This Saturday Dave and I decided to dedicate to visiting Theodore Roosevelt island. Located just south of Georgetown, the Island offers an excellent opportunity for city folk to enjoy the great outdoors. Theodore Roosevelt Island is a memorial to America’s 26th president, in recognition of his contributions to conservation. The large statue of Teddy is erected at the memorial plaza of the island.
But before visiting the island, we stopped at The Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial. We aimed for the sunrise, but got there a little late – still good.
According to the information from the surrounding panels, the 32-foot-high sculpture of the Iwo Jima Memorial was inspired by a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of one of the most historic battles of World War II. Iwo Jima, a small island located 660 miles south of Tokyo, was the last territory that U.S. troops recaptured from the Japanese during World War II. The Iwo Jima Memorial statue depicts the scene of the flag raising by five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman that signaled the successful takeover of the island. The capture of Iwo Jima eventually led to the end of the war in 1945.
The view of the Washington Memorial and the Capitol is captured in the background.
The figures of the Marines in the Iwo Jima Memorial statue erect a 60-foot bronze flagpole from which a cloth flag flies 24 hours a day. The base of the memorial is made of rough Swedish granite which is inscribed with the names and dates of every principal member of the U. S. Marine Corps. Also engraved are the words “In honor and in memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since November 10, 1775.”
The Netherlands Carillon, a bell tower and park are adjacent to the memorial. The 50 bells of the Netherlands Carillon hang in an open steel tower, a symbol of Dutch regard for American aid during and after World War II. The carillon’s peaceful setting, with its floral libraries and sculpted lions, is the perfect place to listen to the music of the bells.
Beautiful flowers and the DC views.
Theodore Roosevelt Island is one of the unexpected, urban parks, which is so close to DC but with a unique, natural ecosystem to enjoy. We came early, so were able to park near the footbridge.
Another view of the footbridge.
Once we walked onto the footbridge to Teddy Roosevelt Island, we were officially in the District, since Virginia’s boundary ends at the river’s edge.
After crossing the bridge, we found a sign with a map of the park and some information about the nature that can be encountered during the visit. This is a great place to enjoy nature and get away from the busy pace of downtown.
Theodore Roosevelt Island has 2 1/2 miles of foot trails where you can observe a variety of flora and fauna. The island is an easy hike over mostly level dirt and stone dust paths and a long boardwalk.
We headed uphill to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial first. The statue of Theodore Roosevelt overlooking the large plaza. Behind the statue are large, granite tablets with quotes from Roosevelt on favorite topics like Manhood, Youth and Nature.
Then, we took a long hike around the island. We saw this fallen tree and walked on it.
Some trees have some carvings.
The landscape is diverse along the trail at Theodore Roosevelt Island. The trail took us to the edge of the Potomac River. We saw a few canoers in the river under the bridge.
Arlington Skyline.
There is quite a bit of graffiti under the bridge.
Potomac river bank looked so peaceful in the morning .
The trail loops to the left and becomes a boardwalk near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge to DC. We decided to follow it.
A boardwalk stretches along part of the trails at Theodore Roosevelt Island making it an easy place to walk.
The island is a nice place to enjoy nature away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Benches are everywhere on the boardwalk.
We took a turn to the river edge from the trail to take a glimpse of the Kennedy Center.
We were able to see the Washington Harbor Complex and some wild ducks from the river edge.
From the North end of the island, we could view Georgetown and the Key Bridge .
Following the path.
There was the clear view of Arlington from the northern end of the island as the path continued close to the water.
Walking over the footbridge back to Arlington.
On our way home, we stopped at the AirForce Memorial. We see the memorial every time we drive to and from DC, but we didn’t have a chance to visit it until now.
The United States Air Force Memorial honors the service of the personnel of the United States Air Force and its predecessors. The Memorial is located in Arlington, Virginia, on the grounds of Fort Myer near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery (from Wikipedia).
The memorial is enormous. According to Wikipedia, the design consists of three memorial spires, which range from 201 feet (61 m) to 270 feet (82 m) high and appear to be soaring; its array of stainless steel arcs against the sky evoke the image of “contrails (vapor trails) of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision ‘bomb burst’ maneuver.” Only three of the four contrails are depicted, at 120 degrees from each other, as the absent fourth suggests the missing man formation traditionally used at Air Force funeral fly-overs.
The Pentagon building as it is seen from the Memorial grounds.
South of the approach, before the inscription wall, stand four 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) bronze statues of the Memorial’s Honor Guard.
To the north, here is a free-standing glass panel with the images of four F-16s flying in a Missing man formation engraved on both sides of the 5-ply panel. The north inscription wall is visible through it (from Wikipedia).
One more view of the memorial is taking from the parking lot while we were leaving.
After that, we enjoyed our cinnamon crepes with strawberries brunch at the La Madeline café.
Then, we spent a couple of hours riding bikes around our neighborhood.
Here is one of the beautiful plants that we encountered during our bike ride. So pretty!
