Arlington National Cemetery

In all the years that we lived in the DC area, we had somehow never made a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. I don't know how this is possible because we are just the type of people that love visiting such things. I mean, while in Paris we made a point to go see the catacombs which were far more morbid than this beautiful cemetery. I found myself almost forgetting what each and every one of the beautifully aligned headstones represented. It was so peaceful and park like, even with the thousands upon thousands of visitors the day we visited. I hope you all enjoy these photos. There was so much to see here that it will be it's own post.

There must have been some serious planning behind the alignment of these headstones. It was magnificent how they made rows everywhere you looked. It was also very moving to know that each and every person buried there had served their country.

While we visited, there was some grounds keeping going on. Mowing looked like a simple job, but the weed-eating looked like a nightmare.

There were the most beautiful, huge, old trees at the cemetery. Some of them absolutely amazing as you will see below.

This is a shot up the hill to General Lee's home, we got to tour the old house.

The people visiting were all quite nice (aside from the large groups of teenage kids) and would offer to take photos of our whole family so we could all be in the shots. There wasn't many other places that I found people so nice while on our trip. It may be judgemental, but people in DC all seem so self absorbed it disgusted me. This photo was taken in front of the Lee house over looking the cemetery.

Here is a shot of the Lee house. It was a huge home, far larger than I would have imagined. Behind the house was the slaves quarters and a beautiful garden house.

The kids really enjoyed seeing this part of the house. This is the kitchen, I'm glad I didn't have to make dinner back then. I can't even imagine life with out Cuisinart, not to mention life with out an oven.

This is the grave site of Pierre Charles L'Enfant. For those of you who didn't pay attention much in history class ( like me, it was just too boring out of a book ), he was a Frenchman who designed many famous American Government buildings and most memorably, he designed Washington DC.

This giant old tree stood out behind the Lee house, it was just amazing to me how large it was.

Here's a shot proving just how amazing this tree was in person. Unfortunately, they didn't allow climbing of this monster tree, Payton would love to have such a tree here at home.

Here is where JFK rests. The kids loved the eternal flame above his name plate. To the left of him is his brother, Robert. To the right is his widowed wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and to the right of her is where their two children who died in infancy are interred.

A close-up of JFK's burial site & the eternal flame in the background.

Here are Gregg and I awaiting the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. You wouldn't believe the crowd that gathered for this, we were lucky to get "seats" right up front.

Here is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a guard marching back and forth keeping watch. They change guards every thirty minutes.

This was the most fun day of the entire trip I believe. It was like walking around in a state park that happened to also be a burial ground. It was quiet and peaceful like you'd hope a cemetery would be, even with the masses of people there. It was larger than I had ever imagined and had more tombstones than you could possibly count. I believe it is something that everyone should visit while in the DC area.

Up next... The National Archives, The Natural History Museum, The Capitol Building, & The National Art Galleries.