Washington, D.C. - Day 3Day 3 began at Arlington Cemetery. What a gorgeous morning. It started a bit cool, but it didn't take long to warm up! We took the Metro from Reagan to Arlington, stopped at the welcome center for me to make a pit stop, then started our hike to see the sights.
There were several school groups and tours and they headed off toward the JFK Memorial, so we headed out to see the Marine Memorial. The statue of the marines at Iwo Jima is really impressive (and we were fortunate enough to see it without all the crowds).
It is mind-boggling to see so many graves, knowing that so many have died for our freedom.
As we walked back from the Marine Memorial, we saw preparations being made for a funeral. Each veteran receives a 21-gun salute and a bugler plays "Taps." These servicemen were out there, standing at attention, in full dress uniforms (in what was rapidly becoming a very warm day) for at least a half hour before the funeral procession arrived.
No, this is not President Taft's headstone. We saw President Taft's grave near this one, so we assumed there was some relation, but the reason I photographed this one is because it says under his wife's name, "Beloved Wife, Mother, Best Friend, Homemaker Extraordinaire." I like that - I think I want that on my headstone (eventually!).