Historic Washington, D.C.

Well, I finally made it to the Nation's Capitol, Washington D.C. I spent 2 1/2 weeks in June with Bryce, Heidi and Isaiah so that Heidi could start training for a new job. I got there a few days before she had to start work so we could do some sightseeing. Can you believe I forgot to take my camera?! Luckily, Heidi took her camera...well she actually forgot her camera part of the time too :), but we got some pictures to document my visit. The weather started out nice and we were able to see quite a few monuments/memorials in the first couple days before the weather got rainy. Isaiah was very good to sit in his stroller all day long while we rode the Metro and roamed the National Mall. The first day we visited the Washington Monument Lincoln Memorial Jefferson Memorial and Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, and the Holocaust Museum. We also saw the Capitol Building and White House but did not tour them. (As a side note, two weeks later, on June 10, an 88-year-old man went to the Holocaust Museum and opened fire with a rifle and ended up killing a guard.)

The second day we went to Arlington Cemetery and wandered around and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That was about all we could manage that day because it was quite warm


Sunday afternoon we drove to Baltimore and visited Fort McHenry and watched them retire the enormous "Garrison Flag" (a replica of the 30' X 42' flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes that flew over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote the words of the "Star Spangled Banner". That flag is now in the Smithsonian) and raise a smaller American Flag for the night

Then we drove past Johns Hopkins University so I can tell people "I went to Johns Hopkins". I'll bet Alex is so envious!


From there we drove back to D.C. and visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...


followed by a brief stop at the National Archives Building. I kind of teased with Heidi all week about finally being able to stand...not on the famous ground where memorials are built to our founding fathers but...where Nicholas Cage stood during the making of "National Treasure". It's true!! But we did see the original Declaration of Independence and the other documents in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. It was kind of dark and cold in there but I had a reverent feeling in that room.


Next stop was the fairly new Air Force Memorial. There was not a large throng of people here and we enjoyed a peaceful visit to the monument built to honor members of the Air Force.

I thought of Verlin even though the only time he flew in the Air Force was when he was traveling from one place to the next. From the Air Force Memorial we could see the Pentagon and part of Arlington Cemetery.




Heidi then took us on a roundabout route back home on I-495 so that I could view the Washington D.C. Temple as it suddenly loomed in front of us as we rounded the bend.

It was beautiful in the evening sun but more so when we drove to the temple grounds and viewed it from a closer perspective. It was the perfect ending to our day. The following Tuesday evening I had the privilege of attending the temple with Heidi. On my last day in Maryland, Bryce and Heidi took me to the National Cryptologic Museum next door to the National Security Agency in D.C. It explains the role of the NSA in the history of cryptology and national defense. As with the other places we visited there was far too much to see and read in a short period of time but the video gave us a good overview of the history of cryptology, breaking and making codes to pass or intercept secret messages during the various wars including the cold war and in today's complex global fight against terrorism. Following our visit we stopped for lunch and then Heidi took me to the airport. I was introduced to a new favorite sandwich shop while I was in Maryland. It is called Potbelly Sandwich Works and they have yummy sandwiches! I had a great time and was sad to see it end. But there are bound to be new adventures ahead.