Trip 2

Sunday May 16, 2004

We got up bright and early at 9:30 and was out of the hotel at 11:30. Grandpa wanted to drive around a bit to get the lay of the land. Just as we got around the end of the Mall and behind the Lincoln Memorial we ran into the, “Intersection of Death,” which turned up later also. Grandpa thought that you can turn east here and head back up the Mall towards the Capitol. But no, the road continues across the Potomac to Arlington Cemetery. As we didn’t know what else to do, we decided to visit it. We saw Lee’s House, FDR’s memorial etc. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier there was a wreath ceremony. Four children placed a wreath on a rack in front of the tomb before a bugler played taps. I think it must have been to memorialize a soldier killed in Iraq.

After eating lunch we visited the Lincoln Memorial. One has to wonder how the workers got the huge block (s?) of marble that became Lincoln onto the huge foundation/pedestal. But more amazing is the National Cathedral. At first I thought it was owned by the Federal Government, in which case it would be open to who knows what. But it is privately owned and non-denominational. The structure itself, being a Cathedral, is stunning. But what is the correct reaction to Cathedrals? Awe for the building? No. Awe for the builders? Well, for a time. But the awe for the builders should be followed up by an awe for God. Why? Because this building is dinky compared to the wonders that God makes. No matter how hard men work, they will never create a universe. But they can make stunning, according to men, monuments to a God that out-stuns everything.