Brian & Patty's Awesome Adventure!: Washington, DC

This post is from May 18th, 2016!

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We have moved to the Harbor View Thousand Trails RV Park in Colonial Beach, Va. This park is about 60 miles south of Washington, DC.

Harbor View Thousand Trails

DC is not a good town for a large truck like our dually Ram. There is very little parking available and what is available can be VERY expensive! We decided to go into town two separate days. I will combine them in this entry. Although we do not generally like bus tours, we decided to do one the first day so we could get a good overview of DC. I found a great deal on Groupon for a full day deluxe tour with free parking at the pickup point. We were allowed off the bus at most points.

DC Trails

Here we are at the Capital Building.

Capital Building

The bus let us off a couple blocks from the White House. You could see sharpshooters on the roof. We had about 1/2 an hour before we needed to back to the bus. We looked into doing a tour of the White House but found we needed to get background checked months beforehand. Maybe next time!

White House

We walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial

We traded talking pictures with another couple we met at the memorial. The memorial is at the west end of the National Mall while the Washington Memorial is at the east end. The Gettysburg Address is inscripted in the memorial.

Lincoln Memorial

This photo is taken from the steps of the Lincoln memorial looking over the National Mall pool. You can see the Washington Memorial and the Capital Building in the distance.

National Mall

We found that you also need to request tickets to the Washington Monument months ahead of time. It's possible to go up the same day if you wait in line for hours, but it may or may not happen. Next time we will know.

Washington Monument

The Jefferson Memorial sits due south of the White House. It honors one of the most important of the American Founding Fathers as the main drafter and writer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, and governor of the newly independent Commonwealth of Virginia.

Jefferson Memorial

We were given time to walk up the steps of the memorial.

Inside the Jefferson Memorial

This is the WWII Memorial. It is on the east side of the National Mall. It is a very impressive memorial. We saw these soldiers so of course we thanked all of them for their service!

WWII

Within walking distance of the WWI Memorial are also a Korean and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Here is the Korean Memorial.

Korean Memorial

And the Vietnam Memorial.

Vietnam Memorial

This is the original Vietnam Memorial Wall that has names of Vietnam war casualties on it. The wall is recreated and sent around the country. I have seen the traveling one before, but this one really gives you pause!

The Wall

The Iwo Jima Memorial is a national monument in Arlington, Virginia. Dedicated 62 years ago in 1954, it is located in Arlington Ridge Park, at the back entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and next to the Netherlands Carillon. The war memorial is dedicated to all U.S. Marine Corps personnel who have died in the defense of the United States since 1775.

The memorial was inspired by the iconic 1945 photograph of six Marines raising a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

Iwo Jima Memorial

We were let out by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. I thought this was an interesting photo with the Washington Memorial to the front of him. The FDR Memorial was also in the area.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

We were then taken to Arlington Cemetery. This is quite a somber place. The gravestones all line up side to side and front to back.

Gravestones

The eternal flame is at the John F. Kennedy grave.

John F. Kennedy Grave

The Eternal Flame.

The Eternal Flame

There were two things we wanted to see at Arlington, The Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Tomb of the Unknowns is a monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified. It is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but it has never been officially named so. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States of America. The World War I "Unknown" is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations' highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns who were interred are also recipients of the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. Presidents who presided over their funerals.

Unknown Soldier

We arrived just in time to see the Changing of the Guards ceremony.

There is a meticulous routine that the guard follows when watching over the graves. The Tomb Guard:

Marches 21 steps south down the black mat laid across the Tomb.

Turns and faces east, toward the Tomb, for 21 seconds.

Turns and faces north, changes weapon to outside shoulder, and waits 21 seconds.

Marches 21 steps down the mat.

Turns and faces east for 21 seconds.

Turns and faces south, changes weapon to outside shoulder, and waits 21 seconds.

Repeats the routine until the soldier is relieved of duty at the Changing of the Guard.

After each turn, the Guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the Guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.

Out of respect for the interred, the sentinels command silence at the tombs. If the guard walking the mat must vocally confront a disturbance from spectators, or a threat, the routine is interrupted, and remains so until the disturbance is under control. The sentinel will exit the mat, place the weapon in port arms position, and confront the disturbance. Once under control, the sentinel then walks on the pavement to the other side of the mat, turns to shoulder arms, and continues the routine.

Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed—the 21-gun salute.

Changing of the Guards

There are 19 Smithsonian Museums in DC. The Amazing thing is they are all FREE! Because we have limited time we had to choose only one to go to. We were suggested to go to the Air and Space Museum, however we had just gone to the Kennedy Space Center and we were planning to go to the National Air Museum in Dayton so we wanted to go to something different. We chose the American History Museum.

American History Museum

We are pleased we chose this museum. Everything from the Gunboat Philadelphia to the original Star Spangled Banner the inspired Francis Scott Key. From Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers from Wizard of Oz to mask made of President Lincoln.