Washington - Part 2

Today we paid for a bus tour that lasted for the entire day. It went all around the city and you could get off wherever you wanted, walk around a bit, and then just catch the next bus that came through. It was a great idea, and I’m really glad that we did it because it was a good way to familiarize ourselves with where everything was. The first stop we made was at Union Station. All I can say is wow. I expected big, but this was big enough to be its own city. And marvelous. I tell ya, DC doesn’t do anything on a small scale. Everything is mega-sized and not one detail, no matter how small, is overlooked. Of course it was a working train station, so there were plenty of travelers, in addition to an entire floor of clothing stores, coffee shops, and restaurants. We ate at a Chicago pizza place that had some fabulous foods-including a deep dish chocolate chip cookie dessert. 

Next stop was Arlington Cemetery. To say that it humbled and moved me would be a great understatement. I’ve always heard of Arlington, but to get the history behind it was fascinating. For those of you who don’t know the story-there is a mansion overlooking Washington in the middle of the cemetery. It was built as a memorial for George Washington by his adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis. He and his wife constructed it and lived there for their entire lives. After they passed away, their daughter married Robert E. Lee and they lived there until the start of the Civil War. Once that started Lee moved to Virginia to take control of his army and then later went to fight for the other side. At the point Lee’s wife and family had already been forced from the home, and in order to ensure they would never return since he was now considered a traitor, the remains of 1800 soldiers were buried in the rose garden. The family never returned and the government ended up purchasing the plantation from the family for far less than it was worth. Because there were already so many graves, they opted to make it a big cemetery. 

Although it was sad to see all of the tombstones, it made me feel really, really proud of America’s history. At some points, I could turn in a complete circle and see graves on every side of me for as far away as I could see. These people gave their lives for me to be freely walking through this place. What better way could we honor all the soldiers buried there than by visiting their graves, reading their names, and mouthing a silent “thank you”. I’m so grateful we have a place like this to go and pay our respect. If you ever visit Washington and decide to do nothing else, be sure to go here. 

While we were at Arlington we were able to see the changing of the guards. Wow. This ceremony is performed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There is a soldier buried from WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. These three represent all of the soldiers who died during these wars, and their tomb is guarded 24/7, 365 days a year. There was a certain amount of hustle and bustle from all the tourists, but as people began to arrive to wait for the ceremony, talking went to whispers. No one needed to tell you how sacred it was there-you could feel it. As we sat there looking around, I could feel myself tearing up. I took a moment to say a quick prayer for our military, and to be thankful for Michael’s safety. The ceremony was awesome. Basically, a commanding officer inspects the soldier who is about to step to post. He inspects his uniform, and his rifle, and then the officer walks in step with the one whose place he will be taking for a bit, until finally, he is left alone. Josh and I were reading about these soldiers-and to be able to guard here is one of the highest honors a soldier can have. It’s serious stuff. 

Here are pictures from the cemetery:

Next stop was Iwo Jima. Most of you have probably seen pictures of this. There was even a movie released about it a couple of years ago. It’s a statue of the famous photograph of 4 Marines raising the American flag after capturing the island of Iwo Jima in Japan. This battle produced some of the heaviest fighting of WWII. 
 
Here is the original photo:

Here is the statue:

We did quite a few other things as well, but the ones above were the main events for the day. Today I learned a valuable lesson. No matter how un-cool it may look, tennis shoes should be worn when hiking long distances to avoid monster sized blisters that will hurt for the rest of the week.