November 12, 2012 – A Fun Day at the Museum of Natural History

When I was a young girl (~10 ish), I came to the Museum of Natural History on either a school or Girl Scout Trip.  The one thing I remember about that trip was finding jars and jars of creatures and embryos of all different species (including man).   And I was just FASCINATED!!  Soooo… I just had to come back and find them.  :-)))

Well, we did not find the jars but we did find Henry:

 

 

And oh so many other creatures:

 

 

Can you imagine meeting any of those creatures in the wild – Yikees??

Haddonfield, New Jersey – never knew that!

 

Some really cool artifacts:

And a great section on gems and minerals – WOW!! 

The Smithsonian Museums in Washington, DC is actually a collection of HUGE buildings based on a theme – Air and Space Museum, Native Peoples Museum, American History Museum, etc.  Each museum is an adventure in itself and one day will never cover it.  In 1998, Andy and I spent two days at the Air and Space Museum and still didn’t cover it.  One of the items on my bucket list is to cover every one of the Smithsonian Buildings on the National Mall – and not get overloaded with all that information.

Most of the buildings also have an IMAX theater with a few films running every day.  We decided on the IMAX film on the Arctic (narrated by Meryl Streep; music by Paul McCarthy).  Wonderful film about the polar bears and the melting ice.

The inside of the building:

And one last look at Washington DC:

   

And that concludes our Washington, DC trip – we are pooped!!  Tomorrow we head east to Delaware so stay tuned and…

ENJOY TODAY!

November 11, 2012 – Veteran’s Day at Arlington National Cemetery

We decided to spend Veteran’s Day in Arlington National Cemetery.  Every year they have a ceremony and the current President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.  They are a number of groups that attend but they also allow a number of the general public to attend.  So when we got there, we stood in line.  The line snakes it’s way along the visitor center and down thru the parking lot.  We started down by the parking lot and moved along.  Just as we round the corner of the visitor center and we could see the end of the line, that was it – all full – Bummer!!!   But we were able to see and do other things just not be at the ceremony or see the President – :-(((.

There were a lot of ceremonies throughout Washington D.C. but this is where I wanted to be on Veterans Day to say my own thanks for our freedom.  As we travel by RV and see this incredible country of ours, I realize just how many freedoms we do have and enjoy.  Our thanks to all who served and sacrificed.

 

The Kennedy Graves with the Eternal Flame:

This is the Arlington House.  The house and all this property once belonged to General Lee.  During the Civil War, the Union took over this property and buried some of the Union Soldiers around the edge of the yard.  Thus, making it hallowed ground.  Once the war ended, this became a National Cemetery.  General Lee and his family never returned here.

This is the view from the Arlington House Porch.  Notice how close he was to Washington.  Once the Cemetery was established the bridge in front was built and called the Peace Bridge.  It connects the north with the south and the Lincoln Memorial with General Lee’s property.

 

Ceremonial Gun Salute:

The Tomb of the Unknowns:

We were able to watch the ceremony of the many groups presenting wreaths to the Tomb of the Unknowns:

  

And what a treat to be there for the changing of the Guard – Hope you can get to this video:

Changing of the Guards

Andy did a great job – :-)

Memorials dedicated to the Columbia, Challenger, and those who died in the attempt to rescue the Iranian Hostages in 1980:

One last look at the Tomb of the Unknowns and Amphitheater:

Another AWESOME and EMOTIONAL day!