DC Trip - Day 3 and 4

July 4th - we were planning on getting up and going to a parade, but didn't look at what time the parade started until the parade had already started. So instead, we decided to take the Metro downtown. We avoided the National Mall due to the ridiculous crowds but we walked around a little bit, visited the aquarium (avoid this, def not worth the money), and then headed back to Andy's apartment.

That evening we walked down to "downtown" Gaithersburg to watch the fireworks. They were spectacular. The show last a long time and the finale was extremely impressive.

Last Day - On our last day in DC we decided to take a bus tour of the city, where you can get on and off and see all of the sites. We went with Tourmobile mainly because one of the stops was out to Arlington Cemetery. We started the day with stops at Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial which were cool because you have seen pictures of all of these places, but it is completely different in person. The story about the Jefferson memorial, where the statue looks across the Tidal Basin and looks at the White House so that he is always overlooking the current president.

Next, we stopped at Arlington Cemetery to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A very moving experience, especially when there is a wreath laying ceremony going on. Information on the ceremony. It is quite an honor to be able to volunteer for this duty.

Our last couple of stops were to the Korean War Memorial (my grandpa served during this war) and the WWII Memorial (Shawnna's grandpa served in Europe). The Korean War Memorial is 19 soldiers reflected in the stone lines (19 more soldiers) to represent the 38th parallel. The WWII Memorial is spectacular. All 50 states are represented and the memorial is split into the European front and the Pacific front, divided by a fountain.

We left the next morning to make the 9 hour drive back to pick up the "kids" from the kennel and get ready for work the next morning. All in all, a great trip, that I am sure we will make again (probably in the fall or spring to avoid the crowds).

Thanks to Andy for the 5 star accommodation, the excellent tour guide services and the evening entertainment by Jade.