WASHINGTON DC: DAY 3 - WE GOT IT ALL IN!
This morning we got up and headed back over to the little cafe we ate breakfast at the day before - only to find it closed!! Only open on the weekdays - we were disappointed but found a Starbucks (that's not too hard, they are literally on every other corner and block) and had a little breakfast there.
We had been debating about going to the Cherry Blossom parade - apparently it's like the hugest parade in DC, they get crowds of over 100,00 people, and the parade route is only a mile stretch of road. So, we decided against the parade and decided to head out of that general vicinity and head over to Arlington. When my mom lived here in the 1960's, their base was actually right next to Arlington, and that land has now been incorporated into the cemetary, although the actual base and buildings were torn down years ago. We hopped in a cab and he quickly (and safely) got us over to the cemetery.
As we approached we could see the Women's Memorial right at the entrance, and we went there first. It was really nice to see that and be there, in 1997 when it opened my mom was a part of the charter members group for the memorial, so it was very nice to be there and see it. We could go up to the top of it and got a great view of Memorial Dr and of DC itself - it was very quiet and peaceful there that early in the morning. Inside the memorial are some really nice displays and exhibit, we took our time touring those and were also able to look up my mom's military records in the database they have there, she looked up a few of her old friends as well. It as very meaningful to see her name in the memorial.
After that, we went on a walk to try to find the grave of one of the colonel's my mom used to work for. Over the years he and his wife became close friends with my mom, she spent holidays with them and kept in touch through the years after she was out of the military. She had gotten his information on where his grave was located, and it was quite close to the entry so we started walking around, and trying to figure out where it was. It took us a little while to figure out their numbering system, but once we did (finally saw the codes on the back of the stones) we quickly walked to the section and found him. I was really glad we found it, it meant a lot to mom.
Once we were done, we headed over to the Visitor center and hopped on the Tourmobile - it stopped at the JFK gravesite, Tomb of the Unknown, and Arlington House. It was a nice tour and we go to see everything and watch the Changing of the Guard.
I found Arlington to be quite stunning...although sad, it has a very beautiful and serene feeling, I could have just stayed there all day and walked around, reading the different monuments and memorials. After we finished the tour, my mom wanted to walk over to the area where her base used to be, so we headed that direction. It was a bit of a hike, but we made it. It is there the Columbairum now stands (for those of you who've been there). We got a nice view of the Pentagon, where she used to walk to work. We only stayed a little while then decided to head back, it was after noon by now and we were all getting hungry and were ready to head back. We hopped the tourmobile and it took us back across to DC, and up to the National mall where we hopped off and grabbed a bit to eat.
After lunch, we decided to give the Archives one more try, not knowing how long the line would be or if we'd even get in. We walked over there and saw the line was only down 1 side of the block, so we quickly got in the and started waiting, it was about 3pm by now. The line moved pretty quick, we only waited about 25 minutes and we were in! Headed up to the Routunda and got in the queue for seeing the main attractions - Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. The line there also went pretty quick, and soon we got to go up and take a look! There were a lot of crowds but we got to see pretty well, you could make out some of what the documents said, although some we so faded you could not see the words. After seeing those, we went through the other exhibits they had, and finished up in the gift shop, of course!
We got done there by about 5pm, and they only big thing we had not seen yet was the Jefferson Memorial. So we hopped a cab and he took us over to that, and we walked around there for about an hour. It was nice, again great views of DC.
We got back to our hotel about 6:30pm, and we were starving! We walked a few blocks looking for a restaurant, but being that late on a Saturday night they were geting busy, so we went back to Stans, the place we went our first night. Got in right away and had a great meal. While we were eating, we decided to walk down to the White House after dinner and see it lit up and just walk around a bit, none of us really wanted to go back to the hotel since it was our last night.
So we finished up dinner and walked to the White House, passing a cute little ice cream shop on the way....by this time in the trip we must have all been thinking alike, because that sure looked good! We saw the White House and did some pictures, then walked through Lafayette park again and headed back to that ice cream shop! They had some outdoor seating so we sat outside and enjoyed our chocolate ice cream cones, talked about the weekend and how much fun it had been. It was the perfect way to end our trip. From there we went back to the hotel, packed up a bit and got to bed.
The next morning we got up, ran across the street to Starbucks for some breakfast, and got all checked out. Got over the airport pretty early, had to wait about 2 hours for the flight, but flight went well and we got back to Milwaukee about 1pm, and drove home. All in all it was a GREAT trip and I'm so glad we did it. My mom commented once during the trip that she never thought she would make it back, so I'm glad that my sister and I were able to do this for her and take her out there. It meant a lot to her and to both of us, to spend that time with her and relive some of those memories with her.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to read about my trip. It was great and I definitely recommend going - it is incredible to see!
Karen
So I did miss everyone a lot and it was good to come home and see them all. 
I really couldn't believe it. At this point I just paid him and and we got out. What a way to end the night! I was just glad no one was really hurt and we joked about it the next day. 
Can't wait to hear about Day 3.
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DC!! I want to go back so bad. The last time (and only time) I have been was senior year of high school. Hopefully soon! Thank you for doing your mini-TR! I really enjoyed reading about your trip. I sure hope you are ok after the car accident. The nerve of him to charge you a cab fare after he had an accident--it would have been much worse if you had not said anything.
) to work on them. I think 've juse been occupied with other stuff going on the last month (the surgery, birthdays, DC trip) and spending my free time outside when the weather is nice and also spending free time trying to exercise and take some walks. But it is suppsed to rain and be cold here this weekend so maybe I can work on them this weekend. 
It took me over a year to finish my WDW '08 scrapbook!
