We had a blast visiting Washington DC and NYC! I know I'm exhausted from all the site seeing, but it was so worth it! On the first day we went to see the Arlington National Cemetery. Very moving, but don't know that I want to be buried there. This is part of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also visited the Women in Military Service Memorial located at Arlington.
Then we walked across the bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. We also saw the Washington monument which is on the opposite side of the mall.
We visited the Vietnam,Korean and WW II memorials. This is a great view of the WW Memorial
Next was a great tour of the Capital, hosted by Sen. Hatch's office. This is a view of the ceiling of the rotunda, where Presidents are laid for viewing after they die.
The next day we went to NYC with a friend and her two daughters. We actually stayed in Jersey City, in the Hyatt, which had a wonderful view of the city. Our first stop was the World Trade Center. Very sobering. It is, however, amazing that only the actual site of the WTC buildings still looks destroyed. All of the surrounding buildings, which were also terribly damaged in the attack, have now been restored.
Our next visit was to the Empire State building; long lines but a nice view of the city. We also went to Times Square, which the Chelsea loved. We also went to see the musical "Mamma Mia!" It was a fun show to watch, with the story based on songs from ABBA, an '80's pop group. You can see the advertisement in the lower left of this photo. Later we took a horse and buggy ride around Central Park. It is such a beautiful area right in the middle of all the chaos which is NYC!
We took a boat trip out to Liberty Island and saw the Statue of Liberty. You can no longer go inside the statue due to security reasons.
We also went to the Washington National Cathedral. What a beautiful church! When we got there they were having a noon service and I wanted to take communion, but since I wasn't there for the whole service decided against it. The church and the grounds are so amazing! I took this photo of the Last Supper and plan on enlarging it to 11 X 14, framing it and putting it in my dining room.
Our last tourist stop on this trip was to the Air Force Memorial. What a beautiful design. It represents the plumes from the AF Thunderbirds when they are doing their demonstrations. If you've ever seen the Thunderbirds perform at an Air Show you'll know just what I mean.
I also loved the statues of the Air Force Honor Guard. Since I am still a member of the Honor Guard here it meant a lot to me. As my friend pointed out, of all the different things they could have commemorated at this site they chose the Honor Guard. I plan on enlarging this photo, framing it, and giving it to the local Honor Guard flight.
This was definitely a trip of a lifetime, one of many we've been fortunate to go on! I can't wait to print out all my photos and get started on a scrapbook of this trip. All this was made possible by our friends who put us up while we were there. Thanks so much Nasima and girls, and the Kepharts! Mary and Chelsea
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