Sound Bites & Snap Shots

Arlington National Cemetery was an easy Uber ride from the condo although it did show us that traffic is alive and well in Washington DC. 

Autumn made her presence known with fall foliage and cooler temperatures.  In some ways, the chill in the air complemented the solemnity of the destination. 

Our tram tour took us first to the gravesite of President Kennedy. 

There were many sights to see from the tram including the immaculate landscaping and marble grave markers.  We saw a few that caught our attention. 

The groundskeepers were out with the pressure washers and so were the crews that prepare burial sites.  The cemetery had a hush about it even though there were so many people milling about. 

Our second stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We timed it to  see the Changing of the Guard but we witnessed something unexpected as well.  We watched the sentinel on duty return to the booth and make a phone call.  The boys and I wondered why he had stopped walking.  Minutes later a second soldier entered the walkway.  On his way to the booth where the first stood, he swooped down and picked up something without missing a step.  He quickly walked to the booth, replaced the errant pin which had fallen from the sentinel’s uniform and departed.  At that point, the sentinel resumed his ceremonious duties. 

After the guard ceremony ended, many of the spectators parted.  We too started to exit but when we climbed to the top of the stairs, we noticed a sentinel was speaking to a group of school children.

I heard him say, “This is probably going to be a once in a lifetime experience.”  Then he led them down the center stairs and they participated in a public wreath laying ceremony. 

After a quick walk through the amphitheater in front of the Tomb, we made our return to the convention center where we were meeting Bill.   

Usually the AAP sponsors a 5K race but this year Washington DC lent itself to a scavenger hunt.  We formed one team and used an app to record and document what we found from the list.  Because the tracking was live, we could see all the team standings in the race.

Our hunt started at the junction of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History.  There were items from both museums on the list as well as landmarks and people to document.  (For example, we had to find a person wearing a Marine Corps Marathon shirt and a person on a segue.) 

We did really well at the Natural History Museum because we cased the joint ahead of time.  Furthermore, the boys and Bill have an excellent sense of direction as well as a geographic memory which worked to our advantage.  We raced through crowds and ticked things off the list.  Each time we found another item, we snapped a picture and uploaded it to the app.  Though we did not win the iPad (to the boys’ disappointment), we had a wonderful time! 

After the hunt was over, Walker, Mason and I returned to the condo to complete some homework and to begin packing for our departure tomorrow. 

Dinner was compliments of Carmine’s and evening entertainment included another episode of The Flash. We’ll wrap up our trip tomorrow with the eagerly anticipated Pediatric Bowl.