Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Last night A and I decided, foolishly, we had enough time to walk to the new MLK memorial and get to Dupont circle in time for a 6:30 dinner with friends.  Since we left Foggy Bottom at 5:55, this was a fools errand, but it was well worth being late for dinner.

I had heard some aesthetic criticism of the new MLK memorial, but I think it is great.  What makes memorials great, and in my opinion almost all the memorials on the mall in Washington fit this criteria, is a majestic approach.  MLK is no slouch in majesty.  As you approach the memorial entrance, which is two giant pieces of granite simulating a pass through a mountain, you see just a glimpse of the tidal basin beyond.  Coming through the passage you see another great piece of "mountain" in front of you surrounded by tidal basin off in the distance, and across the basin, the Jefferson memorial.  The idea is you are moving through the "mountain of despair" and ending up at the "stone of hope" (www.mlkmemorial.org).  Beautiful flow.  I also like the way the memorial is situated on the sightline between Jefferson and Lincoln.  To me, this adds so many historical grounding points - Jefferson a slave owner (although conflicted over it) and Lincoln an abolitionist.

The part of the memorial shown on most TV stations over the last few months was a close up image of part of the statue of King; this image made me think the memorial would be a gaudy simple structure.  But the truth is the statue of King is set into the piece of the "mountain" in the middle of the plaza, making it much more subtle than the TV images let on.  I really like the imagery for its surface simplicity and deeper meaning.  In many ways, the monument is a visual representation of MLK's speeches - simplicity with great meaning brought about through strong metaphors.  The whole monument is extremely tasteful and well done.  

Biking

To me, rail to trail trails are as mountain biking as I need to get.  To my host, not so.  This discrepancy has been great for me over the last two weeks

Last week, we went biking twice at Black Hill Regional Park in Montgomery County, Maryland.  While this is an advanced beginning trail, it was a challenge for me.  Luckily, I only fell once (don't judge, it is sometimes really hard to clip out of your bike pedals before you lose your balance).  The trail meandered on some paved paths, but mostly on root and rock dirt trails.  The worst part was the hill with much rough trail and a steep drop to the side; I stopped and walked my bike several times.  The best part was the small and frequent dips; it was like a mountain biking roller coaster.  By the time we turned around and headed back to the parking lot on our first visit, I was feeling quite confident (of course this is when I fell).  The second trip to Black Hill my ride was much faster as I was not quite so terrified of the terrain.  I even was able to accomplish some of the obstacles I opted out of earlier in the week.

Yesterday, we went to a park in northern Virginia.  This park was much more my speed, or so it seemed at first, as the trails had fewer obstacles.  But then we got to the switchbacks under the power lines.  Oh, how those would have been tons of fun if I wasn't so terrified of falling.  They were fun though, especially the last one where the switchback cut swiftly down a hill and the sides of the trail were so worn down with use it was like being in a tight luge run.  The best part of our ride in Virginia - I fell in the parking lot before we even started our ride!

Lots of fun.  I think, however, next week will find me back on the rail to trail Eastern Trail in Maine.  

Nostalgic for College

Today I find myself sitting in a Starbucks at GW listening to undergrads complain about midterms and graduate students discuss very complex projects.  Oh how I wish I was still in school!  Last night I dreamt I was in medical school, but I had forgot to schedule any fourth year rotations.  Things were obviously not going well, but I didn't care because, in the dream, I didn't want to be a doctor I just wanted to have a baby.

It is nice and strange to be back in the DC area.  Some of my (A and my) best times were here.  Our dear friend who we are crashing for the month has a charming row house in Frederick.  Two fireplaces, a cute fenced in backyard that Clara quite enjoys judging by the holes she dug there yesterday, and lots of creaky floors.  Very cute!

After meandering down the east coast last week including getting stuck in traffic in the Bronx (why the GPS routed me through the Bronx, I don't know; further, I don't know why after traveling by car to DC about two dozen times in my life I didn't know a better route on my own) and a brief stop in New Jersey for lunch with a friend, I arrived in Maryland.  Despite my generally negative perception of Maryland, Frederick is a charming southern town (mid-southern?).  Just a few blocks from where we are staying is a string of parks along a creek.  The center piece of the main park is a stone bell tower.  Paths meander around fields, a pond, a fountain, an outdoor theater.  Just adjacent to the park is a walking path along a canal (not a working canal, but a flood control canal).  There is obviously a great appreciation for art objects here because along the canal, in addition to shops, restaurants, and condos, is a trompe l'oeil bridge.  On it, several "stones" are painted with pictures to represent Frederick; however, some of them seem strange representations to me.  Another foot bridge looks like a modern suspension bridge and a third has intricate wrought iron pieces intertwined with the bridge railings.  While Frederick is not a big city, there are streets and streets of old stone and brick row houses and lots of cute shops.  Definitely cooler than many medium sized New England cities including the one I live in.

Last weekend, we went to the Myersville Trolley Festival where our host was selling some of her photographs.  (Check out her awesome photos at Under the Same Sun).  It used to be that trolleys connected much of western Maryland as a way for farmers to get their goods to market.  Oh how cars ruined that!  But here in Myersville, Maryland, Donald Easterly randomly decided to refurbish a trolley car.  And they actually let you inside it!  The festival was windy, but we ate some tasty food and listened to some Bluegrass music.

Sunday, I reluctantly, (reluctant only because I am lazy) drove to Annapolis to go to the Maryland Renaissance festival.  It was actually great fun!  They have quite the grounds for a place that is only open  nine weeks a year.  The jousting was by far the best.  We rooted for Scotland (only by default because we sat on the Scotland side), but Scotland lost.  I'm pretty sure based on the wonky scoring that the competition was fixed anyway.  The most mind boggling thing about any Renaissance festival, to me anyway, is the extents people, ordinary people not working there, go to to dress up for said festival.  I hope these people go to multiple Renaissance festivals every year just to get their monies' worth.

Alas, now I am wishing I was back in college because (oddly) I just love studying and writing papers and having a small and immediate purpose with small and immediate feedback.  I suppose editing my students' essay drafts in Starbucks is close enough to being in college.  And the best part, I can procrastinate more than I ever did in college.

(My former German professor just sat down at the table next to me!  Hee hee hee!)

How Can You Tell It's Time for a Road Trip?

In Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, he describes marriage as two separate pillars holding up a temple.

"And stand together yet not too near together:  For the pillars of the temple stand apart..."

It is important for two people to be independent, but they need to also be holding up the same building.  Andy being away for four months is not as bad as things can be by any means.  There are countless spouses alone for up to a year if not more because their other halves are deployed.  And some day Andy and I will most likely experience that.  Even though we have been lucky enough to see each other three times since he left in August, I feel so discombobulated lately.  I am a crooked temple.

That is when you know it is time for a road trip.  In this situation, there is no reason to not spend as much time as possible together because someday it might be impossible to spend time together.  I am seizing the day and road tripping to Maryland!