The wall contained names of all who have fallen in the line of duty post-September 11th. As we walked through the memorial, I remembered my very first (and only) trip to "the wall" that is in Washington D.C.
When I was a junior in high school, our band trip was to the East coast and we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit the different memorials and monuments that are within that city.
I'd love to go back one day...
It was then that a group of us had decided to purchase a POW/MIA bracelet that contained the names of soldiers, where they were from, and the branch of military they were serving. The man on my bracelet was from Spencer, Iowa (which I thought was coincidental)! I kept it on for YEARS. (part of the deal is you are supposed to keep it on, until the soldier is found.) A few years later I visited a "traveling" wall and a vendor was selling similar POW/MIA bracelets, so my little brother and I decided to buy a few. They handed each of us a paper bag, and when I examined the bracelet, I almost cried. I don't know what the chances are...but engraved on my bracelet was the same name of the man that was on my first bracelet...
God bless the men and women that serve our country!!!
SO...here is a summary of day #2 in San Francisco:
We began the day by heading to Golden Gate Park to visit the Academy of Science. First, we stopped at the botanical gardens and took a stroll.
This next one was one of my favorites from the entire trip...
I may have "over edited" some of these, as I'm still playing around with the program, but I thought the butterflies needed a little more color! :)
I decided that the rain forest section of the academy was my favorite. I would love to visit an "actual" rain forest some day!
Here's another one of my favorites. (ok...truth be known, I have a TON of favorites from this trip!)
And then...there was the Albino Alligator...it's not every day that you have an opportunity to see one of these!
After the Academy, we jumped over to the Palace of the Arts...(this is the golden dome that can be seen from Day #1's pictures) Prior to arriving, we walked around Golden Gate Park and were introduced to a very interesting tradition of San Francisco, called "Bay to the Breakers." We saw several runners in costume, and one in particular that chose to go "all-natural" if you will...I don't think my jaw has (literally) ever dropped to the ground. That day, I'm pretty sure it did...wow.
Anyhew...
The Palace of the Arts:
...I love the fact that I have friends that enjoy photography as much, if not more, than I do!
It was every bit as amazing as it looked!!!
(another favorite!)
And you can't be at Pier 39 without stopping by to see the sea lions...
We ended the day by stopping by the chocolate factory and grabbing cravings #2 and #3...
chocolate dipped strawberries and for me, an apple pie caramel apple. Oh holy moley...imagine this: a green apple, layered in white chocolate, caramel, and topped with brown sugar and cinnamon. One word: amazing!
Day #3? Muir Woods...
No comments:
Post a Comment