Its hard to believe that the summer is flying by so quickly. It seems like yesterday that I was going to blog our Memorial Day weekend, which for most people is the beginning of summer. I say "most people" because we once lived in Michigan and people there thaw out and actually do summer a lot later - but that's another story.

Catherine had not been to the new WWII Memorial on the National Mall yet, so we took Memorial Day weekend and spent the day on the Mall - first the WWII Memorial, then some of our other favorites. My dad has been to see the Memorial - he served in the Pacific in WWII. Catherine's dad passed away before the Memorial was completed, so we took a picture of her in front of the New York column of the Memorial.


We had spectacular weather - not too sunny, yet bright and clear. The Rolling Thunder Review is an annual tradition here in the nation's capitol. The hotel closest to us was packed with "bikers", most of them military veterans. I wish I'd taken a picture of the couple we met on the Mall - both former Marines. Catherine commented on her tee shirt, which had an eagle, globe and anchor and a graphic indicating she had proudly served. It was an instant bond and we chatted for nearly half an hour, just yards away from one of the Vietnam statues.

With so many veterans in town, many of the memorials had tributes placed around them. We didn't stop t read them all, but the ones we did read were very moving.


This was in front of the Korean War Memorial - one of the Mall's most haunting memorials. The wreath was placed by "The Sottish American Military Society". It meant alot to both of us - Catherine's uncle was a Navy corpsman who served with a Marine unit in Korea, where he won a Silver Star and two Bronze Stars as well as a couple of Purple Hearts. He is part of the Scottich line of our ancestry - Robert Cyrus Stewart.



These are a few of the many tributes at the Vietnam Wall. The Marine ones really get to me - meaning when I read them I am most likely to experience a piece of winblown dust in my contacts.....



This is one from the WWII Memorial.