Washington, D.C. - Home of the...

...oh never mind. We won't go there.

Monday was our last day in Washington, D.C. Below are pictures of some of the things we've seen and done since Friday.

We spent a few hours at Arlington Cemetery:

We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the changing of the guard. What a moving, almost spiritual experience! Many spectators were wiping tears from their eyes.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Another view of the guard

Several veterans were there as well.

Some of the spectators stopped to shake the hands of the veterans who were present and to thank them for their service - another emotional moment.

Then we went to Robert E. Lee's house, which is on the grounds of Arlington Cemetery.

Side and back view of Robert E. Lee's house

Front view of Lee's house. 

This was the best picture we could get of the front of his house, because of a fence around the yard, but on the other side of the fence is this view of Washington, D.C. 

View of Washington, D.C., from Lee's front yard

No picture taking was allowed inside Lee's home.

The next stop was a tour of Ford Theater. While waiting in line, we saw these fine young men waiting to tour the Peterson house, the home in which President Lincoln died.

Balcony at Ford Theater where President Lincoln was shot

The gun that was used to kill Lincoln

The room in which Lincoln died

Then off to the Spy Museum...

Things that make you say Ewwww!

 ...and the Museum of American History.

Horse-drawn fire engine

We can't end today's post without mentioning the traffic in and around Washington, D.C. What a mess!! And then there's Sandy's Mormon profanity (her New Year's resolution this year was to not swear anymore) while driving through that mess; e.g. "What the heck, people? Just drive!!!" or "If you get in an accident in front of us with that crazy driving, I'll get out and personally kick your hiney!!" or "Oh great! We're entering this dark, narrow tunnel and we have some huge mother trucker right next to us." Patience is not a Sandy virtue.

And then on our last day in D.C., there was the drive from downtown Washington, D.C., back to our hotel in Virginia. A large dark cloud hung over the city, which is appropriate...oops, we forgot we aren't going to go there. Anyway, rain started pouring down in sheets while we were in line to get on one of the freeways back to the hotel and it was 5:00 in the afternoon, right during the rush hour traffic. The freeways are a mess on a clear, sunny day, so driving in the downpour made us extremely nervous. We both said a little prayer in our hearts asking Heavenly Father to protect us, and by the time we got to the freeway, the rain had slowed to a sprinkle and the sky above was clear. Even though the traffic was still bumper to bumper and we were going about 10 miles per hour, the rain wasn't an issue. But when we looked in the rear-view mirror, we could see the dark cloud still hanging over Washington.  Still not going there.

We left the Washington D.C., area Tuesday morning for new adventures, which we'll save for a future post.

Until then...