DC part 3 (the final chapter)

Hubby at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (guard in background)

Kennedy Mansion @ Arlington

Honest Abe

My children an I with Honest Abe

The View from the ramp @ the Lincoln Memorial

Our final days in DC were spent at Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, and a memorial or two that I could photograph as we drove/walked by.  It became a family joke about how there are SO many handicapped parking spots available VERY close to the memorials, yet the handicap access is SO far away and hard to navigate!  Argh to those lawmakers!  Our first stop was Arlington.  The hubby was able to see the Tomb of the Unknown changing of the guard firsthand and to participate in the solemnity there.  A.D.D me kept thinking about how awesome it would be to see the cemetery during the second coming.... all those soldiers/sailors being resurrected with their buddies!  What a reunion that would be!  I know.... sometimes my mind is very twisted.  Next was the ONLY thing I really cared to see the whole week:  Honest Abe!  I honestly think he must have been a truly amazing man to know.  I walked climbed the overcrowded steps and waited for my family to arrive.  Taking a picture with Honest Abe was a difficult task.  There were many people in the foreground/background/everywhere!  I think we finally scored a photo or two with no one other than Honest Abe and one of us.  As we walked down the steps and mapped out our trek to the car.... we noticed the Korean War memorial (I thought it was Vietnam at first) and took a couple snap shots.  There was a veteran of the war there on the grounds talking to a few people.  I was also able to take a couple photos of the WWII memorial while we drove around looking for parking spots to Lincoln.  The up-news was we were able to get all of that done before lunch - so we made the commute back home and had some lunch.  All of this happened on Friday - New Year's Eve - our last whole day in DC.   The next morning was spent getting the car packed down and the family situated for the ride home.  Luckily we were able to make good time and  left the hotel early enough to give us the blessing of naps.  Words cannot express how grateful I was to have my children back in their rooms!  Having everyone sleep in the same "suite" was rough enough.

Korean War Memorial