Left Rome about 6 a.m. Roads were clear and so was the weather! (And so was our driveway, sidewalks, deck and roof, after we spent a few hours Thursday shovelling, snowblowing, plowing and roof-raking, after a storm dumped about a foot of snow on us!)
Got caught in a huge traffic jam outside Washington, D.C. (Note to Tom Sorokas: I know, I know, we should know better ... ) Same thing happened last year, so we gave up our plan to visit Arlington National Cemetery. This year, we decided to stop overnight and visit Arlington the next day. We had been to Arlington, and other D.C. sites before, but it was several years ago.
We checked into Liversedge Hall at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va., about 4 p.m. Only $42/night for a suite!
Saturday morning, we headed for Arlington. Its 624 acres are the final resting place for some 400,000 veterans and others. Started in 1864 as a "potter's field" for Civil War soldiers whose families could not afford to have their bodies returned home, the cemetery grew gradually in the number and status of its burials. Now, there are an average of 100 burials each week.
Below are some photos and videos:
Bob walks among the graves at Arlingonton, as the carillon plays the Navy song.
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| BURIAL PLACE OF ELI PARKER OF CAMDEN, NY, AT ARLINGTON |
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| MASS OF GRAVES, DECORATED WITH WREATHS |
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| TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS, DESIGNED BY LORIMER RICH OF CAMDEN, NY |
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| SIGN IN THE WOMEN IN MILITARY MUSEUM |
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| WE COULD SEE WASHINGTON MONUMENT IN THE DISTANCE, FROM ARLINGTON |
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| BOB IN FRONT OF DECORATED GRAVES |
