…while the whole wide world is fast asleep…. Sounds like a song. (It actually is, written by David Mann and Bob Hilliard.) It has nothing to do with our adventures today, except for the hour. Are you ready for this?

Per the plan, we set the alarm for 5:00 am. At 5:30, we were in the car heading for the Greenbelt Metro station. A half-hour trip on the Green line brought us to L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, where we transferred to the Red line to the Smithsonian station, one stop away. Up out of the hole, and we were on the National Mall, near the Washington Monument; the Lincoln Memorial, our destination, lives all the way at the other end of the Mall, about a mile and a quarter away.

By this time, it was almost 6:30, and the sun was just peeking through the clouds, providing us with a spectacular sunrise. The reds, oranges, and yellows lining the clouds were brilliant in the eastern sky. The air still had remnants of the night chill, but jackets weren’t necessary. Within a few minutes, we were both divesting ourselves of the sweatshirts we were wearing and enjoying the cool air. We appeared to be the only tourists on the Mall; the only people we saw were locals jogging. The stillness was alive, and we drank it in.

On our way to Lincoln, we stopped at the Washington Monument and looked straight up at it. (I got a crick in my neck). Then on to the World War II Memorial, where the only person we saw was a maintenance man hosing down the deck. Continuing on, we stopped at the Korean Memorial. As we were approaching the Lincoln Memorial, we saw the first tourist bus of the day stop and eject about 50 people. We were still able to walk up the stairs, look around inside and sit and reflect. Even with the tourists, the place was quiet and calm. Within an hour or so the place would be a zoo. But right now, we could relax and enjoy the majesty of this place.

On the landing about half-way up the stairs, is an inscription carved into the stone that commemorates the "I Have a Dream" speech that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave to 250,000 people on the National Mall and countless others watching and listening on TV and radio. Just to stand where he stood, look up at Lincoln then out to the reflecting pool was awe inspiring.

We walked once more through the Viet Nam Memorial, then made our way back to the Metro.

On the way back, we stopped at 15th and U streets and had breakfast at Ben’s Chili Bowl, another must-do in DC. Barbara actually had chili for breakfast (along with some scrambled eggs). I was not so adventurous; I had eggs and sausage. It wasn’t bad.

Back at the RV, we both took long naps (well, we did get up at 5:00 am).