May 27, 2000

Washington D.C. · 0 Miles Hiked Today · 1002 of 2167 Miles Hiked Total

Had a great day. We got up, sat around, talked a bit, and ate a great homemade breakfast made by Bill. After, we headed to the movies where we saw East is East, a dramedy about a Pakistani/English family and their religious and cultural and family bickering. Then we went to Adams Morgan (a subsection of D.C.) to have lunch. We ate at Tryst and then went to a Spanish place for empanadas. Very good.

Since the rain had quit, we headed to The Mall to see the Vietnam Memorial. It was very somber and impactful. More than 58,000 men and women died in the war between 1959 and 1975 and each of their names is etched into the reflective granite wall. There were a lot of people there, some out of curiosity, some out of respect, some to pay tribute, and some to mourn passed loved ones. Reading the messages left at the base of the wall was very emotional and watching people make charcoal etchings of names made it worse. I'm not sure why I had such an interest in seeing the memorial. I think it may be because it is the only war my generation is in any significant way touched by.

Next we stopped by the Albert Einstein Memorial. It's a cool piece of artwork with some of his famous quotes engraved around it. He was intelligent in so many ways -- science, philosophy, politics. I mean he discovered so much scientifically, but did not want to use his discoveries to further political causes, but to help the world as a whole.

In the late afternoon we took naps, I read and watched tv, and generally relaxed. For dinner we walked to an Indian restaurant. It was very good and actually quite filling. Tomorrow we have not planned out, but we'll leave here Monday.