Who says hard things can't be fun? Well, I don't really know if home buying is hard, but I do know the next incredible duo of Lindsay sitkoff And Matt Windsor, licensed real estate agents in the DMV, make home buying fun. They're kind, talented and walk their clients through every step from the first inkling of wanting to purchase to signing on the dotted line. And everything in between. Lindsey And Matt, listen to your every need and help you find that perfect next home. For listeners of the your good news podcast, they'd love to help you. Head to Lindsay and matt.com. That's LYNDSI and M A. T t.com. To learn more about this duo, head to the shownotes to reach out and mention my name Catherine from New York, good news podcast when you do. Hi, and welcome to the your good news podcast with me your host, Katherine Getty. Each Thursday, I'll give you the scoop on the good news coming out of Washington, and how you can get involved with this thing called democracy. Welcome back to another episode of The your good news podcast. This week, we're back to sharing the good coming out of Washington. But I have to say it's pretty quiet in Washington because both the House and Senate are in recess, which means they're back in their home districts or states. And most of the focus is kind of outside of DC. And additionally, the President, as of Tuesday headed to Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. So very, very quiet in Washington, which is good news for traffic. So today when I'm thinking about this episode, I wanted to think through what's another What's it something else to share. And so I wanted to take a moment to highlight the gyms across this country, our national parks. With the weather changing, it feels natural that we want to go back outside, we want to shake those winter doldrums, and begin to explore again, and I felt inspired to share more about the National Park Service. Because well, there are a ton of national parks in DC as you can imagine, and so many across our great country. And so like I always want to do, I'm going to give you the background, the history of the National Park Service, highlight some of my favorites, and then give you a little bit of a thought at the end something to do. So first, the concept of a national park is an American innovation that really grew out of the conservation movement that was kind of bubbling up at the beginning of the 19th century. Yellowstone was actually the first designated national park in 1872. It did take some time, though, to create the National Park Service. So in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act, the Organic Act, creating the National Park Service and it created this Nash this new Federal Bureau within the Department of Interior that was responsible for protecting 35 national parks and monuments at the time. Then even further. Fast forward to 1933. An executive order transferred 56 national monuments and military sites from the forest service in the War Department to the National Park Service. So it started kind of getting everything in one place. This action was seen as a major step in the development of today's national park system that that really includes areas of historic as well as scenic and scientific importance. The National Park Service now as of 2023, comprises of 400 areas covering more than 84 million acres and 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. So why am I giving all this history about the National Park Service? Why should we all care? Well, first, I think it shows some forethought that DC isn't always known for, which is pretty sad. But beyond that point, I also think it's pretty cool to understand that the National Park Service grew out of this desire to conserve and to want to leave this country as it was first, you know, witnessed and, obviously, there's a lot to kind of impact on that point. But I think I just think it's a beautiful way for us to acknowledge that we did have some good thoughts on conserving and protecting this country. So I wanted to share a few of my favorite national parks in DC. The first is the Lincoln Memorial. It's one of my first memories in DC because I remember we were up way too late. And we walked to the national to the National Mall. We went to the Lincoln Memorial and sat on the steps and watch the sunrise. And as it rose, it kind of was one of those moments that I'll take With me now living in DC for 10 years, I'll take with me always, it kind of crystallized why I loved being in DC because there's something so beautiful and majestic about that moment. I think that's what national parks can offer us is those moments of beauty of recognizing scenic views, like I said, or scientific wonders or whatever it may be. It's taking that moment to realize we are so so lucky. Another one of my favorite memorials is the Martin Luther King Memorial. It's just off the Tidal Basin, which you may know the Tidal Basin for all the cherry blossoms but the Martin Luther King Memorial looks like it's emerging out of a mountain of stone, it is the tribute to the struggle for freedom, equality and justice in this country. And one of the things that gripped me the most about the monument was this quote from Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech. It's the out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope. And I think it served for me as a moment to realize that sometimes things can be really hard. But there are those moments of good in the moments of joy that we can find. And I think that when we think about in context of freedom, equality and justice, we obviously have a more to do. But I think that quote, can be applied to a lot of different things as well. Another one of my favorite memorials is the Vietnam Memorial, which is just steps from the Lincoln Memorial and as a stunning tribute to the Vietnam War. It chronologically lists the name of 58,318 Americans who gave their lives in service to this country. Why is it a favorite of mine? Honestly, because it reminds it reminds me that there are those who came before us that there are those that came before me, that gave their and that incredible gift of their life for this country. And I always have seen my personal goal in my personal life to leave this world a little bit better than I found it. And I think that that memorial makes you stop and think about not only their lives, their hopes, their dreams, their families, and it makes you realize you are a part of the story. And how can you be even better and giving back to the country. I say last, but I love so many different national parks. If you reach out to me, I can share more. But the last one on my list is Rock Creek Park. It's nestled up within the northwest quadrant of DC. Rock Creek Park always gives me that feeling of being outside of DC while being inside of DC. And what I mean by that is that it's very green, it's lush, it doesn't feel like you're in a city. It gives you a moment to walk to explore to run. It is just a beautiful part of the city. And I always just love like taking a moment to reset there. So from a history of the National Park Service and where it kind of came from to some of my favorite parks in DC. I hope that this episode inspires you to get out there to visit and National Park. To get a list of your own favorites started to learn more about the National Park Service and what parks are in your area, head to wwe.nps.gov. So National Park Service of and this episode if you're listening in real time, just so happens to be a few weeks before National Park Week. So enjoy this treasure and I hope it helps you kind of launch into getting active. A great way to get active is you can give your time there's always national cleanups different ways for you to help preserve and conserve our beautiful national parks. There's also the National Park Foundation, which is a nonprofit that supports the efforts of the National Park Service. So if you want to monetarily support, my hope is that you not only get out there but you get involved. I am so happy to join this week for another episode of The your good news podcast. I hope you have a great week and I'll see you next week.