Washington

Our journey to Washington started with a walk from our apartment in New York to Penn Station. Thankfully it wasn't raining like the day before as that would have made it very interesting for sure. We arrived early in order to make sure we got onto a carriage where we could out all of our luggage and keep it in sight if possible. We managed that and boarded the train for the approximately 3 and a bit hour journey to Washington. The train trip was reasonably comfortable and I think we all had a bit of a snooze along the way. We arrived and we were going to walk to our accommodation but when Peter wasn't sure how to actually get out of the railway precinct we decided to cab it instead and what a good decision that was as there was a lot of roadworks around our accommodation and we would have stubbled to figure out the best way to go. Even our cab driver didn't really know which way which was a bit of a worry.

We checked into our apartment and what a surprise we got. A very nice well fitted out 2 bedroom/2 bathroom loft apartment, the nicest one accommodation we have had. Cheryl wasn't feeling well so while she went off to bed for a rest the boys went to lunch downstairs and I went in search of the Walmart to get some supplies. I hadn't yet ventured into one of these stores even though we had a seen a few and it is just as everyone says they have just about everything. This one was quite well set out but I still spent a fair bit of time wandering around the aisles trying to find what we needed. The one thing I did find is that everything is big! There are very few small packets of anything but I managed to get what we needed and set off back to the apartment. The boys were just about to come looking for me as they thought I had got lost.

A rest in the afternoon before a nice dinner at a restaurant under the building. After dinner we walked along our street to see if we could see any of the monuments and we ended up seeing a glimpse of Capitol Hill lit up. Nice way to end the evening.

Day one done and dusted.

Day 2

Our day started with a walk into the heart of Washington DC to the Washington Welcome Centre where we purchased a two day ticket for the Hop On Hop Off Trolley bus. This HOHO experience is the only one that actually includes Arlington Cemetery in the price and that was a big draw card for the four of us. We started out on the bus and as it was getting on we decided to stay on until we could go to the cemetery and make the most of that day. Our guide was great as we went around telling us about all the sites we were seeing along the way. At the stop for Arlington we had to get off and change buses as the bigger trolleys can't go across the Arlington Memorial Bridge as it is in need of repair and they are too heavy. The changeover stop was also near the Lincoln Memorial so we decided to visit that first.

What an impressive sight seeing the Washington Monument on one side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Memorial on the other side. One of the most endearing images I had of this to date was in the Forrest Gump movie where he runs through the water calling out to Ginny. I know that both of these memorials are very special to Americans but to someone from Australia we only have the imagery from films and news reports. It is a really fabulous vista when looking down the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument.  There was a family taking photos in front of the pool with the mum in one with the kids and then dad was swapping over, I asked them if they would like me to take a whole family photo and they were very grateful even saying that it might make the Christmas card this year. I know that is a very specific thing with Americans which we Australians don't really understand but I was happy that I could help out.

A few photos and we made our way into the memorial and again what a fabulous sight this was. I really didn't have the concept of how big it actually was until we got in there and saw it. A very impressive memorial to what most people feel was a wonderful and worthy president. That was one thing we all noticed that especially here in Washington the people are very patriotic and effusive about their presidents except one and we know who that one is Richard Nixon. As the trolley driver guide was commentating on the various sites we were seeing along the route he was very enlightening about the presidents and the information he gave us held me in goo stead for a couple of trivia questions later in the day.  After a few photos here were on our way to Arlington.

Arlington National Cemetery is located on a parcel of land that once belonged to George Washington's step - grandson George Washington Parke Custis. In 1857, Custis left the property to his daughter Mary Anna Randolph Custis and it became the family home for her and her husband Robert E. Lee. After the Lee family vacated the property at the onset of the Civil War in 1861, the grounds were used for various purposes, including serving as a camp and headquarters for Federal troops during the Civil War and later providing a safe haven for former slaves seeking freedom. Arlington National Cemetery held its first military burial in May 1864. Today the property is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families. This information came from the brochure we were given on arrival at the cemetery.

We all decided where we were going to go as we wanted to see different areas of the cemetery and that was ok as we all don't like the same things. Again the tour guide was very knowledgeable and it was interesting to hear about the site and the many aspects to it. The first stop for all of us was the headstone for Audie Murphy who was not only an actor but an active serviceman in his life. This stop also afforded us a look at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the amphitheatre. At each of the stops there are various places that you can visit and another one at this stop of interest to john was the memorials to the crews of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia.

Each part of the cemetery is marked with section numbers and each one pertains to a specific group and these are explained as you travel around on the shuttle so there is plenty to see. Peter and I got back on the shuttle to go to the next stop Arlington House and leave John and Cheryl to catch up later on. Arlington House was built by George Washington Parke Custis and he modelled it on a Greek Temple and turned much of the mansion into a museum for his "Washington Treasures". For the full story see the link below

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/History/Arlington-House

The house is very impressive and I only had time for a quick walk through as Peter wasn't really interested in the history side of things. Still it was nice to see. It was a very warm day the hottest we had had on our holiday so the heat was starting to drain our energy a bit so back onto the shuttle for what would be our last stop that of the United Marine Corps War Memorial or Iwo Jima Memorial. This was one I particularly wanted to see as it is an iconic image from the second world war and one made famous in the film Flags of Our Father but I have also seen its image or story in other movies as well.

It was definitely worth getting off and walking in the heat a short way to see it. Against the brilliant blue sky it commanded the site it was placed and made a powerful statement.

We arrived back at the information centre to get or ride back over the bridge to get the trolley car back into the city. It was quite late in the afternoon by this stage so we decided that would be enough for the day. We had a very late lunch at a great restaurant called Smith and it was delicious. We walked back to our apartment and had an easy evening with cheese and crackers for dinner. Ready for another day tomorrow.