Wash D.C. Day Two

The next day we planned to go to Mount Vernon. I remember George Washington's home quite vividly from my last visit. This was one of Mike's favorite places to see, too. We were lucky to have D&C and the girls along with us. Of course...more lines, but Doug & Cath volunteered to wait in the line to get into the mansion, while Mike and I walked around the grounds. Cath looked like she was enjoying herself playing with the girls on the vast green lawn. We saw the new movie which was pretty funny as Pat Sajak was the host and dressed up in colonial-style dress. Too corny....More beautiful gardens. Like Jefferson, Washington wanted to be known as a farmer!
Necessity is the mother of invention and this was shown by Washington's 16 sided barn. He developed a way to have the horses walk around on the wheat, releasing the grain through slots in the floor, where his servants would gather, clean and then use it to make food. Mount Vernon, just like Monticello, was it's own little city.

Anyway, I love the view from this hilltop. D&C had gone at the point to feed their kids, so we had to ask around for someone to take our picture. Must have been a bad day for tourists, because people were cranky! Must have been the heat. It was 80 degrees and humid! This was quite an adjustment for me coming from snowy and cold Kville!

Even though Washington wanted to be known as a farmer, he loved 'the formal' high-society heirs. He was called, Your Excellency, which is what we all want to be called! Here is a picture of his tomb/gravesite. He and Martha are just behind the gate in white marble(?) vaults. It's a big building and apparently 25 other family members are also buried inside. After a little shopping in the gift store and a quick bite to eat, we headed to Arlington National Cemetary.

As we walked up the hills toward the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we saw a funeral underway. I was so proud of my hubby as he respectfully removed his baseball hat and then we impressed as all of us walking in the street paused to listen while 'Taps' was being played after a 21 Gun Salute. Funeral in the background. You can see the uniformed soldiers to the left.Very touching to see the rows and rows of graves of people who fight for freedom.

We visited JFK's grave and then on to the Changing of the Guard. Always a neat display of precision, tradition and honor. We also got to see a wreath laying ceremony. We love to hear the almost complete silence broken by the tap of the guard snapping his boots together.

Cath took the girls home for a rest and we all headed over to the Jefferson Memorial. We walked around part of Tidal Basin, but all the cherry blossoms are gone! I have a picture of Jefferson's statue, but it's sideways, so I have to fix it. But, here is the view from the steps to the Washington Monument.

Then, we headed over to the FDR Memorial where Mikey has the classic 'pull my finger' pose! This is a pretty monument with a lot of water falls and quotes. We then headed back to pick up Catherine because they got a babysitter and we went to dinner in Old Town Alexandria. We went to Las Tapas (I think), a Spanish restaurant where you order 3 or 4 small plates of food and then share. We had A LOT of food because everything looked so delicious! We then walked around the quaint stores, and down to the wharf. Fun night life with lots of street musicians and people out and about. We made a quick stop at Pop's for an ice cream cone and then D&C drove us around DC! We didn't make any stops because it was late and we needed to get the friend who came to babysit home, but we drove around Capitol Hill and saw many of the buildings. Doug and Mike especially liked the IRS Building saying it was the most boring on the block!