DC Trip - Day 4 - Part 1 (Arlington)

I had planned on visiting Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday morning and woke up to heavy rain.  I asked the hotel where I could buy an umbrella and they just lent me one to use.  I took the Metro to the Cemetery and got pretty wet just walking to the station and from the station up to the cemetery.  By the time I got home, my feet were swimming in both shoes and I had to dry my pants because they were wet almost to the knees.  I ended up throwing my shoes away because they never got dried out well and were gross by the time I got home.  Good thing they were pretty old anyway.

At the cemetery visitor center, they had the Lost Heroes Art Quilt.  I just stood there and bawled as I saw the pictures of kids around the same age as my oldest.  It was very moving.

 

         

I stayed so long that I missed one tour bus and had to wait a while for the next. When it came, I was the sole passenger and received a personal tour.  Because the windows were foggy and had rain and we were moving, I didn’t really get a good picture of the cemetery overall, but it is.

    

At the stop to go see JFK’s tomb, the magnolia trees were starting to bloom.  I have always wanted to see a magnolia tree!

As we were headed up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we were stopped because of a funeral procession.  It was very large and the tour guide said that it was a full honors procession so it meant it was for someone important.  The horse was pulling the casket and the line of cars was so long that we had to wait for ten minutes.  That meant that I missed the changing of the guard at the Unknown Soldier, but this was a really neat thing to see as well.  When I flew out the next day, the man I sat next to had a newspaper telling about it and he gave it to me.  The funeral was for the highest-ranking officer to have died in Afghanistan, but he actually died of natural causes while over there. 

I got to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just as they were finishing the Changing of the Guard, but they also performed a ceremony to replace the flowers that were there.  It was very impressive and I can’t imagine how they must feel in such adverse weather conditions for long periods of time.

  

         

The visit to the cemetery was moving, eye-opening and emotional. It made me feel even more grateful for the blessings we enjoy in this beautiful country thanks to the many men and women who have served in the military and even given their lives for this, the cause of freedom.