Social Event
Monumental Moonlight Walking Tour
Thursday, Nov 21, 2019 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Join us for a 3 mile walk in the evening, 7PM to 10PM including time on the Metro, on the National Mall from the Smithsonian Metro station to the Washington Monument, WWII Monument, Korean War Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, and Einstein Memorial. This is an informal event with running commentary by whomever is looking at Wikipedia on their phones.
We will meet in the lobby at 7PM and go to the Metro immediately outside the hotel as a group and walk together. In case of inclement weather, the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is adjacent to the hotel.
The Pentagon City Metro Station is directly in front of the Ritz-Carlton.
Driving in Washington is not advised as parking is hard to find, there are lots of red lights, and they are all red. This is good for the waking tour since we will be waiting for the pedestrian signals to cross.
From the Metro station, we will walk first to the Washington Monument. It is a separate charge to go inside and that is not planned.
Continuing from the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial is on both sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Atlantic is to your right and the Pacific to your left.
From there, we will proceed to the Korean War Veterans Memorial is a hidden gem, even more so if you use Google Maps, which may have you walking in a circle nearby. It is back from the pool and not easily seen, but well worth finding.
Next, we will go to the Lincoln Memorial, which is on the opposite end of the Reflecting Pool and one mile from the Washington Monument.
From the Lincoln Memorial, we will proceed to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which contains the names of all killed or missing in action during the war. There is a second, lesser known, memorial there as well depicting 3 combat soldiers.
Our final stop will be at the Albert Einstein Memorial. This is only one that visitors can climb on and into his lap. The book he is holding has 3 equations and we will have some sort of prize for the best explanation for each that is not direct from Wikipedia.
From there, we continue as a group back to the Smithsonian Metro Station, which is the closest, and back to the hotel.
Weather
The moonlight will be 32% waning, but the typical weather in Washington on this date is cloudy with a high of 56°F and a low of 40°F. Even though it is cool, you may want to take a bottle of water.
Cost
The only cost is to purchase a Smart Card for $2 plus the fare for the trip (cash or credit card), however the default value is $10. Going to the tour we will be on the peak fare of $2.25 and the return cost is $2.00.
Sign up at the conference registration desk.
NOTE: The tour group will depart promptly from the Ritz-Carlton Lobby at 7:00PM
