First thing Tuesday morning we headed to Arlington National Cemetery.
It was the hottest day of our trip so we opted for a drive on the tram rather than walking the whole cemetery. It is a beautiful, sacred place and I learned a lot. For instance, I had no idea that Arlington was once Robert E. Lee’s family property. When the war began he fled south after refusing the generalship for the Northern Army. The North then confiscated his property for unpaid taxes of less than 100.00! They buried their dead there so that Lee couldn’t ever return to his home. So Sad!!!
The Lee Home
This is the view of Washington from the Lee Home. John F. Kennedy loved this spot so much his wife had him buried at the bottom of this hill.
We were able to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Very Cool.
These soldiers stand guard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You’ll see in the video how little they move as they walk. Someone told us that in a snow storm they get at least a foot of snow on top of their hats!
The changing of the guard. Watch till the end cause it’s pretty cool how close we were.
An amphitheater near the tomb.
No. He’s not taller..yet.
Love this one of Alli. I’m so glad she came with us. She kept me sane when things got difficult.
After Arlington we headed to the National Air and Space Museum. This was a highlight for Cade.
The boys from LSMS
The original Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk air plane was the ONLY thing Cade asked me to take his picture in front of the entire trip. He really thought this was cool. He loved seeing all the space ships, shuttles and NASA stuff. As of right now he wants to be an aerospace engineer.
While killing time waiting to see the monuments at night we made a very happy discovery for all three of us. SHAKE SHACK!!!!!!! Our favorite place to eat in all of New York City was in D.C.!!! I think we ate here at least 3 times in 5 days. 🙂 Ahhh. Heaven. And the best part was there was no line! You have to wait 40+ minutes in NYC but the people of D.C. must not be aware of how amazing their shakes are yet.
The monuments at night were worth the wait. However if you ever go to D.C, don’t go with Alli or I because the reflecting pool will be empty if you do. That’s right. The last time she and I went to D.C. in 2011 it was empty for reconstruction. 😦 We were so looking forward to seeing it full this time. Monday of THIS trip, the pool was full. And you’ll remember that we almost made it there, but the kids were too tired so we stopped. But Tuesday morning when we woke up and checked the weather report we found a notice that said 80 ducklings had died the night before in some kind of freak algae growing in the pool in the extreme heat. So they drained the pool!!! I hoped all day the report was wrong, but it was not. By the time we got there that night it was almost empty. Not quite, though. There was a little bit of water in the very middle and if you took your picture just right you could get a reflection. I’m going to blame Alli. Our air conditioning always breaks when she stays at our house. I think there’s a connection.
Cade ‘n’ Abe
I think being in this big room inside the monument was the hottest/sweatiest I have EVER been in my life. If you look closely, my skin is actually melting off of me. But Abe is always worth it.
I just finished reading Team of Rivals and I absolutely LOVE this great man. His monument is my favorite.
Last picture of the night. World War II and Washington.
Stay tuned for our dash through the American History Museum and Natural History Museum, our tour of Ford’s Theater and the Nationals Baseball game.
Short n Sweet 