Take Two

Day 15--Washington, DC

We had another day in DC and I was determined to save it from yesterday.  This time, there were only three things on the list: Arlington Cemetery, Air and Space Museum, and the Fallen Officer's Memorial.

We were meeting my cousin, Anne, for dinner at her place in Maryland so we drove our car to the train station closest to her house and took the train in from there.  That eliminated us having to drive there in the middle of rush hour.

The weather has been pretty hot and humid, but definitely not what it could be.  There was one spot in Arlington--the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier--I wanted to see and I had to drag the family to it.  We were able to witness two wreath laying ceremonies and a changing of the guard--virtually unheard of in a 20 minute timespan.  The kids couldn't grasp how amazing this was.  Sigh.





I conceded that they will come to understand the significance of Arlington in time and we took the train back into downtown and to the Air and Space Museum.



The museum was SO crowded it was hard to enjoy it and after an hour, we gave up and went outside to a green space and sat for a long while.  It was good to just sit and watch people.

We then trekked over to the Fallen Officer's Memorial somewhere off the beaten track.  It's a pretty memorial and I didn't have any trouble finding my grandfather's name.  It's sobering to see all the memorials in place for those who have given their lives in the line of duty.  I also paid my respects to a nephew of one of my really good friends from Elementary, Jr High, and High School, Ricky.  Ricky died last week and I'm having a hard time believing that he's gone.




We got back on the train and headed to dinner.  It was nice to catch up with Anne and have a home cooked meal.  I'm getting tired of eating out and all the junk food!

We hightailed it back to the hotel so we could swim and do laundry.  Our next stop is upstate New York!



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