-
Favorite Places
Categories
©
Unless otherwise noted, all content and photos are © 2010-2020 Monumental Thoughts.
Author Archives: Rick
Joseph Henry was no ding-dong
The statue of the man who invented the doorbell stands before a building that has none. Then again, how many castles do? Joseph Henry was a 19th century scientist whose work in electromagnets led him to become the first Secretary … Continue reading
Posted in Monuments and Statues
Tagged best DC walking tours, doorbell, Joseph Henry, Photo by Rick Snider, Smithsonian, statue
Leave a comment
Wordless Wednesday: Indian Head rail trail
Posted in Washington life
Tagged Indian Head rail trail, Photo by Rick Snider, Wordless Wednesday
Leave a comment
Juarez points the way
My first thought was “Oh great, another person telling me which way to go.” But as I sat at a red light near the Watergate I realized here was another of the Latin American liberators. Former Mexican President Benito Juarez … Continue reading
Horse and Rider trots along
It looks like me ready to fall off, but sculptor Mario Marini’s Horse and Rider is considered an example of a man in control. Sure, if you say so. The seven-foot tall sculpture outside the Hirshhorn Museum is another of … Continue reading
Alice Roosevelt found in Peacock Alley
Posted in Attractions
Tagged Alice Roosevelt, best DC walking tours, Peacock Alley, Photo by Rick Snider, Washington DC
Leave a comment
Finding generations long ago on Vietnam Wall
Whenever I find a name for someone on the Vietnam Wall, I asked who this person is to them. Often, it’s a relative. Someone they probably didn’t know like their mom’s uncle. Recently, the woman said it was her boyfriend … Continue reading
Posted in Memorials
Tagged best DC walking tours, Photo by Rick Snider, Vietnam Memorial Wall
Leave a comment
My Year with Fitbit
Ever wonder how many steps you really walk? Do you come close to the so-called recommended 10,000 per day? Does more walking make a difference? I just finished one year with a Fitbit, a present my wife gave me as … Continue reading
Dulles . . . as in Dulles International Airport
Many Washingtonians fly in and out of Washington Dulles International Airport without knowing who Dulles was. Turns out he was one of us. A Washington native, John Foster Dulles rose to Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisnehower from … Continue reading
J. Edgar Hoover – The G-Man of Congressional Cemetery
Perhaps the most feared man by criminals and Congressmen alike is buried behind bars. J. Edgar Hoover once headed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1924-77. Indeed, his name in on the building along Pennsylvania Ave. The nation’s top … Continue reading
Posted in Memorials
Tagged best DC walking tours, Congressional Cemetery, FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, Photo by Rick Snider
Leave a comment
Two bridges, four statues
Behind the Lincoln Memorial and guarding the entrances to two bridges leading directly and indirectly to Arlington National Cemetery are four bronze equestrian statues that took a long path to their perch. By Arlington Memorial Bridge are Arts of War … Continue reading
By the shores of gitchigoomie
Maybe it’s ironic that the man who wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride” is remembered in the middle of a busy intersection. A bronze statue of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is at Connecticut and M Sts. N.W., one of the busier crossroads in … Continue reading
Did the Truth set her free?
Born into slavery in 1797, Isabella Baumfree was the first of 13 siblings to be sold at auction at age nine. There would be four more owners over the next two decades. Finally, after an owner reneged on a promise … Continue reading
Is it safe to come out?
It’s time to leave the bunkers. The crisis hasn’t passed. People are still getting sick. But, the economy is in shambles and people can’t take the isolation anymore. So ready or not, here we come. At least, some of us. … Continue reading
Posted in Washington life
Tagged Mount Vernon, Pandemic, Photo by Rick Snider, Washington D.C.
Leave a comment
Wordless Wednesday: Being outside
Posted in Wordless Wednesday
Tagged Photo by Rick Snider, Solomons Md, Southern Maryland
Leave a comment
Happy Memorial Day
Posted in Washington life
Tagged best DC walking tours, Memorial Day, Photo by Lisa Snider, Washington DC
Leave a comment
Where John Wilkes Booth crossed the river
Forget the chicken crossing the road – how John Wilkes Booth crossed the river after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln is equally perplexing? I give Booth tours in Washington, D.C. from the White House to Ford’s Theatre. It’s probably the … Continue reading
