Arlington National Cemetery, VA
and a preview of Washington D.C.


Day23-24:  We left Philadelphia behind, and jumped back on I-95, which took us through the tip of Delaware on the way to Maryland. We stopped at this great welcome center, and I bought some "crabby" gifts for folks back home. Apparently, Delaware is famous for crabs!

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The weather was with us now--no more rain (at least not on the east coast). I had planned a short stop in Baltimore, MD to visit another friend who used to work with me back at Stanford. Unhappily, I was unable to get in touch with her, so we sailed past Baltimore with only a photo from the freeway as a memory.








Our motel for the next three nights was in Arlington, Virginia, but our approach took us through Washington D.C. Loved these row houses.

Here is a shot of the Washington Monument from a different angle than is usually seen. The water we're crossing is the Washington Channel, a tongue jutting in from the Potomac.

A close-up view of the Jefferson Memorial from the backside.

By the time we got to our motel, it was too late to do much but go out to eat. We took a bus to this mall at the Metro stop. Very patriotic!

 The next morning, was set aside for Arlington National Cemetery. I've been here before but am always awed by this reminder of fallen soldiers who have defended our country and our way of life.

Eternal flame at the head of the graves of John Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

 

  Robert Kennedy's grave and Arlington House above.

The sun had not yet reached its zenith but the day was already miserably hot. We found a shady garden near this tomb for unknown Civil War soldiers. On the tomb is this inscription:

Beneath this stone repose the bones of two thousand one hundred eleven soldiers gathered after the war from the fields of Bull Run and the route to Rappahannock. Their remains could not be identified but their names and deaths have been recorded in the archives of their country, and their grateful citizens honor them as of their noble army of martyrs. May they rest in peace.

                        September, A.D. 1866





There are many more memorials to see in the National Cemetery, but we went from this unknown tomb to the more well-known Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the changing of the guard, a somber ceremony that never fails to move me.

From here we hopped back on the Metro to go into D.C., where we visited some sights I enjoyed on my last trip and some that were completely new to me! Join us next week for a closer look at our nation's capital.