Arlington National Cemetery

We again had a beautiful day to go sight seeing. We took the metro down to Arlington again. Mom and Dad were becoming pros at it by the second day. I tell ya taking the metro makes going downtown so much easier. I guess I was ignorant to the fact that Arlington was so large and that it had so many memorials on the grounds and not just white tombstones. We only saw a fraction of what there is to see. We went up to the Arlington house, which was Robert E. Lee's home before the civil war. That is quiet a view from up there!! My kids loved reading the tombstones finding out what war a person fought in and many fought in more than one. We found it interesting that many men or women had their wives, husbands or even children buried with them in Arlington. There were many civic leaders as well. It is a pretty magnificent sight to see. My favorite thing of the day was seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. Such precision is taken it carrying out that transition, which to me shows such respect. The guard paces back and forth in front of the tomb. When it comes time for another guard to take his place the new guard comes to the commander of the guard (which commands that everyone stands and is silent) and gets a thorough inspection (seriously, like five minutes of checking his gun, his clothes, ect.) and then the procession begins to meet the current guard at the center of the tomb. The two guards greet and salute each other and then salute the tomb. Then the changing of one guard to be exchanged for another happens. The guard leaving gets a final inspection and then he leaves the grounds. It is really something special to see. Looking out over all those tombs that represent lives lost in defense of this country and the freedoms of others was truly humbling. It made me proud to be an American, and thankful for men and women willing to sacrifice for others. After we finished at the Tomb of the Unknown solider we headed back to the visitor's center and had a snack. Grandma promised to treat the kids to dinner so we headed to Chick Fil A for dinner. It was a really good day and we were so happy to be able to share it with my parents.