This morning, we participated in a precious time of worship and fellowship with the people of Trinity RPC in Beltsville, MD. (http://trinityrpc.org/) Pastor Bradley preached a powerful message entitled "Further Thoughts on God's Law" expounding on I Timothy 1:1-11, and Romans 6:14. We were glad to learn that Pastor Bradley utilizes sermonaudio.com, as we wanted to hear the sermon again. Here is the link to his sermon audio web page (sermon was on 4/27/08):
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Steve%5EBradley
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Steve%5EBradley
In the evening, we took a twilight tour of DC on a Tourmobile shuttle, despite the fact that it was cold and rainy. We quickly learned that when sightseeing in DC, one is going to spend a fair amount of time on public transportation getting to and from different points in the city.
We are staying at the Cherry Hill Campground in College Park, MD, which is the closest campground to DC, which makes getting into the city relatively easy. This evening, we drove to the College Park Metro Station and took the train to Union Station in downtown DC.
The first experience one has on the Metro can be a bit intimidating. Tom was familiar with the system from when he lived in Arlington, VA and commuted on the Metro to get to and from work back in 1984. The kids and I didn't like how the train went screaming through very skinny tunnels at 55 - 60 mph, rocking back and forth. Really creepy. Every time we went through a tunnel, there would be a pressure change and our ears would plug up. Not painful, but annoying! The Metro really is a neat system of transportaion, pretty much like the Underground system that I rode on in London in 1999. Ya'll probably don't much care to look at it, but here is a link to a map of the Metro system in the DC area:
http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm
We got on the Green Line in College Park, switched to the Red Line at Fort Totten, and rode the train to Union Station, which is where we caught the Tourmobile shuttle.
We are staying at the Cherry Hill Campground in College Park, MD, which is the closest campground to DC, which makes getting into the city relatively easy. This evening, we drove to the College Park Metro Station and took the train to Union Station in downtown DC.
The first experience one has on the Metro can be a bit intimidating. Tom was familiar with the system from when he lived in Arlington, VA and commuted on the Metro to get to and from work back in 1984. The kids and I didn't like how the train went screaming through very skinny tunnels at 55 - 60 mph, rocking back and forth. Really creepy. Every time we went through a tunnel, there would be a pressure change and our ears would plug up. Not painful, but annoying! The Metro really is a neat system of transportaion, pretty much like the Underground system that I rode on in London in 1999. Ya'll probably don't much care to look at it, but here is a link to a map of the Metro system in the DC area:
http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm
We got on the Green Line in College Park, switched to the Red Line at Fort Totten, and rode the train to Union Station, which is where we caught the Tourmobile shuttle.
The kids on I on the DC Metro for the first time.
On board the Tourmobile shuttleWe decided to do the DC Twilight Tour to maximize our time here. The tour took us all through downtown DC, with stops at the Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt, Lincoln, Korean, Vietnam Veterans and WW II Memorials.
Our first view of the Capitol building. This is the East Front where all of the newscasters like to be standing when they report on news in Washington.
This is the West Front of the Capitol building where presidential inaugurations take place.
A hazy view of the Washington Monument on a rainy evening.
The 19 foot statue of Thomas Jefferson in the memorial dedicated to him.
The kids on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.
The sun peeked through the clouds just as we were driving past the National Mall, giving us this beautiful picture.
The kids in front of a giant, bronze statue of Franklin Roosevelt. It didn't appear this green in person! The memorial opened in 1997, and is the most expansive, yet intimate, of any memorial in DC. When we return to DC someday, we want to make sure we visit it in the daylight, as it wasn't very well lit. It was beautiful in the dark, and must be even more so in the daytime.
The Lincoln Memorial at night(The glowing figure in the picture is the 19-foot statue of Lincoln)
A family pic thanks to the handy-dandy tripod!
This is a photograph I took at the World War II Memorial. It is a beautiful memorial, and this photo doesn't do it justice. As with every memorial we have visited so far, being here stirred emotions deep within. On site, there is a World War II registry in which you can search for relatives who took part in World War II. The kids put my grandfather's name in (he is a WWII vet), but nothing came up. We also searched for his three brothers and learned that none of the Vermillion boys are registered at the WWII memorial. I've got some homework to do when I get home to make sure their names are added. If you are reading this blog and you know someone who has fought in WWII, check and see if they are listed on the registry. If the aren't, get them registered! Follow this link:
The center of the memorial is a fountain, which is surrounded by pillars. From the website:"Fifty-six granite pillars celebrate the unprecedented unity of the nation during WWII. The pillars are connected by a bronze sculpted rope that symbolizes the bonding of the nation. Each state and territory from that period and the District of Columbia is represented by a pillar adorned with oak and wheat bronze wreaths and inscribed with its name; the pillars are arranged in the order of entry into the Union, alternating south to north across the plaza beginning adjacent to the Field of Gold Stars. The 17-foot pillars are open in the center for greater transparency, and ample space between each allows viewing into and across the memorial."
Georgia's pillar and wreath
Tom and the kids with our tour guide, Melvin. He did a great job and really made our tour enjoyable. His ability to spew forth facts was quite impressive!
Our tour ended at 11:00 p.m. back at Union Station. We caught the last trains going to Fort Totten and College Park for the night, and finally made it back to our campsite at 1:00 a.m. We were exhausted, but the tour was well worth the sleep deprivation!
Our tour ended at 11:00 p.m. back at Union Station. We caught the last trains going to Fort Totten and College Park for the night, and finally made it back to our campsite at 1:00 a.m. We were exhausted, but the tour was well worth the sleep deprivation!
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