October 22, 2001 (continued)

I then walked the other side of the Capital and through the gardens where I saw many strange trees.  The one bearing the Sage Orange was the stangest, and this little baby here could cause brain damage.  They were falling constantly from the trees.  About the size of both my fists! From there I headed back to the American History and Natural History museum again.  This time I spent some quality time in the Natural -- HA!  Standing in from of the Hope Diamond (two links there) among other fantastic gems.  My feet wouldn't take much more, so I hit the Metro and headed for the apartment! The people here are so friendly -- well the people on the street and in the subway.  They are all in good humor and helpful.  Stopped a man and woman on the street today, both in suits leaving from work, and I told them I had lost the Metro - They laughed and pointed me in the right direction and followed-up with "Better hurry before it hides again!"  HA!  So I did!  Now, the drivers are a different story altogether, they have a certain pride in their horns and use them a lot!!  Heather and I went out to dinner and ate outside, where it was almost too warm!  It was beautiful!

October 23, 2001

OK, my feet hate me, my hips are on fire and I know I'm older tonight than I was this morning!  Considerably!!  What a day!  Took the Metro to Arlington Cemetary, that would be my first foray into Virginia.  When I saw the map of all the sites I wanted to see, I wimped out and went for the bus tour -- Don't let anyone tell you that saves on walking!!  The usually have a drop where you can walk a four to six block radius to see the high points of a particular section, then you either hightail it back to the stop and wait for the next bus or walk on.  First stop was JFK's grave which is also Jackie's (which took an act of congress since she had remarried!) and the two children (Patrick on the left of JFK, the unnamed child on the right of Jackie).  It was quite humbling as the memories of the days following the assasination came flashing back.  It is a beautiful site at the bottom of a rolling green hill with a view of the National Mall.  It is quite ostentatious, but close by is Bobby Kennedy's grave with only the cross and small plaque he requested. From there we went to the Tomb of the Unknowns for the changing of the guard.  This is quite a ceremoney.  The center tomb is WWII, the right is Korea and the left is Viet Nam.  The guard stands for 21 seconds looking out then turns and takes 21 steps to the other end symbolizing a 21 gun salute.  This is done constantly for an hour (half hour in summer) and they they have the change.  It is all done with great ceremony and LOUD clicking of heels. A full inspection of the guards and their weapons is completed before the change and the CO tells the story of the change. The guards and their commanding officer all have a two inch piece on one heel for the purose of making that loud click.  It is quite impressive! Couldn't believe they filled our bus with leftover folks and left us there!  But they said it was just "over there" to get to the Arlington House, so from here I walked to the Challenger Memorial and the Memorial to the eight who died in the attempted rescue of the Americans in the Iran Hostage Incident.  Then over to Jonas Salk's last resting place and Audey Murphy's (the most decorated soldier in WWII).  Walked through the area of the over 2,000 soldiers from the Civil War and finally (about an hour of walking) to the top (yes, this was all uphill) of Arlington and the home of General Robert E. Lee. This is the home just above the Kennedy sites and would have been easier to get to from there! Some of the furniture is original but not much, and the largest painting Lee did was in the Parlor there.  This time I caught the bus (would have knocked old women down to get on it) -- Saw the grave of the only other president besides JFK buried here, Howard Taft, and the Confederate Monument.