Day 4- Memorials and Monuments

Looks like the boys started the day with some pool. We Ubered over to Arlington National Cemetery on this cloudy and drizzly, but not cold, morning.  

 We arrived at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just as the changing of the guards was happening, so we waited for another hour to get a better view. It was a somber and beautiful hour spent quietly thinking about the people who have served our country and protected our freedom. 

Parades and ceremonies and uniforms and marching and honoring were all such a big part of my childhood growing up with Grandpa Mark serving in the Army. It made me happy to watch my family experience a tiny fraction of the respect that our soldiers deserve. 

(Side note, so, so many people asked 'why?' when I said we were spending our spring break in Washington, D.C. The easy answer is that I spent six years of my childhood here, but also, because every American needs to know where our nation's capital is and what it's all about at least once in their life. I'm not judging but how has this never occurred to some people?)

Walking across the Arlington Memorial Bridge was one of the most random and fun memories of the day. We took our sweet time, ate gummy worms, and just loved being outside and moving our bodies after months and months of winter. 

These kids know how to make anything fun. 

Sometimes I can't help myself. 

And then we were back in Washington DC and ready to check out some monuments! 

Then past the Korean War Veterans Memorial and over to the newest memorial, the incredible Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. 

We hopped into a park ranger tour, and I loved the enthusiasm and respect this elderly gentleman had for equality and respect for all. 

The memorial appears unfinished to represent that this work in America is not yet finished.

Signs of spring were all around the Tidal Basin. We were only a week too early for the Cherry Blossom Festival, but we enjoyed the crowds to match. 

I'm pretty sure this sign meant no gambling with city squirrels. 

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial was my very favorite in high school, probably because it was the newest. 

Then over to the gorgeous Jefferson Memorial. 

Silly kids, making anything fun again. 

Street tacos from food trucks for lunch! 

Packhorse daddy! 

One of the only points of contention for this trip was the fact that I completely missed the window for reserving tickets to the top of the Washington Monument 30 days out (although it could be said that no one else thought to reserve them either) so we tried for three unsuccessful mornings to snag some of the very limited day-of tickets. Oh well. We had a great time admiring this incredible global landmark from the ground. 

I have no idea. 

The sun was coming out, we had already walked for miles, and our dogs were barking, so at some point we all separated for about 10 minutes to enjoy a bit of alone time. Then we came back together again and continued with the laughing and happy memory making. 

It was shaping up to be a perfectly beautiful day, but holy smokes right up by the monument was SO. WINDY. 

So windy. 

So, so windy. 

And so beautiful. Over to the Reflecting Pool! 

And around the World War II Memorial. 

Hey! We were in there! 

For dinner, we dined at the ultra fancy Hamilton and enjoyed some of the most delicious food of the whole trip. 

Then we finally made our way back to the hotel. This picture smells like pot to me. There was a shocking amount of pot smoke lingering around every corner of the otherwise immaculate city. 

But overall, what a very great day!