7 May - 11 May 2009 - Washington DC . . . .

We decided to take to AMTRAC down to Washington. Just for something different & it's only 3.5 hours away by train. It was a comfy way to travel that's for sure. We turned one of the chairs around & went to sleep. Well I did anyway & I think Simon slept the least. All in all it was a good trip. So . . . Washington DC
Our hotel was a short trip from Central Station so we were quite close to down town as well which was great. So many things to see and do.

In our time in DC we must have walked a gazillion miles from monument to monument to hisorical building & back again. It is an amazing city. We really enjoyed ourselves. What a great city.

My favourite is the Lincoln Memorial. The statue of Lincoln is so grand & somewhat imposing but all in a good way of course. I love that he sits & looks out across the reflection pool. Many great people & let's face it not so great but you could say . . . . many famous people have stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to deliver some great speaches. Four Score & Seven years ago . . . is etched on the wall to Lincoln's right. Then of course there is Martin Luther King's famous speach, the current President, Barrack Obama & of course you can't forget Forrest Gump. Remember he ran down the steps & into the reflection pool to embrace his childhood love. You know what's her name! Robyn Wright Penn. Yeah, that's the one. Anyway it is a cool place to visit. It is one of the most recognisable places from books, magazines & of course t.v.

My other favourite monument was the FDR (Franklin Dalano Roosevelt) Monument. It isn't as well know as all the others in DC because it is more subtle but really elegant if you can say that about a memorial. Perhaps tasteful is a better way of putting it. It runs along the opposite bank of the lake where the Jefferson Memorial is. It is a combination of gardens, statues & these profound statements on plaques scattered through out. Some were small & others were huge & took up the entire wall. I really liked this memorial alot. It was really peaceful & quite lovely.

And another favourite is Arlington National Cemetary. It is an amazing place. Sounds strange to say that about a cemetary but you can feel the tradition & there is a great feeling of reverance through respect & even ore for what the people who are remembered there have been apart of & what they have helped bring about through their service & sacrifice. I guess it's because of my family history in the Services, mostly my Dad that has lead me to feel this way. But hey, it is a must see when you visit DC. John F Kennedy is buried here next to his wife Jacquie Kennedy & 2 infant children of theirs. Sad. His eternal flame stands at the bottem of the hill from the original estates residence, which was once the home of General Lee. It would have been a beautiful place to live back in the day.

Also at Arlington is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is guarded 24/7 365 days a year. The soldiers who guard the tomb work on non stop 1 hour shifts. We were there to see the last changing of the guard for the day. A very solom thing to see but quite interesting. Everyone watches in complete silence as the guards go through the exact movements of the change over & the giving & receiving of the rifle. It is very procise & sincronised to the smallest of movements.

Simon is having a hard time working out which was his favourite. Go figure, as you can see I had no problems but I guess I did pick 3. Goes to show that we just loved it all.

Other hot spots were . . . . . .

The National Monument

You can see this from almost anywhere in DC.

The White House. Actually when we were there the first day the police had closed off the street

completely so you couldn't get anywhere near the fence at the back of the White House. A couple of black cars drove up but we couldn't really see anything or anyone. Anyway they had swat guys on the roof. You could see them walking back & forth. Probably just the Obama kids coming home or something but the police were very serious about it all. The next day we were able to walk up to the fence & take some pics.

Of course no adventure would be complete with out Kaiden completing the Junior Ranger Program. Parts of the city have been made into a National Park so Kaiden jumped at the opportunity to do yet another JRP. He loves them & we love him doing them. They take a little time but they are so worth it. He really does get to learn more than he would if he just went & visited like most people do.

Kaiden taking his JR pledge. He's looking pretty relaxed there don't you think (: