After a few minutes in the Visitor Center, we made our way onto the grounds. The cemetery is huge. You better get a map or you will walk your feet off looking for things. We saw no other people out on the walking paths as we climbed the hill up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That's what I came here to see.
Arlington National Cemetery
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
We were all alone the first few minutes we spent at the Tomb, watching the soldier walking back and forth in the steady rain. The rain felt appropriate for the mood. We watched the changing of the guard, where the duty of the watch is passed on to another guard. The soldiers guarding the tomb are known as Sentinels. They are members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard." These guards stand watch 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, no matter the weather. The guard is changed every 30 minutes April-September, and every hour October-March.
We wandered the Memorial Amphitheater for several minutes, then waited to watch the changing of the guard again. A few people had wandered up the hill by now, but it was respectfully quiet. I did not know that multiple unknown soldiers were buried at the Tomb. I just though it was one soldier and wasn't really sure from which war. The Tomb began following World War I, when four soldiers were exhumed from unmarked battlefield graves in France. One of the identical caskets was then chosen to be placed in a crypt beneath the tomb. Following World War II, one unknown soldier was removed from European battlefields, and one from the Pacific. One of those two was then chosen to be placed in a second crypt at the tomb, while the other was buried at sea. One unknown soldier was also chosen from the Korean War, as well as one from the Vietnam War, bringing the total number of crypts to four. Identification methods were better by the time of the Vietnam War. That combined with modern ID methods eventually led to the identifying of the Vietnam soldier in 1998. He was then removed and the Vietnam crypt remains empty to remember all those still missing from that conflict. The inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier says it all: Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.
Memorial Amphitheater
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The rain slacked off a bit as we walked around the cemetery to some of the more notable monuments and gravesites. Several presidents are buried there with very nice monuments built in their honor. I particularly liked the John F. Kennedy Memorial. Some of his quotes are classic-American. People don't talk like that anymore.
Memorial for the "Rough Riders," dedicated to the volunteer army that fought in the Spanish-American War in 1898. They were led by Theodore Roosevelt.
Civil War Unknowns Memorial
One of those JFK quotes I was referring to. It reads: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." That was one of many strong quotes from a great leader.
The eternal flame at the John F. Kennedy gravesite.
President William H. Taft gravesite
Women in Military Service for America Memorial
The rain finally stopped as we left Arlington and walked back toward D.C. We took the Arlington Memorial Bridge across the Potomac. The bridge brought us to the back of the Lincoln Memorial. It was a nice walk, but wasted a lot of time as we passed by things we had seen the day before. Still, I would never pass on seeing any of these memorials a second time. We planned to go into the Washington Monument before going over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and then go through museums until Caleb came to pick us up.
The Arts of War Sculptures where the Arlington Memorial Bridge meets the National Mall
Washington Monument
The White House from the Washington Monument...
...then look left and see the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.
The Washington Monument was going through a renovation and was closed inside. You couldn't even walk up to it. We ended up in a maze of construction fencing that had no exit. We wasted a lot of time trying to get beyond the monument and over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It was also under construction so they were having limited tours each day. The tickets for the day were already sold out, so we were out of luck.
Finally, we were able to get into somewhere when we reached the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Thankfully, they had a nice cafeteria in the basement where we got some food. All that walking had made us hangry! We didn't have snacks today after having to throw them all away yesterday.
The American history museum was great! They had all sorts of things that pertained to our nation's history. Everything from serious things like the original Star-Spangled Banner, to funny things like muppet puppets. We had a great time in there, spending way more time walking through than anticipated. The flag was unbelievable. It was the original "Old Glory." I did not know it still existed. It was amazing to see the flag that was hoisted through the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Soldiers repeatedly ran out to hoist that flag as the battle raged. It was the flag that still stood after the battle, giving Francis Scott Key inspiration to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," our national anthem. The flag features 15 stars and was the only flag in U.S. history to have more than 13 stripes. The flag is over 200 years old and is massive at 30 ft x 34 ft. It is kept in dim light to help preserve it much like the Declaration of Independence. You can't take pictures, but the museum does provide downloadable photos you can get.
The original Star-Spangled Banner
photo by Smithsonian National Museum of American History
A $100,000 bill
I thought this was super cool. Joe Breezer's first mountain bike, ridden down the famous Repack downhill course. Bikes have come a long way since then...
More mountain bike history in the museum...this is Georgia Gould's Orbea she rode to a Bronze medal in the cross-country at the London Olympics in 2012.
A limestone sunstone that adorned the Nauvoo Temple in Nauvoo, IL before it was burned in 1848. This was another surprise to see in the museum.
The original puppet for the Muppet Chef
The original Uncle Sam costume. All the Halloween ones you buy online are not historically accurate. I Want You!...to make me an accurate costume. It would look good walking around the course at cyclocross nationals. Just saying.
The USS Philadelphia gunboat sank in Lake Champlain in New York during the American Revolution in 1776. It was pulled from the bottom of the lake in 1935.
We had a little time left after we finished the American History Museum, so we went outside to see the Smithsonian Castle and walk over to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The clouds finally lifted while we were outside and we could actually see the planes that had been roaring overhead for the last two days, but were never visible. The Natural History Museum was also quite incredible. These museums far exceeded my expectations. I could have stayed in just one of them for a full day. They house some quite unbelievable things. Items you will likely never see anywhere else in your lifetime. We even saw a narwhal. Yeah, they're real. And that horn, it's a tooth. Look it up.
Smithsonian Castle
The U.S. Capitol across the National Mall
Caught a plane passing behind the Washington Monument.
The legendary Hope Diamond. I know it is crazy rare, but it still just seems like a shiny rock to me. This was one of only two places where armed guards stood watch at a display. The other was where the $100,000 bill was housed.
Beetle collection. One of many in the museum.
Bison skeleton
The lobby of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
We had to hurry a bit at the end of the Natural History Museum as Kaleb was on his way to pick us up. There were so many cool minerals and animals inside. This turned out to be our last stop on our D.C. adventure. Kaleb was picking us up on his way home tonight instead of leaving us until after dark like last night. Not much is open after 5pm anyway, so we were running out of time all the way around. We wanted to take him and his family out to dinner to thank them for letting us stay at their house. We hit up a pizza joint and then hung out with them the rest of the night.
I could have spent another week exploring the city as there is just so much to see, and it all sounds exciting. There were more memorials, more tours and more museums. I guess I'll just have to come back sometime. While we had more days that we could have used in D.C., I was ready to get out of the city and into the woods. I am a woods man and the woods were calling.
No comments:
Post a Comment