Ladies Day

Hello,

My sister and her husband wanted to take a Segway tour while they were here (so do I, as a matter of fact), but their daughter wasn't old enough. So, while they did their thing, my niece and I got to hang out together. She wanted to go to the aquarium so that is where we went. As we were heading that way we found the Woodrow Wilson Memorial. I didn't even know there was one! She was a good sport and walked through it with me. There was even a short video about his life that she watched with me. What a good kid! The National Aquarium is in the basement of the Commerce Department building, and unlike the Smithsonian Museums, it is not a free to tour. I thought it was a bit disappointing, but my niece liked it--especially the toads (yuck!) and they did have piranhas, which are her favorite, so it was all good.

After that we met up with her parents and went out to the Twilight Tattoo at Fort McNair. First, no one received any souvenirs in permanent ink upon their skin. This was an opportunity to see a program put on by the U.S. Army. There was The Old guard Fife and Drum Corps and the Army Drill Team plus a review of the Army throughout American History. Being on a military base and watching the Old Guard--3rd Infantry Division which was founded by George Washington himself was pretty impressive. This is the unit, stationed at Fort Myer which is attached to Arlington National cemetery, that does all of the funerals there. The Army band that plays for the president and ceremonial events is also stationed there. For once it was not too hot, the sky was blue, we were close to the river where we could see sailboats, and it was a lovely evening.

Today we got to see the Old Guard again because we went to Arlington National Cemetery. The weather was beautiful for a second day in a row. One of the things I specifically wrote about in my Lilly proposal was wanting the opportunity to reflect on how it must have felt to be Mrs. Robert E. Lee and stand on her front porch at Arlington and be able to see the men working to finish the Capitol dome when her husband was fighting against the government that it housed. It means even more to be there after reading One Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M. Poole. You wouldn't think that reading a book about a cemetery would be very interesting, but it is a great book and an engaging story. Thanks, mom for giving it to me! :)

After that is was time to put my sister and her family on the train for home, and I am once again on my own. After having so much company it is going to be very quiet around here!

Tami