My 4th visit over the last 12 months was wonderful again.
Thanks Adriana and everyone at Bermuda Gymnastics for making me feel like part of the team.
Category: travel
narrowboat holiday on U.K. canals
Warren posted a report on their summer 2017 holiday on a rental narrowboat called “Cedric” … 68 feet long and only 6′ 8″ wide.
They chose Montgomery Canal.
trip report – Llangollen Canal
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington D.C., dedicated to the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, and to the era he represents.
Weird and interesting, I liked the unusual layout of this memorial.
Argentina beats the All Blacks at World Rugby Classic
It was a dark and windy night. Horizontal rain. Ideal for a Rugby tourney final.
Each year Bermuda hosts a tournament for veteran players. Many bring friends and family.
The Classic Pumas (Argentina) delivered a typically physical performance full of pride and passion last night to overcome a strong New Zealand outfit 15-5 and record their first World Rugby Classic title since 2011. …
Click PLAY or watch the celebration on YouTube.
Classic Lions (GBR) defeated South Africa 33-5 to win the semi-final.
National Archives, Washington DC
The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the original headquarters of the National Archives and Records Administration. …
It holds the original copies of the three main formative documents of the United States and its government: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It also hosts an original version of the 1297 Magna Carta …
Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; “(the) Great Charter”), is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215 …
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. …
Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended 27 times …
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments …
… specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. …
The young, white slaveholders and others who put the American documents together did a surprisingly good job.
On the other hand the Constitution needs additional amendments. In very few ways does the USA lead the world when it comes to human rights.
Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC
Quiet and off the beaten track, I quite enjoyed visiting Jefferson.
The Jefferson Memorial … dedicated to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), one of the most important of the American Founding Fathers as the main drafter and writer of the Declaration of Independence, …
Construction of the building began in 1939 and was completed in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson was added in 1947.
National Gallery of Art, Washington
I’m not much of an Art Gallery fan, truth be told. I mostly use museums like this for speed walking.
But free of charge I quite enjoyed this one.
The National Gallery of Art … is located on the National Mall, …
The special exhibition was Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting. I’d never before paid any attention to Vermeer. But now agree he was a genius.
Normally the lives of rich, dead white Europeans bores me to tears. But Vermeer and those he inspired were really on to something. Daily life. Quiet scenes unfolding in private household spaces.
I’d definitely visit the National Gallery again in future as I did not nearly see all of the exhibits. Not even by speed walking.
War Memorials Washington DC
The World War II Memorial … was dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004. …
As of 2009, more than 4.4 million people visit the memorial each year. …
The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, each 17 feet (5.2 m) tall, arranged in a semicircle around a plaza …
It’s well done. A worthy memorial for those who died fighting Hitler and the Japanese. Though I’m anti-war myself I can’t deny WW II was necessary.
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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial … consists of three separate parts: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, completed first and the best-known part of the memorial; the Three Servicemen Memorial, and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. …
The Memorial Wall is made up of two 246-foot-9-inch (75.21 m) long gabbro walls, etched with the names of the servicemen being honoured …
As many do, I found is stark, simple and evocative. All the names a sharp rebuke to those in politics and the military who stupidly decided to have the USA fight in Vietnam. Sadly Trump and his military henchmen are not likely to have learned the lessons of Vietnam nor Iraq.
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After those two the Korean War Veterans Memorial is surprising.
Within the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues … each larger than life-size, between 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) and 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) tall; each weighs nearly 1,000 pounds (500 kg). …
- Dead — United States: 54,246,[9] United Nations: 628,833[10]
- Wounded — United States: 103,284, United Nations: 1,064,453.
- Captured — United States: 7,140, United Nations: 92,970.
- Missing — United States: 8,177,[11][12] United Nations: 470,267.
Despite the huge casualty list you don’t hear much about the Korean War any longer.
National Air and Space Museum, Washington
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. …
In 2016, the museum saw approximately 7.5 million visitors, making it the second most visited museum in the world …
… Apollo 11 command module, the Friendship 7 capsule which was flown by John Glenn, Charles Lindbergh‘s The Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1which broke the sound barrier, and the Wright brothers‘ plane …
It operates an annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at Dulles International Airport, which opened in 2003 …
I took in the IMAX show Journey to Space 3D. A human trip to Mars is explored.
Even better was the Planetarium show Dark Universe. The history of the discovery of dark matter in the context of how the universe began.
Happy November 2nd
I’m back in Bermuda. Life is good.
Planning to continue my retirement for about another 8 years. Then go back to work.
Rick McCharles 