Andrew Taylor - Earliest Memory

My earliest memory of visiting a memorial was a short trip through Washington D.C with my dad in 7th grade. I had just finished a lacrosse tournament, and my Dad pointed out that D.C was on the path home to Atlanta. So, un-showered and still wearing my lacrosse cleats, my Dad and I walked through D.C in probably less than 2 hours. Three distinct memories first pop into my mind about the trip. We had parked fairly close to the Washington Monument to we naturally walked there first. My first memory was feeling overtaken by the massive structure that lay before me. I staring at the monument for probably 3-5 minutes without saying a word. I was merely taking in its vastness. My second memory was the tiring walk from the Washington Monument to what I think was the Lincoln memorial. Exhausted from the lacrosse tournament, we walked past a long water structure surrounded by stone or concrete walkways, which were very annoying to walk on considering I was still wearing my cleats. My third distinct memory is how angry my Dad was when we found out we had accidentally parked in a handicap parking spot. We didn't have the time (and I didn't have the energy) to see much more of Washington D.C, but the few memories I have of the memorials and monuments there were some of my first experiences with memorials.