Road trip

We are extremely grateful to 2 Grandparents, 3 aunts, 1 uncle, and 1 cousin who entertained Tyler while Jeff and I took a vacation to Washington DC.

Here are some highlights of our trip:

One of my favorite spots was Arlington National Cemetery. There we saw a flame marking John F. Kennedy's grave, a flame that has been burning for 45 years. At the Cemetery we also saw many grave sights, but the site most visited is of a soldier known but to God. It was there that we saw the changing of the guard.

It was interesting to learn of the development of Washington DC. The designer of the city placed the Washington Monument in the center. The White House lies to the north, the Capital straight east, the Lincoln Memorial to the west, and the Jefferson Memorial to the south. Jeff and I thought that the Washington Monument is probably the tallest monument ever built. Anyone know?

We were only able to view the White House from the outside. I thought it was ironic that we couldn't go inside a house that is owned by the American people. Apparently you have to notify your congressman that you want to tour the White House, so a background check can be done prior to entering.

And for those who know my husband we had to visit the air and space museum, both of them in fact. We saw many famous planes including the Spirit of St Louis (first airplane to fly nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean), the Enola Gay (the actual airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima), and the Concorde, which I thought was neat (It is a passenger airplane that flies faster than the speed of sound. However, it cost passengers a pretty penny, so eventually they stopped flying the planes.)

The national history museum was closed for renovations, but there was an exhibit that had several items from the museum, including Dorothy's ruby slippers, the puffy shirt from Seinfeld, a sunstone from the original Nauvoo Temple, and the actual flask in which penicillin was discovered.

Mt Vernon, the home of George Washington, was neat to visit. We toured his house and saw the bed where he died. It is unknown exactly what he died from, but his symptoms indicate something similar to strep throat or epiglotitis, which both could easily have been treated today. It's ironic that the commander of the continental army and great leader of this nation died of something easily remedied with antibiotics.

It was fun touring DC, but best of all I enjoyed sleeping past 6am (which is when Tyler believes it's time to wake up).