East Cast Trip - Washington D.C. Memorials

D.C. Sights | D.C. Memorials | Virginia | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Family
One thing Washington D.C. doesn't have a shortage of is memorials. On the western half of the National Mall we were able to see several memorials to past wars and presidents. Some were inspiring, others somber, but they all were successful in helping us reflect on their dedications. One thing we thought odd was they each were their own national park. Back home we had much fewer national parks, but they occupied large sections of our state. It almost seemed like D.C. was cheating by dedicating single structures as a park.

We also went to Arlington National Cemetery, a large military cemetery where over 300,000 have been buried. On Jamie's last visit she only had 15 minutes to tour the cemetery before it closed. This time I was able to get her there one hour before it closed. We made it up to the Tomb of the Unknowns where three unknown soldiers from WWI, WWII and the Korean war are buried. The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. At close we got to watch the changing of the guard. It was a very serious moment and the commander demanded silence, but Rachel decided it was a great time to blab away. Luckily no military action was taken.