Arlington National Cemetary and the National Aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa Ricketts

Andy's parents came out for his swearing in ceremony for the state department. It was great to see them! We visited the war memorials, the Air and Space Museum, Arlington National Cemetary and the National Aquarium with them.

Arlington National Cemetary was just beautiful. Rain drizzled down on us as we walked around. It was fitting, like in the movies...it's always raining at funeral services. Luckily, Larry and Vicki bought 2 large umbrellas which saved us from being soaked to the bone (well, most of us...Jake got pretty wet!) I was surprised by the size of the cemetary. It was huge. Much bigger than I expected, and more hills. The setting was lovely, with the rolling hills and green grass and trees. The kids were very respectful, and did a great job as we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. That was really neat. I love to see people showing respect and being reverent. People had told me about the heel-clicking and the rifle-handling of the soldiers, but I was still impressed with their precision. Especially when the two soldiers synchronized their every move. We also got to see wreaths of flowers being placed at the tomb. That is a whole separate routine from the changing of the guard, and really nice because a soldier plays TAPS on the horn. It was actually very moving. The music was loud and clear, everyone held their hands on their hearts and nobody spoke. Cool. Larry said we'll never hear anyone play it better than that soldier. As we were walking back to the visitor's center, one of the kids pointed out a horse-drawn carriage carrying a casket up the road. I liked hearing the sounds of the horse hooves clomping on the pavement, and reminded me that soldiers are still giving their lives in the service of our country. I'm grateful for the military members and their families.

After the cemetary, we headed downtown to the National Aquarium. Because I am not a strong parallel parker and because I feel I am cursed to never find a parking meter anyway, we parked in the garage beneath the Reagan Building for a large fee. It was worth the price, though, as there is a food court in the basement of the building, and the Reagan Building is located across the street from the National Aquarium, which is in the basement of the Commerce Building. The aquarium was small, and not very impressive, but the cool thing about it is that many of the tanks hold a sampling of the water-life from locations all over the US. They each represent a certain river, lake, bay, or ocean. Personally, I loved the little poison dart frogs. Sarah and Rachel spent lots of time looking for Dory...she kept hidden behind some coral.

We headed back to the food court for treats at "Larry's Ice Cream and Cookies" (of course we had to try it)! The kids think Grandma and Grandpa's homemade ice cream is much better! Then after the treats, we took Grandma and Grandpa to the airport. Surprisingly, I think I drove straight there. No u-turns or backtracking. Yay! Thanks for coming out to visit, Grandma and Grandpa!