Vinnie Reams could serve as a role model for young women of today.She had everything that a girl dreams of.The Victorian teen had an exquisite appearance,marvelous talent,& a quick witted intellect. The charming beauty was only 18 when she was selected by the U.S. Congress to sculpt the Lincoln memorial becoming the first woman to receive a commission to do so.She truly deserved to be regarded as a “child prodigy.”

This was a female artist that should be revered by many. Her story is truly inspirational & riveting.Yet,Vinnie Reams is largely unknown.Most folks do not know much about the beautiful American teen sculptress who  created the statue of Lincoln that now stands in the U.S. Capitol.

Here’s more from Suite101.com:

Vinnie Ream was a colorful character – not exactly the loveable type, but not truly detestable either. She was somewhat of a cross between Donald Trump (with much better hair) and Sarah Palin (without the perpetual victimhood). In other words, she knew the scent of a great business opportunity when she smelled one, was relentless enough to go after it until she got what she wanted, and wasn’t above batting her eyelashes to sway public opinion.

With the dexterity of a born politician, Lavinia Ellen Ream – Vinnie to her friends – integrated herself into Washington, D.C.’s political society, a feat relatively unheard of for a woman without the benefit of a prominent husband. Her friendships with powerful men were enviable across gender lines, and she never failed to use them to further her own agenda. These connections catapulted Vinnie to artistic fame, and her statues stand tall in the rotunda of the capitol building and in Farragut Square, Washington, D.C.

Vinnie Ream: An American Sculptor recounts the life of the 19th-century artist as she lobbied for the Congressional commission to sculpt a memorial of Abraham Lincoln after his death. Having convinced the president to sit for her by playing up her humble beginnings, Vinnie created the most honest likeness to date of the statesman.

Over the course of a few sessions, the sculptor managed to capture Lincoln’s relentless pensiveness, the dour expression, the elongated face, and the famous quiet brooding. But earning the commission meant going up against long-held attitudes about the ability of a woman to do a “man’s job,” so Vinnie used what she had and embedded her artistic skills in feminine charm.

In a relatively short time, she acquired the support of President Andrew Johnson, General Ulysses S. Grant, Admiral David Farragut, senators Thaddeus Stevens (Pennsylvania) and James S. Rollins (Missouri), and Representative Daniel Voorhees (Indiana).

Not surprisingly, the social scene at her studio, which multitudes of politicians regularly visited, became insatiable fodder for the media. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, “Her studio is crammed with every conceivable thing…including two Confederate generals and a lady…. People are coming and going all the time, a thousand interruptions; how is it possible for her to work?”

Despite the churning rumor mills, these influential men would go on to play a remarkable role in helping Vinnie establish her place in history.

All this attention invited tabloid-style critiques, particularly in the form of attacks on her character. Vinnie suffered accusations of everything from trading sexual favors to influencing the outcome of President Johnson’s impeachment trial, and some of the harshest admonishments came from women incensed by her popularity and guile.

It was for this reason that she rebuffed Elizabeth Cady Stanton, prominent figure of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, when Mrs. Stanton solicited her signature on a petition recognizing “women and women’s labor under the Government.”

“You are a working girl, getting your bread by your hands! If you do not help yourself and us, how can Woman help you?”

“‘Mrs Stanton,”’ Vinnie said, airing old grievances, “‘no help has any woman given me here. From Grace Greenwood to Mrs Swisshelm, they have all sought to strike me down…. I will be befriended by gentlemen only, for whilst I never got any justice from a woman, I was never treated meanly by man!’”

Vinnie did indeed believe in women’s suffrage and equality between the sexes. To not would be to ignore the fact that she was fighting daily to be “respected as a sculptor, and not as a female sculptor” (94). Voicing that belief, however, would have meant possibly biting the hands that fed her. Several of the senators who had supported her commission and aided her in securing a studio in which to work, vehemently opposed giving women the right to vote.

Read more here.

One of my favorite things about living in DC are the days when I drive into work.  It’s only 15 minutes, but the best part is when I get into the city.  I usually come in between 6:45 and 7:15, and at this time of year the sun is just coming up.  My route takes me along Independence Ave past the Lincoln Memorial, right along the Potomac River and along the tidal basin.  Traffic is relatively light at this time of day and I love how calm and peaceful everything seems.  It makes me wish we could suspend time right then and there and have the entire day be just as wonderful.

I haven’t taken any pictures, obviously as I’m driving.  But maybe some morning on my day off I’ll go down there and snap some pictures.  In any case, here are some images I could find online that sort of capture the moment.

This is the view from Arlington looking toward DC.

Tidal Basin with Cherry Blossoms in bloom.

Washington D.C.

One of the best things of living in Washington D.C. is taking advantage of all the cultural and social activities that the nation’s capital has to offer. I love walking to the Capitol Building or visiting the Lincoln Memorial during a lazy weekend. As we enter the numbing cold days of winter, I miss the beautiful fall foliage that we had a few months ago.

Today, I saw the first snowflakes of December. Although snowflakes are beautiful, I must admit that I’m not a fan of winter. The only time when I show some level sympathy for winter is when I’m inside of  my warm apartment, wearing my warm soft pajamas while drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Yes, that’s how I spend my winters, warm. At least, I try.

However, I’m determined to make an effort and make my way through the nation’s capital during the cold months. As a winter hermit, this is certainly challenge for me.  My first “wintery” assignment will be to see  the  Christmas Tree at the White House. Who doesn’t want some holiday motivation? I’m pretty sure Santa will be cheering me on!!

On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a historic and important address that we have since come to know as the “I Have a Dream” speech. During that speech, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King called for the people and the government to bring racial equality to reality and to end discrimination in the United States of America. To commemorate Dr. King’s important, sensational and inclusive speech, the divisive and hostile opportunist, right-wing nut Glenn Beck, plans to exploit the great things that Dr. King fought for to advance his bigoted points of view and make a few bucks selling books.

Here is the entire text from the “I Have a Dream” speech (I put it all here because people need to see the entire speech and not just the selected excerpts):

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!³

So now we go from the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest men who ever lived, to someone like Glenn Beck who is set to spit in the faces of black people by holding his rally on the anniversary of “I Have a Dream” and in Washington D.C.

Here is a Facebook comment from CNN contributor Roland Martin, ”Guys like Beck HATE that speech. It was about demanding the govt. do what it’s supposed to do. This is an attempt to rebuke MLK’s vision.”

Roland is correct. Men like Beck selectively quote Dr. King by taking out of context bits and pieces of his speeches to slap down people of color. A lot of people have been conditioned to like Dr. King. Many of these people who have been conditioned to like (or grudgingly accept) Dr. King would be badmouthing him if he were alive today.

From the disgraceful Glenn Beck’s Web site:

- I have begun meeting with some of the best minds in the country that believe in limited government, maximum freedom and the values of our Founders. I am developing a 100 year plan. I know that the bipartisan corruption in Washington that has brought us to this brink and it will not be defeated easily. It will require unconventional thinking and a radical plan to restore our nation to the maximum freedoms we were supposed to have been protecting, using only the battlefield of ideas.

- All of the above will culminate in The Plan, a book that will provide specific policies, principles and, most importantly, action steps that each of us can take to play a role in this Refounding.

- On August 28, 2010, I ask you, your family and neighbors to join me at the feet of Abraham Lincoln on the National Mall for the unveiling of The Plan and the birthday of a new national movement to restore our great country.

This is an intentional insult to Dr. King and to black people. It is not an accident that Beck has chosen this date. Gleefully, Beck is exploiting the great deeds of Dr. King to insult black Americans, disrespect Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to make money selling a book.

From the Daily Kos:

When Glenn Beck called for his national rally at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 2010, he twisted the memory of the day for a country that has evolved from slavery to elect it’s first black president. MLK gave his “I Have a Dream” speech there 46 years ago. President Obama accepted the Democratic nomination last year. Tsk, tsk, ego issues, Glenn?

This is no accident and it speaks lowly of a man with a dark heart and a mean streak when it comes to minorities who don’t fit his vision of what people of color should be like in the United States of America.

This is a jab back and black people.

This is disgusting by Glenn Beck’s standards (and that is saying a lot).

D.C. Skyline (c) 2009 William Lawrence

I thought I’d post something a little closer to home this week.  I was working earlier on framing a larger version (matted to 24×36″) of DC Skyline, so I figured this would be a good photo to post.  I took this photo in September from across the Potomac River from the DC monuments.  One month in the spring and one month in the fall the full moon lines up nicely with the monuments for moonrise.  This is always a popular time for photographers, and I was down there amidst a group of other people with tripods set up.   I chose a day where the moonrise was early enough so there was still some color in the sky, and chose a spot so that I could catch a wider view of DC with the break in the trees showing a bit of the Potomac in the scene.  It was a beautiful night – the sky obligingly had just enough haze to give the moon an orange tint – the color of the sky and the moon make this photo for me.

Taken with a Canon 5D.

This photo will be available as a print in open edition.  You’ll be able to see it in person when Patty and I are at the Fairfax Holiday Show tomorrow and Sunday – stop on by!  You can also e-mail Bill for more info.

Between April 15 and April 26 1959–a few months after he took power in Cuba–Fidel Castro went to the United States, invited by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. In one of those forgotten episodes of the Cold War, Castro went to the US for loans. Castro hired one of the best public relations firms to present his new government. Castro answered impertinent questions jokingly and ate hot dogs and hamburgers. His rumpled fatigues and scruffy beard cut a popular figure easily promoted as an authentic hero.

However President Eisenhower did not believed Castro’s talk of neutralism in the Cold War. Instead of meeting Castro, Eisenhower left Washington to play golf. Vice President Nixon met Castro in a 3-hour long meeting. Nixon asked about elections, and Castro told him that the Cuban people did not want elections. Nixon complained that Castro was “either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline.” His guess, he said, was the former.

Fidel Castro laid a wreath at the Lincoln Memorial–where the moment was immortalized by his photographer Alfredo Korda–and he met the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and told them that he would not expropriate the property of Americans and that he was against dictatorships and for a free press. He went back to Cuba denying that he was a communist because communism was the dictatorship of a single class and meant hatred and class struggle. After his visit to the United States, he would go on to join forces with the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, signing into law many Communist-inspired laws starting the next month.

Fidel Castro remained an admirer of Abraham Lincoln for the next half a century. He had a bust of Lincoln in his office, and wrote that Lincoln was devoted “to the just idea that all citizens are born free and equal”, and once even saying, “Long Live Lincoln!”

Washington D.C., the official capital of the United States, fromerly known as The District of Columbia. Washington D.C. is home to some of the most widely recognized buildings and monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and of course The White House.

The Lincoln Memorial is open daily to the public and houses a 19 foot marble statue of our sixteenth president, Abe Lincoln. Surrounding Abe are inscriptions from the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial is located on the National Mall and overlooks the U.S. Capitol as well as the Washington Monument.

The Washington Monument is also built after a president, our first President, George Washington. The Washington Monument overlooks the reflective pool and stands a almost a whopping 560 feet in the air. It is the tallest building in Washington D.C. and can be seen from almost 30 miles away. There are 50 flags surrounding the base of the monument that represent the 50 states.

Lastly, we have The White House, only the most important building in America. According to Wikipedia, The White House grand totals 55,000 ft² of floor space filled with 6 floors, 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, 3 elevators, tennis court, bowling alley, movie theater, swimming pool, jogging track and lastly a putting green. To plan a tour to The White house you can click here for more informtion on tours and events.

(lincoln picture compliments of mccullagh.org, washing picture taken from travelpod.com and white house photo from globusjourneys.com)

Dodge Angel Statue

The next sites were close together near the Fairview Cemetery on Lafayette and North Second Street in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is the same cemetery that has Amelia Bloomer’s grave. When she was starting to enter her final decline, Ruth Ann Dodge (Mrs. Grenville) had a vision of an angel offering her the elixir of life.  After her death, her daughters commissioned Daniel Chester French (of Lincoln Memorial fame) to create a statue of a black angel in honor of the vision. It was put on one edge of Fairview Cemetery, although Mrs. Dodge was interned in a different cemetery. (Why they didn’t put it near her grave? I have no idea.)

Just past the other end of the cemetery, near a striking overlook is the large stone that is Lincoln’s Council Bluffs memorial.

Council Bluffs Lincoln Memorial

The marker is to memorialize all of Abraham Lincoln’s various connections with the city and the railroad. The area around it has be re-done several times and at some point an eternal flame, whose shaft is still part of the site, was allowed to go out. That’s always a sad thought. People are always so proud to start those eternal flames, but just how eternal are they?

Washington Dc is the world most popular city and as it’s the federal Capitol of United State of America. . Like that’s temptations are always attraction visitor to here. In this city, consists most outstanding or incredible array of attractions, aren’t found to anywhere in this countryIN between huge attraction you can see the often of outstanding memorials and monuments provinces around the city, For instance-The Lincoln Memorial, US Capitol Building, Natural History Museum , Washington Monument, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial Jefferson Memorial, the Air and Space Museum, and etc.
While the Smithsonian Provinces has huge programs and facilities throughout the Washington dc. In this province has lots of 16 incredible attraction situated for entertainment, in them are Museums, Monuments, Nationals Zoo, Park and others are attracting the millions of visitor to there. Hence, visitors if come to here then they don’t miss out these places.
By the Smithsonian Stations, Huge visitors come every to there and the Display of the attraction or Monument are enormous. While, Park of Washington Dc consists remarkable beauty in them, for instance- activities, , trails, biking, seaside area for fishing, footballs, soccer, kickball and lots of them including in Park attractions activities. While, in second hand-the Rock Creek Park is covering near about 2,000 acres of landmark. It’s a majestic National park, where you can traveling such as trail, fishing, hiking, fun, camping, and etc but that’s portions have full of deer live because still there have less than predators. You can definitely watch some another animals and creature on that park, which are- raccoon, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and even you can see little bit American Coyote to there. Like this, exciting features always attract trekkers because they want always-huge excitement in its traveling point. While inside the region, the paved biking trail one of the best and it’s extends all over the monument and memorial places such as Lincoln Memorial.
However, the downtown has own style because in there lots of luxury, outstanding lodge, Washington dc hotels found with according to your pockets budget. It’s a expensive city because it’s the federal Capitol of USA, and visitors one of the best place for traveling.
While here the festivals have own attraction, when they it come, huge crowd and happiness come out over the native peoples as well as visitors face. In few days the up coming festivals will make best excitement next few months.
The Upcoming Festivals are below-22nd Annual Washington Craft show–Washington, Washington DC In these provinces you can see it. Washington Redskins vs New Orleans Saints – it will celebrate in Landover, MD, Maryland Cycle World INTERNATIONAL MOTORCYCLE SHOW presented by Toyota–TBA – It will in next upcoming month at Washington, Washington DC Washington Redskins vs New York Giants (NFL) —Dec 21—it will celebrate also in Landover, MD, Maryland Washington Redskins vs Denver Broncos (NFL)–Nov 15 — it will celebrate in Landover, MD, Maryland. Washington Redskins vs Dallas Cowboys (NFL)—Dec 27—Outstanding festival It is, so you will come here if you want excitement, come here Landover, MD, Maryland
Upcoming festivals definitely give to you lot entertainment. Washington Dc is the come home to festival so you should be visit in this city definitely. Make hotel reservations by online to any Washington Dc hotels, which closed to your attractions. Hope you will celebrate Christmas also here. In addition, always we can say that’s the fabulous city for travel.

The Mall in November

I’m in Washington DC for the weekend and this photo pretty much sums up what it looked like all day long. Of course, the Mall looks beautiful to me anytime of the year, and my favorite view of it is this one from the top of the Lincoln Memorial. When I snapped this picture today I was reminded of my last visit to DC, just over a year ago. I came through while filming some shortform videos about fall foliage road trips and happened to be in town the night of the presidential election.

My mom came along with me on that trip and we’d been following the elections on the radio over the course of the six weeks we’d been on the road. When we finally reached DC it was like a New Year’s Eve party downtown and I remember staying up late to watch Obama’s acceptance speech. We stayed at a Marriott just off the Mall and the next morning I got up super early to jog the Mall (one of my favorite things to do when I visit DC) and to sprint up the Lincoln Memorial steps. It was something I’ll always remember because when I reached the top the sun was just cresting over the Capitol Building and it was such a beautiful morning and there was kind of an electricity in the air. 

Today, however, was a perfect day for museum hopping (and a brief stop at the Lincoln Memorial because I love it and its beautiful view!) So after meeting up for coffee with the incomparable Lori Rothschild Ansaldi, my Travel Channel producer and fellow yoga fanatic, I headed out with an umbrella and no real plan other than a desire to see some museums.  I lost track of time at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and was enthralled by their new exhibit, Written in Bone, which was all about how forensic anthropologists are using human remains to discover what life (and death) was like in colonial Virginia.

Here’s a short video about the exhibit, courtesy of the Smithsonian:

There’s a lot more people in D.C. who need this worse than this statue ever did

(Lincoln Memorial)

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: CptChaos via Advanced Lol Builder

» Recaption This!

» View All Captions

Washington, D.C. is one of the best budget travel destinations that families can enjoy in a single weekend.  This city enriched in history has something for everyone.  The museums, historic sites and cemeteries are just a few of the attractions that you can explore on an inexpensive family vacation. 

The best part of visiting Washington, D.C. is that most of the attractions require no entry fee. Landmarks such as Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Monument are just a few that are free.  Located near each other, all these attractions are easy to enjoy within a day. 

Please note that the best deals for hotels are around the months of January, July, and August.  These are the off-season months that host fewer visitors.  Also, if you are in need of a rental car make sure you take advantage of Thrifty’s 10% off with any American Express Card deal.  This car rental offer is valid only until January 31, 2010 and is subject based upon their terms and conditions.

One of our many "adventures..." the mud spa in Costa Rica.

Two weeks ago today I got engaged. In some ways it seems like so long ago. I’m now sitting on the other side of the world from my fiancé Michael. Who, by the way, was supposed to have sent me a photo of us on the day we got engaged, but hasn’t, so I’ve put up just a nice photo of us from another time.

Michael truly outdid himself, and probably every other man on the planet, with his proposal. I won’t go into all of the details, but suffice it to say that it was beyond my wildest dreams. He essentially created an adventure for me, providing me step-by-step instructions that led me from my bed in Atlanta to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was magical, the best day of my life to date. Not to mention that the ring is perfect.. Ah how I miss that ring. We decided it would be wise for me not to bring the ring with me to South Africa, so replaced it the day before I left with a thin sterling silver band. It’s still nice to have a ring on that finger, even if it’s not THE ring. Reminds me when I get lonely that I have the most amazing life to look forward to when I get home.

It is now that, for most women, the fun begins. Wedding Planning. Well, I am clearly not “most women” because I am dreading this process. I originally thought it would be nice to just fly off to Hawaii and get married on the beach, then throw a party for friends and family when we return. But after discussions with Michael and friends, I do think there would be a part of me that would ultimately regret not having a day during which my loved ones view our commitment and share in our joy with us. This, however, gets complicated. Michael and I have different ideas when it comes to weddings. I’ll spare the details, but basically I’m thinking no frills…and while I wouldn’t say that Michael particularly likes “frills”, he is more interested in a formal ceremony. Uh oh. Add in to the mix that I’m not interested in having a long engagement, which leaves us with not much time to nail down a place and date. Oh yeah, and I’m in South Africa. Sigh.

Naturally, it will all turn out just fine. I’m generally a stressball about these types of things, but I’m thinking about chilling out a little bit on this one. In fact, I care so little about the specifics of the day that I’m inclined to just go with whatever Michael wants to do. Sounds like a role reversal doesn’t it? Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my edge – in the lifetime of compromises ahead, I’ll let him take the wedding – I’d rather have control over the name of our first-born…;-)

P.s. I did watch “Bride Wars” on the plane over here. It’s worth a watch, especially if you think weddings are somewhat ridiculous. My favorite part is when Murphy Brown (real name?) tells Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway that women are pretty much dead until they get married. Ha!

“In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” Beneath these words, the 16th President of the United States—the Great Emancipator and preserver of the nation during the Civil War—sits immortalized in marble.

It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and was dedicated on May 30, 1922. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue (Abraham Lincoln, 1920) was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. It is one of several monuments built to honor an American president.

The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America’s Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

The focus of the memorial is Daniel Chester French’s sculpture of Lincoln, seated on a throne. French studied many of Mathew Brady’s photographs of Lincoln and depicted the president as worn and pensive, gazing eastwards down the Reflecting Pool toward the capital’s starkest emblem of the Union, the Washington Monument.

From 1959 to 2008, the Lincoln Memorial was shown on the reverse of the United States one cent coin, which bears Lincoln’s portrait bust on the front. The statue of Lincoln can be seen in the monument. This was done to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.
The memorial also appears on the back of the U.S. five dollar bill, the front of which also bears Lincoln’s portrait.

Travel to Lincoln Memorial is always for learn. In this temple or building is situated the Abram Lincoln statue, which sits immortalized in marble. Lincoln is the heart of the people for who saved the Union. “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” Like that word in its beneath. Lincoln Memorial is the symbol of freedom, glory, hope and inspiration. Hopeless and inspiration peoples come here.  The temperature to there are is always mild.

Lincoln Memorial

You can travel to that’s fabulous of memorable place if you visit here. It learn to him about freedom and hope. After the watch of Lincoln Memorial, you can see inside other famous architecture and provinces including- Washington dc Monument, parks and huge other things.

Lincoln Memorial facts:

• Ground breaking: February 12,1914
• Cornerstone laid: February 12, 1915
• Architect: Henry Bacon
• Statue created by: Daniel Chester French
• Size of Grounds: 6.3 Acres

Open: Every day, except Christmas and 4^th july.
Hours: 24 Hours
Admission: Free

Yesterday, I finished my longest marathon training run: 20 miles.

I still can’t believe I did it! As many of you know, last year when I trained for the Philly marathon, the longest run I did was 10 miles. This year, I’ve been keeping up with my training. Now, I’m already done my longest training run—and I couldn’t feel better about it!

After last weekend’s 18-miler, I was nervous. So nervous that I couldn’t fall asleep Friday night. I kept wondering if I was prepared. I mean, last week I thought I was MORE than ready for my run, but I felt horrible after only six miles. What if I had a bad run again this weekend? Would I be ready for the marathon on November 22?

When I woke up yesterday morning, I ran to my window. The weather was PERFECT for running. In typical fall fashion, it was damp outside from a night of rain, BUT  it was surprisingly warm—around 70 degrees. I tied on my new running sneakers and headed outside.

I ran downtown, where I did three loops around the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Despite the damp weather, the tourists were out and about. I dodged families taking photos and couples walking slowly along the pathways. Then I headed over to the tidal basin. The limbs of the cherry trees hung low, weighed down by leftover rain and the walkway around the basin had huge puddles filled with leaves and mud. Between ducking under branches and jumping over puddles, I definitely got an agility workout, too. After I finished my second loop at the tidal basin, I ran to the National Mall, which is a long stretch of grass between the Capitol Building and the National Monument. It was packed with kickball games, tourists going to and from the Smithsonian museums, and a big crowd rallied for the Walk for Autism Now. I people-watched the whole time, which kept my mind off of running. I did three laps around the Mall, which was another six miles. Then I headed back home.

For fuel, I had cut up half of a peanut butter PowerBar and put the pieces in a little ziplock bag in my short’s pocket. Between miles 12 and 13 I ate a few pieces of the PowerBar and ate a few more pieces between miles 16 and 17. Throughout the entire run, I drank water from the bottle I held in my hand. This seems to be the best process for me. I felt hydrated and refueled at the right times.

The run home was mostly uphill. I was most worried about the steep, long hill on 16th Street, which I hadn’t been able to run up the last time I had done a 12-mile training run downtown. Yesterday, though, I ran up no problem. In fact, when I got to the top I had so much energy left over, I picked up the pace the last mile-and-a-half to my front door. Can you believe it? I actually had energy left over! I think I owe this to the fact that I took the beginning of my run slow. I have a tendency to go out fast, and then die half-way through. So yesterday I tried to break my habit and start off running slower than I thought I needed to. This worked so well, that I think I’ll take this same strategy during the marathon.

The rain held off for me (thank goodness), and it just misted outside. Between the cool breeze and the mist, I never felt overheated and my muscles were nice and loose. I was like a new runner compared to last weekend. Now don’t get me wrong, the run wasn’t easy. But it was fun, and that’s what really matters. If I run like this on the day of the marathon, I will be one happy runner!

During the weekend of January 17^th and 18^th, 2009, I watched as President Elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama and their two daughters took a historic train ride from Philadelphia, PA to Washington D.C. to commemorate the train ride that Abraham Lincoln took on his march to the White House, stopping along the way in Delaware to pick up the Vice President Elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden and stopping again in Baltimore, MD to give an uplifting speech to the crowd that assembled there.  During his speech, an unknown woman in the crowd shouted, “We love you!” to which Mr. Obama replied with a smile, “I love you back.”  The following Sunday, a huge crowd of nearly two million people gathered at the Washington National Mall for an inaugural celebration on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial which included some entertainment from musicians and artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, Bono and his band U2, Jon Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, Josh Groban and Beyonce Knowles.  The event was hosted by some of America’s top Hollywood actors and actresses such as Laura Linney, Tom Hanks (one of my personal favorites), Denzel Washington, Jack Black, Samuel L. Jackson, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx and Kal Penn just to name a few.  Barack Obama’s daughters Malia and Sasha Obama were also on hand to witness the event by their mother and father’s side.  It was later reported that when Mr. Obama asked Malia (who was just ten years old at the time) about what kind of speech he should deliver on the day of his inauguration, Malia promptly replied, “The first African-American President?  It better be good!”

Then, my family and I witnessed history in the making yet again as Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, an ordinary black man from Illinois, took the sacred oath of office and became the 44^th President of the United States of America.  A crowd of millions descended upon the capital city to witness this historic event.  By far, the largest crowd ever assembled in Washington D.C.  The crowd wept tears of joy as the Chief Justice who administered the oath became the first man to call him “Mr. President”.  The President’s inaugural speech wasn’t as lofty as some of his other speeches in the past have been.  Rather, it was to the point; serious and mindful.  He spoke of the state of our country’s economy and the hardships we face as a nation.  He spoke of the hope that General George Washington gave to the future of America during times of crisis and related that we the people can change our fate just as our founding fathers did when this great nation was forged a few centuries ago.  Mr. Obama said that our “patchwork heritage” was what gave our country its strength and was not its weakness. 

Here’s my take on it:  We are a young country, we’ve only been around for a few hundred years and our people haven’t blended into one people yet.  We are a racially, socially and geographically diverse country and yet we come together united as one because of our common ideology of freedom.  The vague hope and dream that we can live free.. it’s what makes us Americans and what sets us apart from the rest of the world.   Maybe some day down the road about a thousand years from now, Americans will all look the same.  Like peoples of other countries and cultures that have been around for thousands of years, maybe someday we will evolve into one people on the outside as well as the inside and put our patchwork heritage in the past and into the history books forever.  Until that great day when we can no longer tell the difference between the vast races that make up our nation, our common ideas and interests will have to suffice.

More to come, folks.

Blakjak

By Bronwen Gainsford

Men’s Soccer faced Newberry at home on Thursday, October 15th. Catawba was able to get on the board first, with a goal scored by freshman, Valentin Nava. Newberry answered the Nava with a goal. Catawba’s Andrew Landry was able to score before the end of the first half, to put Catawba in the lead. However, in the second half, Catawba was unable to score and Newberry was able to add two more goals, leaving the final score, 4-2. The Men’s Soccer Team will face Lincoln Memorial, next, on Sunday, October 18th at LM.

Last full week. Sigh.

Washington D.C., Chincoteague, VA, Cambridge , Md.

In D.C. we finally had Ethiopian food. We ate at Etete . It was soooooooooo good. I highly recommend this food.

Sup Trapeze School. Come to Albuquerque.  

Chincoteague, VA. We went to go see ponies. We saw no ponies. We did find delicious food at Bill’s Restaurant ( lunch and dinner) , dead horseshoe crabs and 52 degree water..

I found my mom’s old glasses. They are almost the same prescription.

Saturday I had lunch with my childhood friend Cindy.

We rule something fierce. Thanks for the pics Cindy!

I have no doubt that it would take a lot of books to contain what I did not learn in school( public school as well as college) and it actually does , I guess. But being a big history buff, what I recently learned in a novel just astounded me. I will admit that my real fondness for history  kinda  hit in college, although it was beginning to develop sooner.

I had some really good professors in that process. I remember Dr Ross in Latin American history and Dr Tien Mien Wu (hope I spelled that right) in Asian history. Alas, the other names have been withdrawn from the memory bank. In those days, there was a lot of note taking as well as a lot of reading and essay writing; all of which seemed tailor-made for me. I don’t seem to remember a course in American history. Since my course selection was up to me, perhaps I thought that was one area I did not need to study. Duh! Was I and have I been wrong.

I have recently rediscovered an author named Vince Flynn whose works have been described as high concept political intrigue. Rush highly endorses him, but even if you are not a Rush fan, Flynn might still be worth a read.

I have just finished “Memorial Day”, written in 2004 and am anticipating his latest, “Pursuit of Honor” as soon as the  library calls. Most, but not all, of his books feature a CIA operative named Mitch Rapp, a quite results oriented guy. He is the kind of guy that Ioften hope we actually have in the service of our country.

My big time history lesson comes from the latter stages of Memorial Day and I quote.

                   “The fathers of America had designed their city to form  a crucifix.The Washington Monument marked the center, with the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial forming te longer center line while the Jefferson Memorial and the White House formed the shorter horizontal line.”

I have never visited the capital, so I had to resort to a map from  the lonelyplanet to check Flynn out. Sure  enough, it works. I think what really intrigued me about the above description is that I probably never heard it in school and I seriously doubt one would hear about it today.

thanks, Mr Flynn, keep writing about Mitch and we will keep reading!

(I minored in history at Appalachian State and given my grades in history versus my major, perhaps the roles should have been reversed. )

i’m listening to… micachu and the shapes.

saturday, september 26th, 2009.
got into dc after a layover in boston kinda late, and it took FOREVER to get from the godamn washington-dulles airport to where i wanted to go (my couchsurfer host’s house). she picked me up from the subway station after like three hours of travel or something, and then she went out with her friend and i went out to the experimental music show, sonic circuits. it was pouring like a motherfucker, which was kind of a bummer.

i hadn’t eaten in a while and was super starving, so like the fatass i am, i decided to eat snacks instead of a regular meal. got some peanut butter-filled pretzels and a bag of utz chips… the best chips ever, really. carolina bbq?!! it’s like bbq meets salt & vinegar aka HELLA FUCKING GOOD. ridiculously good. anyway, after cramming this shit down my gullet, standing in front of the drugstore under an overhang to keep out of the rain, i walked a block over to the black cat. stomped in a giant puddle on the way, hence i was fucking FREEZING to death in the venue because it was sOoOoOo cold and i was wet, too.

as i was watching one of the performers that night, kotra, this ukranian electronic dude, my camera fucked up, and i’m pretty convinced it had to do with his sound. i asked some other guy who was taking video next to me if it was possible, and he thought i was crazy and was not convinced. but check these pics, man. other than the first pic, the pics were taken the next day when it had a temporary relapse for a sec, but since then, the camera has been 100% in working condition.

many more where these came from.

kotra was amazing.

there was also a free jazz band and i don’t understand free jazz whatsoever, but it was interesting.

started talking to this persian couple — both really cute — about music and what not. saw them the next day, too. they were nice!!!

one more act had a visual and audio component synced together, but unfortunately, the venue hadn’t provided them with projectors. so, no visuals… they just tested out their audio portion. it was this japanese girl and a black dude, and the black dude made these shirts that plugged into usb portion of a computer and they were touch-sensitive, so when you touched certain parts of the shirt, it would make a sound. it was pretty godamn cool.

took the metro back late at night and then chatted a bit with katyln’s roommate, mb. mb was talking about how it was amazing, she thought, that a girl like myself (and others similar to myself) could travel by ourselves because she could never do it and she described herself as a “typical american” who has never been outside of the united states and is kind of content with that. kind of sad, really.

sunday, september 27th, 2009.

anyway, the next day, katyln, my couchsurfing host, and i, hung out. this started with some tapas at la tasca in alexandria’s old town (not in d.c.)! on the way back, we stopped by a new age bookstore for a while and she asked questions, and then we borrowed bikes and headed off to the city. i borrowed her roommates but i can’t use bikes unless the seats are really low, so we had to lower it…

obligatory washington dc pics. not gonna lie — really didn’t care about any of this shit other than seeing it for a sec. not that exciting. especially not with other people because then i can’t just cheel.

washington memorial. btw, all these monuments are in what’s considered a national park, which is really funny to me, because it’s so different from the kinds of national parks that are in the rest of the country.

some kind of world war ii monument that was remarkably new — think it was erected in like, 2003.

it started raining, so we went to starbucks to chill and hang and chat for a while. ^__^ nom nom nom chocolate banana smoothie, nom nom nom.

after doing the downtown circle, we went to the eastern market. lotta cool random stuff, and good, cheap fruit! mmmmmmmmmmm. got a buncha peaches for like a quarter each, like big, full-sized peaches (i think they were about to rot or something).

that night, went to see another part of the sonic circuits tour, this time to see HEALTH (along with some others, like faust). it was cool… decided to talk to the guy from HEALTH i had a crush on and he was really nice. did an impromptu interview and it went really well… now i just gotta find the time to write the godamn thing, ugh!

so i left and katlyn drove back and i decided to take the subway to josh wu’s place in dc, only the subways were about to stop running so i had to catch the last one. i accidentally missed the train i was supposed to take because i thought i was supposed to take a yellow train when it was in fact green (or vice versa) and i missed the last train and ended up taking it into another direction and being stuck in the middle of nowhere-ish and josh had to come and rescue me, haha. fun times. :|

his condo was really nice and i got a really super ass comfortable bed to sleep in because he has a spare bedroom. it ruled, needless to say, especially since i’d been sleeping on couches for quite a while by this point in time.

monday, september 28th, 2009.
josh left me a spare key and i just worked at his house all day until it was time for me to go to baltimore. got myself to the greyhound station and accidentally missed the proper bus because i had headphones on when they called for a chance of gate. by the time i realized it, i’d missed the bus by a couple minutes and it had already left, which sucked. the next one didn’t leave for another two hours or something. UGH.

washington d.c. greyhound station rating: DECENT.

IR Photo of the Lincoln Memorial from FullManualControl.Com

All credits for this photo goes to Fullmanualcontol.Com
Thanks to Fullmanualcontol.Com

the time of the season.

mo + robert are engaged!

i was delighted to meet this awesome + energetic couple a few weeks ago for an engagement session downtown. summer was just rolling out and it was a perfect fall evening to stroll around the pond near the lincoln memorial – a long time favorite spot of theirs and a first for me! the late afternoon light was surreal and i took every advantage to shoot directly into the sun, since i think nothing is more magical than wild, unruly sunflare!

we walked and talked and shot and laughed for almost two hours, and i’m so glad i got to meet this couple. they are so cute together, very funny, and totally passionate about travel + music, and of course, each other! i’m constantly amazed at how lucky i am to attract the *most* wonderful couples who are willing to open their lives + hearts to me – spending time with happy people in love is such a joy!