headed out to eat. Now it’s almost 11:00 PM and we’re both ready for bed, so I’m going to finish this up and hit the sack. I think we’re going to try to get into some of the museums tomorrow, but that’s another day!
