We had a casual morning, taking our time to get packed up and on our way. Packing is such a hassle and I do not look forward to "the big schlepp" each time we leave. I have streamlined the procedure a bit more with each stop, but we are also acquiring more souveniers along the way, so the van is getting more and more stuffed.
We left our hotel around 12:30 pm and went to Arlington Cemetery, the final resting place for over 280,000 military men and women who have faithfully served our country over the course of the years. The cemetery contains bodies of those who fought in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, The Persian Gulf, Somalia, and numerous other conflicts where America has sought to defend the principles of liberty.
The first thing we saw was The Marine Corps Memorial Monument, a bronze statue created from the now famous photograph of the marines placing an American flag at the top of a volcano at Iwo Jima. The monument was much larger than I had expected and was quite impressive. While there, we had the honor of meeting a gentleman named Tom, who was actually in the company fighting at Iwo Jima, and was present at the raising of the flag (though he admits he did not see the actual flag-raising). He took a few minutes to share his experiences with us. It was an honor and privilege to speak with him. We thanked him for his time and for his service to our country.
Arlington Cemetery is MASSIVE, seemingly stretching on as far as the eye can see. Our main goal was to visit the grave of J.F.K. We did not realize just how large the cemetery was until we began walking through it, passing headstone upon headstone upon headstone. To make matters worse, it was over 80 degrees today, with most of us dressed in long pants. Uh, hello.. it's November 1st. Eighty degrees? Phew!
We finally found Kennedy's burial place with an eternal flame burning. We decided that it was too hot and we were too tired to continue searching for additional graves, so we went back to the car. Poor Socrates was panting so much his tongue was almost touching the ground!
We left Arlington and hit the highway. It was only 90 minutes to our next stop, but we paused halfway to get some dinner. We spotted an On the Border and knew that we HAD to eat there. (It's my favorite tex-mex restaurant!) We stuffed or faces silly and washed it down with an ice cream from a place down the street. Yum!
We are presently in Carmel Church, Virginia, about 5 miles from the Paramount King's Dominion theme park. We are planning on taking the kids there tomorrow for a fun day out. The weather looks to be sunny and hot again, so I expect it will be busy.
We are all tired of being on the road. It is hard to believe that we have been gone four weeks. As I think back to our first stops, they seem like ages ago. We have done SO much on this trip. We are all becoming a bit homesick and are looking forward to going home. Even Socrates is pooped. Our plans are to make it back a week from today, but we may take some shortcuts and get home sooner. We'll see what this week brings!
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
November 2, 2003 04:32 AM
Hello Comm family! This is Shannon from the Conwell Inn in Philly. I had heard that you had a website and decided to check it out. Thank you for your wonderful comments on the Inn. It was lovely to have met you and your family and of course your cute little doggie. Hope all is well and that your trip is all that you expected and more. Be safe and have fun!