Day 6-Arlington Cemetery

These are the gates going into Arlington.

This is a quilt that was in the visitors center.  It was more touching than I thought it would.  It's hard to not appreciate all the lives lost in defense of our country and our freedoms.

This little guy's face just ripped my heart out.  Each block was the baby picture  of a soldier who was killed in action.  You could just see the potential in his eyes and know that he was taken too soon.

 

The sun was a little bright--not a bad thing!

This is Jon and Vickie and the home of Robert E. Lee in the background.  We had hiked down the hill and now had to hike back up. 

 I didn't realize the difficulty that Gen. Lee had in leaving this place to be a general for the confederates.  He was living in the north and all his friends and family were there.  They thought him a traitor so they burried their dead on his plantation in retribution.

This is the view from Arlington.  At the end is the capitol building and the Washington Monument. 

The Kennedy eternal flame.

 

JFK's famous quote.  It was heartbreaking to see all the Kennedy headstones.

Robert E. Lee had a great view.

This is part of the memorial to the unknown soldier.

We were able to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier.  It was amazing to  watch the precision.  If you look at the cement around  the soldier there are what look like rust stains.  It is the foot prints where they walk or march.  The soldier walks on a black carpet back and forth.  They change the guard every hour, every day.  The men who  try out for this position have to swear to no TV, cussing, alchol and tobacco use for their entire 2 year committment.  It takes an hour to put the uniform on and it has to be perfect.  It was amazing.

This is the inside of the memorial 2 pictures up.  This was definately a favorite place!