As per usual, our trip began with a ride on the Metro.
Because of the Concert for Valor planned for this evening, there were a lot of street closures and Metro was more crowded than it would usually be on a federal holiday. Metro was prepared, though, with trains running about every 4 minutes, so we didn't have to wait at all. In fact, we got there so quickly, we had time to take a quick walk through the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. It was a nice chance to show Anastasia the original Star Spangled Banner. We should go back soon and spend more time. But today was about the monument. We had a few minutes to wait when we arrived. Enough time to take in the views of the Capital, White House, and Lincoln Memorial.
The elevator ride takes you 500 feet up to the observation area within the monument. From there, we had some really beautiful views of the District. It was really fun watching Anastasia capture her own views.
If you look closely, you can see people claiming spots for the Concert for Valor (just 6 hours before it began).
Anastasia was curious about how much the monument weighs. Fortunately, the museum below the observation deck had the answer: 81,000 tons. There, we also learned how severely the monument was damaged during the 2011 earthquake. This crack extended through the 7 inch thickness of the block.
On the elevator ride down, the glass in the elevator cleared and we were able to see some of the memorial stones that line the interior of the monument. We weren't able to take any pictures of the stones, but Anastasia had a front row view of the stones and was very proud when she found the "Maryland" stone. As we walked away, we paused to take one last picture of the monument. It was a beautiful day to visit the National Mall.
