DC: Day 1

Whew.. it's only been one day, but I'm exhausted!!

Yesterday, Mark and I flew in separately. He met me at the foot of the stairs at the airport and we were able to get our luggage, get the car and settle in to our hotel. We're a bit far from the city, but luckily there is a metro station not far away - only a shuttle ride.

We woke up around 8:30 and caught a shuttle ride, and onward to our first stop: Arlington Cemetery. We walked all around, careful to not photograph any of the gravestones. For some reason, we both agreed that there is just something not right about that.

First, we visited the Women's Military Memorial. We walked through the museum, reading about women's plight to get equal rights, and serving their country. They even had computers that you could look people up. Naturally, I looked at my mom and found a photo of her and my dad smiling back at me. That was pretty cool. Three thousand miles away, and she still knows what I'm up to! :) I looked up some other servicewomen I know, but couldn't find them (Lizell, Rachael and Danita - I've got the website for you!). Amazing to see how far these extraodinary women have come.

Next, we visited the Kennedy gravesites, (John, Robert and Edward - along with Jackie and their two infant children), then progressed up the hill to Lee House. Then it was on to the tomb of the unknown soldiers, and the changing of the guard. There were two schools there, who laid wreaths on the stones. Everytime I hear taps - it's just amazing to me - you can't help but be moved by it; such simple notes, really, but so powerful all the same. From there, we ventured over to see the memorials for the Challenger and Columbia Shuttles. As we were reading our map, a funeral procession, in full uniform- with the Army band and the horse drawn carriage carrying the body draped in an American flag came by. We stopped, put our hands over our hearts and said a silent prayer. What a reminder for where you are, and why these people are buried here. We need that reminder a little more often, so that we are reminded as to how we should be treating our veterans, but that is an issue for another blog...

By now, it was close to 1, and our tummies were reminding us of that little fact. Luckily, I brought along some snacks, but it certainly wouldn't sustain us for long. We jumped back on the metro, and with Erika's book, tried to find our next adventure. My plan was to do a quick walking tour. Unfortunately, but the time we exited our station, it was 2, and we were more concerned with finding lunch! We cozied up to a very quaint Irish pub. At first, Mark kind of laughed at the idea, but once inside, he agreed that we picked a fantastic place. Our waitress was even Irish! Lunch in our bellies, we ventured down to Starbucks for hot tea and prepared to walk to our next destination.

Our last venture was to the National Portrait Gallery. There is an exhibit there on the American presidents that I really wanted to see. We spent an hour or so walking through, reading all the plaques and just enjoying ourselves. Once we finished, though, it was definitely time for home. Our feet were really starting to hurt, and neither Mark nor I are fond of big cities, especially after dark.

So far, I'm falling in love all over again with our beautiful country. Fall is the best time to come. I can't describe how beautiful the leaves are, with all the reds, oranges, yellows, and greens. There is a brisk chill in the air, just enough to remind you that winter is on the way. We've mastered the metro system so we don't worry about getting home safe.

Tomorrow is an early day. We start at the Pentagon around 9, but we need to be there about 15 mins early. Then we'll have the White House, which I'm sure I'll cry at - I mean, its the White House! PIRATE! (inside joke, sorry)

So look for our blog tomorrow. I'm sure you'll hear lots and lots on that. I'm planning on it being the highlight of our trip!

Hugs till then!

PS- I couldn't figure out how to add photos to the blog - they seemed to take forever. Until I get that worked out, you can see the photos on my facebook page, or Mark will upload them to our site. :)