The Nolden Family

On July 5th we left for a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C.   We saw all the “BIG STUFF” in two full days of running from one site to another.  That wouldn’t have been quite as difficult if the East Coast hadn’t been experiencing a significant HEAT WAVE at the time and most of the “running” was done outside. 

It was 103 degrees our first day there (and 100 the 2nd day).  Our friends in Las Vegas will scoff at that seemingly “low” temp.  However…the humidity was also around 100% at the time.  This makes for  a most UNBEARABLE experience.  I’ll never forget walking from the Lincoln Memorial over to the White House in those conditions.  Uggghhhh!  We actually left a tour of the Capitol building midway through in order to make it to the other end of the Washington Mall for our elevator ride up the Washington Memorial (we got our tickets early in the morning for a 4:30 tour)…we did that in 15 minutes, riding Metro part of the way…and running in the heat (can you see all 8 of us running like maniacs?)…crazy, but worth it!

But, despite that one large challenge…we had a most excellent adventure in the country’s capital.  We made a lot of memories.

I don’t want to be negative, but I will mention two big observations we made while we were there:

1.  The Washington Mall is in horrible shape.  The grass is brown and unkempt, and everything looks very undesirable.  I know all that upkeep costs, but it doesn’t present a very “shiny” image for our country.

2.  People in Washington D.C. aren’t very nice.  We have lived in “The South” for the past two years now…and I think we have already started to take “Southern Hospitality” for granted.  I remember when we first moved to Georgia from Las Vegas…we were in awe at how truly nice everyone was…like the cashier at the grocery store, or a person on the street that you needed to get directions from, or the people that wave at you in your car even though they have no clue who you are.  We realized, after we stepped out of our “Southern Bubble” that we have let that become something that we expect instead of appreciate.  We will try to do better now .

Yeah...the 12 hours of torture was over...we had arrived!

We stayed in Arlington, Virginia...

We stayed at the Hilton near the airport in Arlington.

We got all day Metro (subway) Tickets and rode the train from the hotel into the city and also used it to get to different places in the city. That in and of itself was an adventure.

Mikayla, Frank and Megan on the Metro.

Our very first stop was at the Arlington National Cemetery. Here is a quote from the official website for the cemetery: "Arlington Mansion and 200 acres of ground immediately surrounding it were designated officially as a military cemetery June 15, 1864, by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the Iraq and Afghanistan. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900."

It was a very humbling experience to be there. To find out more about the cemetery you can go to: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/

 

 

We were privileged to watch the "Changing of the Guards" at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. See our VIDEOs below.

 

The senior officer was checking the gun of the replacement soldier in the official ceremony.

 

 

I don't know if they do this every time, but the wreath that was in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was changed out after the changing of the guards. This particular one was contributed by the Daughters of the Revolution. They had a few older ladies there to be a part of that ceremony.

After we watched the changing of the guards we got in line (luckily in the shade) for the next Shuttle to take us back to the Visitor's Center. We had quite a wait as a funeral procession was keeping the shuttle from getting to us (remember it was 103 degrees at this point). While we were waiting an ambulance and a fire truck arrived with lights flashing. We never heard for sure, but we assumed someone had collapsed from the heat.

 

After we were done at the Cemetery, we got on the Metro and headed right into the heart of DC. One of the first things we did was find 1111 Constitution Way. What, you say you haven't heard of that address??!! That would be the official IRS headquarters. ;-)

Our next stop was the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

I thought my Utah friends would like this...a piece of Sandstone from Moab sits in the Smithsonian...how cool is that?

Does this look familiar to you? Remember the movie "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"?

AND...for my Arizona friends. Did you know that right in front of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, they have a couple of pieces of Petrified Wood from none other than HOLBROOK, Arizona? That's where I spent my first 9 years of life. Another "cool thing" on the trip!

And...it's the family "on the Mall"...Washington Mall, that is. That's the Capitol Building in the background.

And agin...this time with Shayne...hey, I want to be in the pictures sometimes too ;-).

This is the family standing in front of a museum on our way to the National Air and Space Museum. We kind of hoped we would get some respite from the heat by the water. You wouldn't believe how many bottles of water we went through in those two days.

ABOVE:  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 1 – Initial Announcement

ABOVE:  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 2 – Checking the Gun

ABOVE:  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 3 – New Soldier Takes Over