The Hunts go to Washington

This past weekend (1/30-2/1) we rented a car with Chad and Nicci

 and stayed in Washington DC. This visit was our first and was a wonderful experience. We were blessed to h

ave stayed with some friends of Nicci and Chad for the weekend. They live a short drive and train ride away from down town DC. We did most of our touring on Saturday but went down town on Sunday as well. I just wanted to post and let you guys know about the trip.

On Saturday we started the day off on a light note by touring the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We didn't get to see everything in it but the exibits we veiwed were extraordinary. The exibit that I thought was intriguing was about Nazi Propaganda. It explained the environment, pysche, visual images that influenced all that happened in Nazi Germany. The other notable exibit was the Hall of Rememberance. Here is a description of this hall from ushmm.org. "Diffused sunlight illuminates the Hall as it passes through the translucent glass of a high, center skylight. The floor is red granite, spattered and cracked by natural fissures. Narrow openings on the side walls let in light." All of this sets a reflective atmosphere for visitors. It was very cool.

After lunch we visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Here we saw artifacts ranging from some of the first flying airplains to Neil and Buzz's re-entry capsul in which they returned from the moon in. It was a blast!

In the evening we set out on a mad rush to visit the White House, The Washington Monument, the Reflection Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial. Our visit to the closest point of the front of the White House was stopped short by DC police who were evacuating the area. While we were there we saw a lot of activity around an assembling motorcade in the driveway in front of the house. We are confident we saw one of Obama's cars (the one used in the Inuguration day parade). We can only speculate but we know they wouldn't have evacuated the area for the period of an hour just so the cleaning crew could leave. It was all very exciting.

My favorite part of the entire visit was the Lincoln Memorial. It was breath taking! We walked the length of the Reflection Pool to arrive at the Loncoln Memorial. The grandiosity of the structure was amazing! I was told that one of the big marble tiles on the first tier of the stairs marks the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. Gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. So as I approached that spot I watched for the marker. When I found it I steped onto it, turned around as if I were there to address the masses and said to myself "So this is what Martin Luther King saw that day.", and my eyes teared a little. It was the thought of what it must have been like back on that day in the 1963 combined with the weight of Obama becoming the President that promted to me to feel emotional. I thought of how proud I am of this country, my country, which ascribes to such liberties as Obama said during his Inagural speech, which are the reason ". . .why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

Visiting DC was a wonderful experience. I hope every person who lives in America can experience its beauty, history, and story.

Miss you all very much and love you all even more!

Love Alan and Brooke