On to the South - Day 12

April 29, 2012

Today was a travel day to Washington DC and the area around there.  We were up early in the morning, which is strange for old people.  Angie was to be here at 8:00 and we were ready to go.  First time we have been on time for a long time.

We stopped at Starbucks, first time in a while that I had a good cup of coffee.  It was very good.  We only made one other stop at a rest area.  Virginia has a very nice rest areas, clean, brick, and almost new.

Vonna found the shops!

We made the first stop at Arlington Cemetery.  All of the history here is unreal.  The original owner of the land was General Robert E. Lee, or his wife’s family.  During the Civil War they couldn’t make it to the area to pay the taxes and it was taken by the US Government for under a $100.00.  Their old house is still there.

We decided to take the tram around the cemetery.  First stop was the Kennedy gravesite.  In fact, the area around it is only for the Kennedy’s.  They have simple headstones and a cross at each of the graves.

Next stop was The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers from World War I, World War II, and the Koran War.  We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard.  It was a very moving and precise ceremony.  I could watch it over and over.  These soldiers are very dedicated to these Unknown Soldiers.

Across from the Unknown Soldiers is the Challenger Memorial.  It was simple, but meaningful.  The entire cemetery held the remains of so many.  In one are it said that the remains of this group were never found, but headstones were there. 

So many served their county.  It is so great that our country can remember and hold up the everyday service person.  We never know the lives given for our freedom.

We left Arlington a little more knowing what it takes to keep our freedom.

Washington Memorial off in the distance.

Our next stop was around the Vietnam Wall.  I dropped Vonna, Brenda, and Bob off at the wall and Angie and I took the cars to find parking places.  After driving around for a while we found a couple of parking places about 6 long blocks away.  We walked back and Brenda and Vonna were off getting chips and Bob found someone to talk to.

We walked down to the wall.  It was very emotional.  Watching people go to the wall and point out a name of someone that was killed in Vietnam.  Bob saw names of people he knew.  There were letters left, flowers, a bracelet, and lot of notes.  There were people asking the volunteers in the area where they could find loved ones.  There was a volunteer explaining about the wall, how it is split, and that the men killed together were kept together on the wall (the ones killed on a certain day were together).

All five of us had our own thoughts.  It is one of the most emotional parts of our visit to Washington.  Maybe because we were a part of that war, the war that no one wanted to recognize.  It brought back a lot of memories.

We left there and went to the Koran Memorial.  It was very nice, but not the same as the wall.  None of the other memorials have the personal names that the Vietnam Wall does.

Vonna and Brenda were getting tired.  Vonna’s knee was not doing well.  Bob, Angie, and I walked around looking at each of the other memorials.  The reflection pool was being rebuilt, so a lot of the beauty was not there.

The first was the Women of the Vietnam War.  This was also emotional, reminding us of the hurt and death of the war.

A distant Clocktower.  One of the many things you see in the distance.

Inside of each tower

After a long walk we came to the World War II Memorial.  This is a beautiful memorial.  Next to the wall this was the one that was emotional.  Both of our dads were in the war, one on the Pacific, the other in England.  As we looked around the memorial I was looking at the Pacific part of it.  A man that looked like he was in the war walked up and touch the name of Guadalcanal and Midway.  His wife stood back and just watched.  There were so many things to look at, the pictures on the walls, the stars in the fountains, and all of the men that gave their lives for our freedom, and the freedom of people in other countries. 

One of many quotes, but one that means a lot.

Our last stop of the day was the Lincoln Memorial.  It was a great experience.  Lincoln took a split nation and put it back together.  A great man and many great memories that he brought to the nation.

Angie and I walked back to get the cars.  Not a long walk, but after a few hours I was getting tired.  We go back to pick up Brenda, Bob, and Vonna, and off we go, in traffic, around a corner, and take the first of a few wrong turns.  The GPS kept saying “recalculating”.  I almost threw it out the window, but thought twice because it was my iPhone. 

I final gave it to Vonna and said tell me what this thing is saying.  We drove, made U-turns, almost got hit getting on the highway, and finally got on the right freeway.  Angie was alone behind us and said she was laughing and just rocking out to her music.  No worry, Uncle Alan will get us to the hotel.  At one point Vonna said that it said 19 miles to the hotel, and then it said 23 miles to the hotel.  We had to turn around again. 

We made it to the hotel, everything was very nice, and we walked next door to the steakhouse for dinner.  It was great, except for the service was a little slow.  Angie asked if they had problems.  The waiter said that he had a lot of customers in his area all at once.  And the kitchen was real busy.  The manager came over and apologized and said to have desert on him.  We were all full and didn’t have desert.  They gave us a 25% discount, which we were happy to have.

Note the POW/MIA Flag on bottom

We all were tired.  Back to the hotel, Angie and Bob laughed for a while, I read for a while, and we all went to bed.  Angie watched her iPad for a little while, lights out, and all was silent, except for the hum of Vonna’s machine and Brenda’s snoring.

More memories tomorrow.  Today was a great day, a lot of new things, and lot of memories, both old and new.