Hanging Out in DC

One of the lovely things about living here is the innumerable opportunities to see cool stuff. Friday we decided to get out and see something. Both Dan and I wanted to see Arlington, so we all went. I wasn't about to let him take Joshua and leave me behind!

The children were not impressed with Arlinton National Cemetery. They did think this statue was pretty cool, although I can't even remember who it was for.

And here is Marian crying that she doesn't want to walk. Yeah, she did that for a while- wailing and howling and refusing to walk. The kid is 5, for goodness sake!!

This was the part I really wanted to see- the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We got there in time to see the changing of the guard, which I thought was really cool.

This is how Joshua felt about it. Sigh.

They were quite a bit more impressed with this memorial for a ship. I do not know what made it so fascinating for them. And Joshua is trying out his new pose. You can't tell, but his cap is sitting off to the side. I guess he thinks he gone gangsta.

We finally got everyone back to the van- with all that walking, there was a lot of complaing and drama. We had lunch in the car and decided to go see the 9-11 Memorial, since it was just a short drive away.

Sorry, I guess its called the Pentagon Memorial. Dan had to explain the concept of the memorial for me. Its a little complicated. On the diagonal are years, and along each diagonal line are the things that represent the people born that year who died on 9-11 at the Pentagon.

I do not know why they look like benches, but they do. The ones pointing to the Pentagon represent the people on the plane. The ones facing away are for people who were killed in the Pentagon. Each bench thing has a name on it, and there is running water beneath them.

The kids had a really hard time not scuffing gravel into the water. Callie got grumpy because she got into trouble. Anyway, once I got the vision of the memorial, I liked it better. It also made it more personal and more sad for me. It was good for us to see it, although I don't think the kids got it at all.

And here is the Air Force Memorial. I didn't feel the need to get up close and park and get kids out, if it was the same thing up close. I can see it fine from here. I think it is pretty cool.

So, that is what we did on Friday to work off that Thanksgiving pie!