Washington

As the sun came up on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, our eyes were opening to a brand new city, in a brand new state. I have been wanting to visit Washington DC for some time now. What better (and more emotional) place to start our tour than Arlington Cemetery.

We waited to see the changing of the guard.

We stopped at the Marine Corps War Memorial

Followed by the Lincoln Memorial, 

 Reflection Pool and Pencil Memorial

We proceeded to the Korean Veterans War Memorial

We walked down the street and the back alley of Ford Theater where Lincoln was assassinated.

It was getting late in the day, but we headed over to the White House.

As exhausted as we were, we made one final stop at the Pentagon.

The memorial there brings a chill.

Elegant and simple, the Pentagon Memorial serves as a timeline of the victims’ ages, spanning from the youngest victim, three-year-old Dana Falkenberg, who was on board American Airlines Flight 77, to the oldest, John D. Yamnicky, 71, a Navy veteran, also aboard Flight 77 that morning.

 Each of these benches represent a life lost. 

There is a running water pool underneath each one. 

There were 184 souls lost to the terrorists attack that day

That was where we ended day 1 of trip. Eight stops on the first day is quite productive.

So far, I was loving this educational vacation.

Back at the hotel, hot showers and soft beds were calling our names.

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