On a battleship grey weekend in D.C., we decided to make another trip to try and find the two remaining National Historic Sites in the District that we had not yet visited.  Persistence is the key word in this effort.

Twice before we had tried to go to the African American Civil War Museum and were not able to find it.  Or, finding the right neighborhood and willing to get out and walk, we could not find parking!  But persistence won out on Saturday and we managed to find a parking place!  And, venturing into the neighborhood, we finally found the museum down an alley and behind an old school.   It was a lovely monument to African Americans who had fought for freedom and the museum was filled with information and artifacts.

Feeling successful, we decided to persist and try to find the National Naval Museum again.  So, Sunday we decided to skip the parking hassle and took Metro to the Navy Yard.  Once before we had found the Navy Yard, but because we had the car, the security was so tight that we would have had to sign our lives away to drive onto the base and park the car, so we gave up and got back in the car and went on.  But yesterday, without a car, we simply had to give over our identification and sign in to receive passes to walk the Naval Yard and visit the museum.

And, to our surprise, it was well worth our persistence.  The museum was a huge hangar type building that took the visitor through the ages of sea travel and exploration.  It was beautifully set out with many artifacts and pictures, paintings and photos, to accent the information.

We returned home satisfied that we had persisted in finding the last two points of historical interest in the District that are included on the National Parks Stamp program list!

I was reminded all over again what a grace persistence can be.  The old folk wisdom is certainly correct. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

In what other ways do we need to be persistent?