Washington DC Trip

I know that it has been almost a month since I have updated so here it goes. As you know Stoney and I went to Washington DC the last week in March. We went with our friends Adam and Jenilyn. We all had a wonderful time and slept very well when our journey was over. I have decided to make slide shows of all the different places of our trip, just because I took a lot of pictures and I can't decide which ones to post and which ones not to.

Stoney & I arrived in Baltimore, Maryland Thursday night. Friday morning we left Baltimore and drove down to Dulles Airport, where Adam and Jenilyn were coming in. We drove to Dulles on the 495 freeway. While we were driving I was putting on my makeup and navigating. After makeup was finished and getting lost was avoided, I looked up and was stunned! Straight ahead of us was the Washington Temple, I couldn't believe it. The temple was right next to the freeway, on top of a hill, there was no missing it. It was so beautiful. After our gazing, we keep on course and found Adam & Jen at the airport. We then headed to our next destination, which was Adam's Aunt & Uncle's house.

The Johnsons didn't live very far from DC. which was great. They were wonderful and we really enjoyed staying with them. We got settled into our bedrooms and then discussed what our next move was. Jenilyn and Adam were very interested in seeing the Temple and doing a session. We decided that was a fine plan and headed on our way. I did want to do a session, but I was having "Lady Issues" (wink, wink) , so Stoney & I waited for Adam and Jen outside. We took pictures and enjoyed walking around the Temple grounds.

We woke up Saturday morning bright and early. We got dressed, packed our lunches and headed for the Train Station. We got on the subway and took our 30 minute ride into Washington DC. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to see all the sites.

We finally reached the City all we had to do was go up the stairs and we would be in the heart of the nation! We climbed the staircase and when we reached the top we saw: The Washington Monument, it was so tall and beautiful. No matter where you were in the City, you could always see it.

Our plans for Saturday were to sign up for a bus tour. We found a tour that would stop at the sites we wanted to see. We got on the bus at Washington Monument, and headed on our way. We drove past...

The Jefferson Memorial

Then we passed Lincoln Memorial

We also passed the Korean War Memorial.

We then crossed the historic Patomac River and headed straight for Arlington National Cemetery.

The Cemetery was one of my favorites! We spent a couple hours there, but I could have spent all day. It was just beautiful and truly showed the sacrifice of our Military men and women. How grateful I am for their bravery, courage and the strength of their families!

Another one of the coolest things at Arlington National Cemetery was the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The men who are a part of this Honor Guard take their job very very seriously. They do their tasks precise and accurately, there is no joking around. It is very admirable! They guard the Tomb 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! Heat, humidity, snow, rain, etc..there is always a soldier guarding! The Changing of the Guard occurs every 30 minutes, which means there are 48 Guard changes everyday. They also always take 21 steps in front of the Tomb, which signifies the Military's 21 gun salute, the highest honor.

While we were at the Tomb, they also did a wreath changing. That was very cool to see. The wreath is changed every couple of days and we were there on the right day. The wreath had the name of a female soldier, who is presently missing. After the new wreath was hung the soldier in the red hat played Taps on his trumpet. (We were asked not to take pictures during that time.) He played so well. Being there in a Military Cemetery hearing that song on the trumpet brought tears to my eyes. It was an experience I will never forget.

The Tomb was in one of the best spots of the Cemetery. The Tomb has a great view of DC. The 3 gravestones on the ground are other Unknown Soldiers

I also learned two requirements for being part of the Tomb Honor Guard. They must be 5'10" to 6'3" tall and have a 30 inch waist!

Speaking of requirements, Stoney received an email the other day about the Tomb Honor Guards and I thought it was very interesting so I thought I would share:

On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was: How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns ---- All three missed it --!!

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk past the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he pause after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1

3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path,he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10' an d 6' 2' tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.'

Other requirements of the Guard:

They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb.

Live in a barracks under the tomb.

Cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives.

They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives.

Cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in anyway.

After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

Other Interesting Facts:

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet.

There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.

There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform.

Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV.

All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.

A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approachingWashington DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, 'No way, Sir!' Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

When our bus tour left Arlington Cemetery, it dropped us off at the Lincoln Memorial. The Memorial was beautiful, but there were so many people, it was shoulder to shoulder traffic.The Lincoln is also awesome because on the steps is where MLK gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech. It was awesome to think that he stood on the steps where we visited. After we took some pictures , we sat and ate lunch by the reflection pool. You know the pool in Forest Gump, that Jenny and Forest wade through. It was so neat to sit there between the Lincoln and Washington Memorials. After lunch, we jumped back on the bus and headed towards some more memorials. We passed the White House, the Capitol Building, the Jefferson Memorial and the WW II Memorial. The Memorials were huge and aboslutely georgous! Even though we were all tired at the end of the day we all loved walking around the Memorials. Another one of my favortie things was all the quotes that were inscribed into the walls. Every memorial had an inscription that was so prefect for each memorial.

The best scenery of the whole trip were the Cherry Blossoms! We were so lucky we got to go when the trees were in full bloom. They were absolutely beautiful. I have always wanted to see the blossoms and I am so glad I was finally able to them.

The Natural History also had dinosaur bones, a mammal exhibit, live butterflies, and all sorts of other earthly stuff.

This museum was cool in how it is designed, cuz there are big planes and jets hanging from the ceiling!

The one museum that I really wanted to go to was the American History Museum, I love history stuff. But I was so bummed to find out that it was closed for renovations and will re-open in the summer. So I guess next time we visit DC we will get to go.

We also went to the

, were bills are made, it was pretty neat, but the tour is only 30 minutes.

We also went to the Holocust Memorial Museum. This museum was neat because I learned stuff that I didn't know before. There was a lot of exhibits to look at, we spent about half the day inside. I don't have any pictures of the museum because they didn't allow us to take our camera in.

We had a great time in Washington DC, I loved our trip. I loved all the sites and buildings, it was an unforgetable experience.

We spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the City. On Tuesday Jeni and Adam were scheduled to leave in the afternoon. Tuesday was their anniversary and they have the tradition of going out to breakfast. So we found Cracker Barrel and had a fabulous breakfast. Then we went to a Civil War battle ground. It was called the battle of Bull Run and was one of the first battles of the Civil War. It felt a little ominous to be walking on grounds were a battle had taken place.

There was a neat vistors center that had a sorts of information and relics. Outside the battle boundaries were staked out and they had

placed were they would have sat.

If he looked anything like this statue, I would be afraid. This statue was huge and he was ripped! Even his horse was massive.

Then the sad moment came when we had to take Adam and Jeni to the airport. We had a wonderful time with them and always cherish our firendship. You two are fabulous!!!

When we left the airport Stoney & I drove to The National Air and Spce Museum's Steven F. Udavr-Hazy Center. I know the longest title. But this Museum was in Virginia by Dulles Airport. This museum was so much cooler than the Air and Space in DC. First off, the museum was in this huge hanger and there was well over 50 planes, and I don't mean small passenger planes. There was an SR-71 Blackbird, couple of Boeings, a Concorde, lots of military jets, rockets, stunt planes, etc. There was also World Trade Center and Pentagon airtfacts from Sept. 11. There was a lot of stuff.

This shuttle looked so fake. It looked like it was made of clay because everything was so prefect. There was not one ding or dent. But they say it was the really thing.

This museum was also awesome, because it was not busy at all! There were no more than 50 people there. And the hanger was so huge that it seemed like less. I loved not having the crowds.

The next day was Wednesday. Stoney and I weren't scheduled to leave until Thursday. So we decide to go and visit Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. We heard it is awesome and couldn't pass the opportunity.

This place was gorgeous! I would have loved to live here. One thing that was very neat was that this place was still a working farm. The gardens had just been planted and were starting to grow and the animals were eating away in the fields.

They also had a great museum that was all about Washington and his life. I loved it, I love learning about important people of the past. I learned a lot of new things about him that I didn't know. Like he was Marta's second husband and that they didn't have any children together. She was a widow and had two children. Also, he became ill one night and within 36 hours he had died. I didn't know he had past so fast. Mount Vernon consited of 8,000 acres. It was just great to learn about him, he was such a hard worker and really enjoyed being on the farm. He just wanted to have a simple life with his family, who he loved dearly. He was a great man and definately stood out from the rest.

Stoney and I had a wonderful time. We really really enjoyed our trip. I am glad I was finally able to get it all blogged. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry it is so long, but there is a lot of stuff. I hope someday we can go back, because even though we saw a lot of things, there is still more to do! I am so happy that I was finally able to visit Washington DC, it was a trip I will alwayrs remember! We hope that Adam and Jenilyn feel the same. One funny thing that Jeni noticed is that there are a lot of stangers in our pictures, so she wonders how many stangers pictures is she in. :-) Just some food for thought!