Arlington Cemetary visit

It has been three weeks since the kids have been gone and it has gone by slow and fast all at the same time.  I speak to the children daily, while they are at my parents house and they are having a great time although MarioFan is starting to get homesick.  A month long visit might be a little too long for him.

While the kids were away my husband had to go away for a week long business trip which meant I was alone in the house and it was an interesting experience.  Since he was going to be away over the weekend we used some frequent flier miles to fly me to VA where he was so we could at least spend the a little time together on the weekend.   Both of us have lived in the Maryland and in the Virginia area years ago but never visited the Arlington Cemetery so we took the opportunity to tour the facility and we spent over five hours there.  Later that evening we got together with an old college friend of my husband that he hasn't seen in twenty plus years.  While we are missing the kids we are enjoying spending time together as a couple.

There is a shuttle that does cost but drives you to the three popluar sites and the grounds are huge.  

There is a great phone app that tells you where things are so you can find different sites and it gives you walking directions, I highly recommend it

Since my husband and I have been to many cemeteries honoring are fallen I was  surprised to see that some tombstones were not the normal standard stones.  

I actually preferred the look of the standard grave stones, but that is just me.

Audie Murphy gravesite

Monument to the challenger astronauts

Visiting General Robert E. Lee's home and learning how it became the site of the National cemetery.  

Visiting Kennedy's grave site and the eternal flame

President Taft's grave site.

Civil rights leader

Tomb of the unknown solider and watching the changing of the guard.  It is quite a moving experience

My husband knows of couple of people buried here and we tried to find each of them to pay our respects.  This grave is of the oldest serving women in the military who was a key note speaker at a graduation of my husband.  Her speech made such an impact on my husband.

The grounds of the cemetery are beautiful and I just loved the Magnolia flowers which were all in full bloom and it smelled wonderful.

 In just six days I will be reunited with my children...I am counting down the days:)