Top 10 of 2013: FDR Memorial
Number 9: FDR Memorial
Washington, District of Columbia
191 Favorite Points
Virtual caches tend to accumulate a lot of favorite points because they have been around for a very long time (and new ones are not permitted to be placed) and are very conducive to being placed in very busy areas, including those that are very touristy. Number 10: Dawn of Aviation, is a great example of this.
I lived in the DC area for a few months in 2009 and took that opportunity to find a number of the virtual caches at the different moments. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find them all. One area I had neglected was that around the Jefferson Memorial. I had never made it around the Tidal Basin. We will get into this a little more when we get down to Number 4.
In April, Chris began a new job with a company headquartered in the Washington, DC area. This coincided with my birthday weekend. In retrospect, he was probably dying of stress and nervousness. But we took the shuttle to Metro from the hotel with the goal of visiting Jefferson and each of his friends memorialized around the Tidal Basin.
The FDR Memorial is expansive. Unlike many of the others, his statue is not an imposing figure atop a grand flight of stairs. Rather, it is divided in a way that almost reminds me of a labyrinth, intended to be taken in slowly and thoughtfully. But it also seemed appropriate given FDR’s lack of mobility. It was a monument even he could have enjoyed if he were alive. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but it was pleasant.
The design of the monument also meant that there was not one focal point that was teeming with humanity. Rather, everyone who cared to visit could linger in their corner, by their favorite words or depiction of the President. Natural elements, trees and water, were also incorporated for a unique experience. The feeling of the memorial was in stark contrast to that of the Lincoln or Jefferson memorials. Peaceful, even when full of people.
To log this virtual cache, I had to write the cache owner with the answer to two questions that could only be answered if someone were there and knew the questions in advance.
This is the 10th most favorited geocache in the District of Columbia.
Numbers 7 and 8 were found on the same day and only take us about 90 minutes away from Washington, DC. Call it a double feature.