Arlington National Cemetary and a visit from George

So this is Arlington National Cemetary. There are approximately 25 burials per weekday that occur here. Our first stop was President JKF site. This is a picture of the eternal flame that is always burning over his gravesite. The house at the top of the hill is Robert Lee's home that was there prior to the creation of Arlington Cemetary. We were able to tour the home and get the background to Robert Lee's history and decision to side with Virginia as they succeeded from the union.

This is probably my favorite spot in the cemetary. This is the amphitheatre that is adjacent to the tomb of the unknown solider.

This is the tomb of the unknown solider, representing those lost in battle. It is gaurded 24/7 and there is changing of the gaurds every hour.

Oh, yea, President Bush came to visit us after our journey to Arlington, hehe. Here is our family photo with George.

Funny story, Autumn found this cardboard cutout of president Bush for her sister as a gift. Autumn, being very anti-bush was rather embarassed to even bring it home on the metro and was afraid she may be attacked, but she arrived home safely, George intact. So that evening we had too much fun with George and he just sort of hung out in our living room!

George delivered our pizza for us.

And George was so kind to try on my first stocking cap I had knitted. We thought it fit him well. The next day we had to figure out how to send George in the mail to Autumn's sister in Idaho, hope he makes it in one piece.

Well our time in DC is now complete with a visit from the president and all.

National Gallery of Art

Autumn and I went to the National Gallery of Art last Sunday. Oh it was wonderful!! I forget that I like to go to art galleries and it makes me miss my days art class. Here are some of the pics I was able to capture.

I took this picture for Matt, a lion face armor headpiece.

Monet

Autumn and Amy in DC

Yea!! So I am in the middle of a long stretch off from work and my friend Autumn came to visit us. We spent a lot of time downtown, although she spent even more time and here is our adventures for one day.

We started off at the Old Post Office, we were actually a little lost once we got off the metro and found it haphazardly. It is a beautiful building though so we went in to check it out! You can tour the bell tower and get a little background about the building while you are there. Next we took off for the Smithsonian. We found the American History Museum first, I really wanted to go in as it just reopened Nov. 21 and has been closed the whole time we have been here. It was packed the day we were there so we just did a very brief scan of the museum.



Next, we were off to capture some shots of the squirrels. Autumn was rather fond of them as they all look pudgy and overweight. One of her first days here she watched some of the fattest squirrels she had ever seen out by the monuments, so we went in pursuit of some.
While we were chasing squirrels by the White House the most exciting thing happened. Air Force One came and landed at the White House!! So I ran up as close as I could to capture the moment on my camera. But it was exciting none the less. The first helicopters were the body guard planes then the third helicopter was Air Force One. What timing we had! This is Air Force One right over our heads. The South Lawn of the White house is where they landed. I couldn't see anyone, but I could see all the flashes from the media and such up on the lawn.After I got over that excitement we went in to the Natural History Museum and went through the Gems and stones exhibit. Isn't this stone just beautiful?Learning how Crystal grows.

Minerals that glow in the dark!Then it was time to head back home and I just love this picture of the Old Post Office with the snow and lights. We got a little lost looking for Metro Station, but along the way we found Ford's theatre and across the street the House where Lincoln died. This is ford's theatre.
That is what is fun about D.C. there is so much to see that whenever you get lost, you seem to stumble on something else just as interesting. It is very easy to get distracted and sidetracked though! We had a fun day, and Matt was quite content to stay at home away from the coldness and the crowds!

Billy Goats in training!

Today we went to the Great Falls on the Potomac river. We had been here before but forgot the camera and today I really wanted to get out and do some hiking. The falls are nice, but dangerous. There is an average of 7 deaths/year here. We were careful.

So we went on this great hike along the Billy Goat trail. There was a warning sign telling us it was strenuous, but we weren't scared! It was a lot of fun, climbing on boulders along the edge of a canyon. However we got to this point in the picture below and I started to get a little nervous...

Matt, of course makes it look easy!

Maybe I can do this?? I sort of panicked right about here is where I decided to look down. That was a mistake. But Matt got me through.

Of course we see this sign with the picture after we finish the hike! It really wasn't all that bad, but I could see how some people could definitely get hurt or twist an ankle. We were victorious however and enjoyed the time outside.

The Washington Cathedral

We went to the Washington National Cathedral today. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. Here are some of our pictures. If anyone is visiting DC this is a must!

The Stained glass had the brightest colors ever.

We also went to the International spy museum today. It was top secret so no pictures were allowed. Very interesting and an interactive museum. We recommend it.