Washington Monument photo from takeatoothbrush.com

I didn’t have the time or the budget to travel to Washington D.C. this week to see the Washington Monument so I did it virtually. When I was three years old my family moved to Maryland. The closest congregation of our church was in Washington D.C. so each Sunday we made the drive in the morning for Sunday School and then stayed in the city until Sacrament Meeting in the afternoon. We would usually spend that time at one of the many attractions of Washington D.C.

Not long after we moved to the east coast we sent to the Washington Monument for our Sunday outing. We were enjoying the huge reflecting pond between the monument and the Lincoln Memorial. As children do, me and my sisters starting dragging sticks in the water. Seeing the potential for disaster in our Sunday clothes my parents told us to stop. My sisters listened but I didn’t and soon fell into the water. Because I didn’t know how to swim my dad had to jump in to get me out. We ended up having to drive back home so my dad could change our of his wet suit. I’m not sure if I actually remember this day but there are vague images that seem to be from that day.

I also remember climbing the stair to the top, but I’m pretty sure that we did that on another day. I wonder now if I really made it to the top at such a young age. Maybe I got a little help from my mom and dad. It was fun to take a trip down memory lane this week to celebrate my 50th year.

My virtual tour on the internet turned up some interesting things about the monument and the reflecting pool.

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Nearly Complete

Washington Monument Earthquake Update