During this trip I decided I wanted to take advantage of showing my parent’s around DC. My Dad, as well as both of my grandfathers, served in the armed forces for my country and my parent’s had never been there to see all of the monuments and remembrances. So earlier in the year I planned a trip for us and my older brother decided to go along.
Five years ago, DC was one of those places that I never had much interest in seeing, not being a history buff or having any interest in politics. Fortunately, I went there for a national health conference about obesity in 2004 and my views of this great city changed drastically.
I was overwhelmed by the monuments, the history and what the city represents. Now that I’ve lived abroad I have an even greater appreciation for these things. In addition, I simply love the feel of the city - the driven, work-focused vibe; the organization; the emphasis on health and physical activity as people run along the mall and walk up the escalators.
You might remember the last time I went wasn’t such a pleasant experience. I got to see the city with my husband and I was introduced to Old Town in Alexandria which was great, but we (mostly my husband) also spent hours with the Embassy/Consulate trying to get our Temporary Visas finalized.
This time, I did have to visit the passport office a couple times (my pages were getting low), but I also got to have a lot of fun and introduce my family to a new place. I got to see some new things as well. I finally made it around some of the Smithsonian and went to Arlington Cemetery.
Just as an interesting side note, there are a couple things that always happen to me when I travel now. They may sounds strange or insignificant, but they are things that repeatedly occur almost every time I travel to a new place, both in the US and abroad. First I see a pug. In case you didn’t know I have a pug here in the US and love the breed to pieces. Second, I hear Portuguese. A few hours into this trip, both occurred as usual.
I was able to get in some of my favorite pastime - people watching - which got the wheels turning in my head for more posts. You know, the like, difference, good and bad kinds of posts.
First, though, I’ll share some of my photos. This time, my favorite part was probably the cemetery. It is such an overwhelming place filled with both sadness and great beauty. My brother asked a guard where the most recently deceased soldiers were laid to rest and he pointed out the area. We couldn’t help but be saddened by the numerous tents present and the fresh dirt on so many graves of those who had died and been laid to rest only a few days or weeks ago.
Arlington Cemetery and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Gems from Brazil in the Museum of Natural History
Around Washington DC
Around Alexandria
1 comment:
I've never been to D.C. nor had a lot of interest, like you, but lately have been feeling likeit's sort of an obligatory place that you HAVE to get to at one point or another.
Your pictures are pretty and interesting!
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