The Sailor

Here are a couple more shots of The Lone Sailor, a popular statue located in the Navy Memorial in DC. That happened to be the stop we got off the Metro at for the parade on Saturday morning, but you'll hear all about that later. I was just happy to be in a place that I recognized. I showed you this guy before, as well as his twin on the other coast at the North end of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I walked by this fellow again on the Monday of my trip, and realized there's a whole Navy Museum in an adjacent building. I stuck my head in there for just a moment but didn't get to walk through as I was on my way out of town. They had another statue in the lobby by the same sculptor as this one, so I'll need to go back at some point and take a tour there.

Chinablock

Here are some slightly better shots of the large gate in Washington DC's Chinatown district. After I posted pictures last time of a daylight visit, someone informed me that the locals don't refer to it as Chinatown, but as Chinablock, because it's rather small in relation to Chinatowns in other cities. Sounds good to me.

It's a pretty impressive gate, not matter the size of the surrounding area. I wish I'd had the nerve to stand in the middle of the street and photograph it, instead of these shots from the sidewalk. Maybe next time.

Hmm, looks like I did post a nighttime shot of this gate last year. I post so many things that sometimes I forget. Sigh. I even told the same Chinablock story. Double-sigh. These were the very last pictures I took on Friday during my trip to DC. Now we can move on to Saturday! Yeah!

A Different Kind Of Bird

I show you lots of birds here at the blog, but here's the first one I've shared with you who was also an admiral. This sculpture located outside the main gates of Arlington National Cemetery is Rear Admiral Richard Byrd. He was a well known polar explorer of the early 20th century.

Night Falls

I'm getting close to the end of my first full day of pictures in DC, which means I only have all of Saturday and Sunday, as well as most of Monday, left to share with you. Are you starting to realize how long this might take? Anyhow, here are a few shots of DC from atop the bluff where Arlington House is located across the Potomac in Virginia. The shot above is a panoramic of many DC landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building and even the Jefferson Memorial. There's plenty of other stuff in there, too, but those are the highlights.

Here's the view starting at JFK's Eternal Flame, then across the Memorial Bridge, ending at the Lincoln Memorial.

Marine helicopters are constantly buzzing the skies over DC. This one wasn't actually anywhere near the Capitol Building, but from my perspective, it sure looks like it.  That's the Library of Congress to the right, the Jefferson Building, I believe.

And another view of the Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial, reflecting the last rays of the setting sun.

More Woody

I got a few nice shots of a small woodpecker last night as well. He scouted out a few dead trees over my head, then flew off. I guess they aren't quite dead enough to be host to the sorts of food he's looking for. It was nice of him to come out into the direct sunlight for a few minutes though. Made for some nice shots.

Old Birds

I took these detail shots of an old mural hanging over the former Pelican Man Bird Sanctuary on City Island in Sarasota last night. It's currently being run under the name Save Our Seabirds, and I really need to get out there again and take some pictures. I liked the way the old mural is fading away and showing more and more of the wood grain in the plywood underneath. I think that's why you always use a good primer coat under your murals. Anyhow, that's a great blue heron above, with a little bit of pelican to the right.

Here's the rest of the pelican that you're missing in that top picture.

And this one shows an anhinga drying his wings.

This panel manages to squeeze in a little blue heron on the left and a roseate spoonbill on the right. Oh what I wouldn't give to get all of these birds into the same picture.

Vegas

Hmmm, I'm not sure why the Sarasota Outboard Club had a "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" sign outside their building last night, and a cheesy one at that, but it gives me an excuse to tell you I'll be headed to Vegas in less than three weeks. I'll be there for almost four days of picture taking, and I'm sure there'll be a little merriment thrown in as well. Been a long time since I was out there, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Tonight's Dolphins

I was out at Quick Point Nature Preserve this evening not long before sundown and I happened to spot a few dolphin swimming by. There were several of them, and they'd all follow each other out of the water at about the same time, so I was able to get some shots. Frequently, they all emerge at the same time and then disappear, but these were playing some sort of follow the leader game that let me get some shots. Nothing too impressive, but more visible fins than usual.

I'm sure that cormorant was wondering if he'd be able to get his beak around one of these guys if he caught one.


That's a pretty distinctive mark on the dorsal fin of this one. I guess that's a good way of keeping track of the individual dolphins in a certain area. I bet with a little research, I could find out more about this individual. OK, maybe not...

The Oldest

What you are looking at is believed to be the oldest grave in all of Arlington National Cemetery. This one actually predates the creation of the cemetery and contains the godmother of General Robert E.. Lee's wife. Mary Randolph wrote the first American cookbook and died in 1828. The cemetery was not used for military burials until the Civil War. At the time, it was customary for people to be buried near their home, even on their own property. It's rather amazing to me that the monument has survived to this day.

More Unknowns

Close to Lee's House in Arlington National Cemetery lies a lesser known memorial to America's unknown war dead. This monument was erected to honor those unknown soldiers whose bodies were gathered after the Battle of Bull Run. They numbered 2,111 dead. I can't make out what it says completely, not in the pictures and not when I was there in person, but here's a link to a couple of pictures that allow you to read what it says.

More Maine

I brought you a couple of pictures last year of the USS Maine Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, but I didn't have any good pictures of the main component of the memorial. So here are a couple shot of the actual mast from the USS Maine, salvaged from Havana, Cuba, after the explosion that killed three-fourths of those on board.

Known But To God

Here are a couple of good close-up shots from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If you look close, you'll see that the guard shows no rank. This is so that the guard does not outrank the unknowns who are interred here.

The inscription read "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God".

Notice how the wreaths on the side of the tomb are upside down.

Wreath

When I was in DC at Arlington (OK, which is in Virginia, not DC, but still...), we happened to stumble on a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was right after the changing of the guards, actually, but long enough that many people had wandered off. The soldier who had been on duty went into a small guard shack off to the left and another soldier came out and removed a wreath that had been on a stand near the tomb. He placed it on the ground behind the tomb alonside a long row of similar wreaths. I don't tknow how often they change the wreaths, but there were quite a few there on the ground.

Then the guard returned with a new wreath and a trumpeter. He walked up the steps of the viewing area where some ladies were waiting. He spoke to them for a few moments, then they all marched together down the steps.

The ladies placed the wreath on the stand, then stood at attention as the trumpeter blew Taps.

Then they turned and walked back up the steps. I believe the wreath was dedicated to their mother, but I'm not sure. I'm sure it was quite an honor to be allowed to lay a wreath in such a prestigious place.

The Cherry Blossoms

There's something about the bright exuberance of the cherry tree blossoms set against the stoic silence of the soldier's graves at Arlington. All that color up in the air against the cold white stones. It's very beautiful.

Also From Arlington

I showed you a picture just a second ago from Arlington National Cemetery where you could see the Pentagon. Well, Arlington is on a rise in Virgina just across the Potomac River from DC, so you can see lots of things from there. Just as a quick example, you can see the Washington Monument rising beyond a cherry tree in the shot above, and way in the distance in the shot below you can see the Capitol Building. I'm sure I'll come across more as I flip through all my pictures.

McClellan

The original entrance to Arlington National Cemetery is McClellan Gate, the rear of which is seen here. Someday I'm going to have to walk around to the other side of it to see the front. This was as close as we got, so I didn't see too much of it. The gate dates back to 1879, so it's been there for a good long time now. I'm sure it will be there when I get back to DC.
If you look beyond the gate, you can see the Pentagon way in the background.

Emancipation

As promised, here's the other big draw in Washington, DC's Lincoln Park. Sure enough, it's a statue of Abraham Lincoln where he's symbolically freeing the slaves. This statue was planned not long after Lincoln's death, and it was paid for through donations by former slaves. Sorry about the horrible light, I don't have too much control over the sun, and didn't know which way the statue faced before I got there. Note to self-Go in the morning! It doesn't seem to have an official name, but many folks call it Emancipation from the label across the front.



I guess there's a lot of controversy about this statue and it's representation of the slave at Lincoln's feet. All I can say is that you have to look at such things as they would have appeared to the people contemporary with it's creation.