Bluebirds and Butterflies: Travel from my Nest (travel & sights)

Like all children in the United States, I started learning about our great Nation at an early age. Most all children, by the time they begin school, can already identify the President of the United States and recognize the White House when they see it.

When you take American History in school as a child, you are introduced to all the great leaders in history...all the people who had a part in making our wonderful country what it is today....everyone who fought for the rights and freedoms that we have today and, sadly, the privileges that we sometimes take for granted. Many people fought and gave their lives for our freedom and all the choices we are able to make in our lives today, without fear. Along with recognizing all the great leaders and heros...people who fought and died to give us the things we have today, we also learned about our Presidents who guided our country. I remember having to recognize and name all the Presidents of the United States in the order they were serving in office when I was in school. As an adult, you might not be able to remember everything that you learned in history as a child. I don't think I could name all the Presidents in order correctly today. But, one thing that you never forget is that our freedom didn't come easy. Many people have served our beautiful country to keep it safe and free.

We live in such a great country. As I get older, my desire to travel to some of the beautiful places that we have in the United States deepens. I have a list of places that I would love to see in my lifetime. One of the places on that list is the White House. I think that everyone that pledges their allegance to our country and flag should see the White House, if possible. After all the history classes and seeing photos of the White House in books and magazines and on television and in movies, I wanted to see the White House in person. Recently, I had an opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., with my husband. He was going to Washington, D.C., on a business trip and invited me to accompany him. I was happy to join him on his trip, and we stayed two extra days to explore some of the places we wanted to visit. At the top of my list was the White House....one of the most recognized houses in the free world. On our first day of exploring, my husband and I took the metro and, after a short walk, we were standing at the gates of the White House. I was very excited to finally be standing in this spot.

The gates in front of the White House are ornate with stars and emblems upon them.

I would have loved to have toured the inside of the White House, but we didn't have a lot of notice before my husband's business trip, and, it takes time to organize a visit to tour the White House. In order to tour the White House, you need to submit a request for a free tour via a member of Congress up to six months ahead. I am hoping that the next time we visit Washington, D.C., we can request a tour and see the inside. On this trip, I was just happy to be able to stand outside the White House gates and make some photos....something I had never done before.

As you near the gates of the White House there is a guard station. This map is posted for the public to see which tells a bit about the White House and shows a diagram of the area around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue....the most famous address in the United States.

Here is a closer view....

After viewing the map and reading the information, my husband and I walked over towards the gates to make a few photos. After 57 years of only seeing the White House in photos and on television, I was very excited to have my husband take this photo of me standing in front of the White House.

The weather was overcast on the day we walked to the White House, so my photos are not as beautiful as they could have been on a nicer day, but, nonetheless, I am happy to have them. Here is a photo of the front of the White House. You can see the fountain in front...

Here is a of photo of my husband, Mark, that I made...

I like this photo with the trees framing the view...

Designed by James Hoban and set in an 18-acre park, the sandstone building, known as the White House, has 132 rooms on three floors with a circular portico that is a nod to a Georgian manor. Eight years after it was begun, in November 1800, John Adams was the first President to move into the White House. The British set it on fire in August, 1814, during the war of 1812. Franklin D. Roosevelt built the West Wing and my favorite First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, did much redecorating.

Another photo of me at the gate...

I love the columns in front....

Another photo of my husband, Mark...

You can see a little more of the architectural design around the front doors and windows in this next photo. The front doors were opened at the time I made this photo, and there were a couple of people standing at the door looking out.

At the time we were making these photos, my husband and I were the only people walking along in front of the White House. A few minutes after we began making photos, we noticed a couple of young ladies taking turns making photos of each other at the gate. I walked up to them and asked if I could take a photo of the two of them together in exchange for them making a photo of my husband and I. Only one of the two ladies spoke English but was very happy to have me take a photo for them. Then, they happily took our photo. I am thankful that I got a photo of my husband, Mark, and I together....thanks to these two ladies.

There were some vehicles and vans parked at the White House the day we were there. It appeared that they were preparing for some type of event. A few days after we returned home to Seattle, we saw on television that some entertainers had performed at the White House. Perhaps, some preparations were being made for that event while we were there making photos that day. In the next couple of photos, you can see some of the police/guards that were on the property that day....

Another photo of the White House framed with trees...

Another gate with a guard station....

There are some pretty trees around the White House. One tree that was growing near the iron fence had this metal marker attached to it letting those passing by know that the tree is a "Red Ash."

As we were preparing to leave the area, a side door opened and, suddenly, a man carrying an umbrella walked out with the "First Dog." The man took the dog out towards the back of the property.

Flags flying proudly attached to all the light posts...

On the day my husband and I were viewing the White House, there were a group of people holding signs and chanting loudly in protest across the street from the White House. They did not bother us, but these protesters were there the entire time we were making our photos, and we did kind of keep our eye on them as, I am sure, the staff and security at the White House were doing as well. As we left the area, we were kind of happy to be following closely behind this guy....

One of the most recognized addresses....1600 Pennsylvania Avenue street sign...

It was late in the day when we left the White House. We were looking for a place to have dinner, when I spotted a restaurant that my husband's cousin, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, had recommended to us....."Old Ebbitt Grill." The restaurant is located at 675 15th and G Streets...just two blocks from the White House. My husband, Mark, and I did not have reservations, but it did not take too long to be seated.

I loved the atmosphere of the Old Ebbitt Grill. It is said that Theodore Roosevelt used to dine at this restaurant which is decorated with mallard ducks and sailing artifacts. I wish I had made a few more photos of the restaurant. Our food was very good, and we both said we would love to go back again. When you enter the restaurant, these large vases of flowers welcome you...

This painting is near the front of the Old Ebbitt Grill...

My husband made this photo of me at our table...

Relaxing and enjoying a glass of Merlot...

My husband and I had a delicious dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill. If you live in the Washington, D.C., area or have a chance to visit, I recommend the restaurant. Thank you to Mark's cousin, Mike, for suggesting we try the restaurant.

While we were dining at the Old Ebbitt Grill, my husband and I talked about how much privacy you give up when you are part of the First Family. Just enjoying a nice private dinner would be a luxury. As all of us know, when you take office and make the White House your home, you are always surrounded by security and staff which, of course, is necessary to ensure the safety of the President and his family. While we were having dinner, we imagined what our lives would be like if we were living in the White House....

Hmmm........... Mark looks pretty good behind that desk!

What would my life be like as a First Lady?....

But, why not dream about being President? In today's world, little girls can dream of becoming anything....

Actually, I am very happy and blessed with the life I have. But, isn't it nice to have the freedom of choice? After our dinner, we were so close to the White House, that I decided to walk back over and make a few pictures of the White House at night. I wanted to see what it looked like with the lights on....

I made a few photos without my flash....

As it began to get dark, the lights came on around the property. You can see the fountain illuminated in some of these photos.

The White House is very pretty at dark, too...

My husband and I made a few more photos....

and then we said goodbye to the White House and began walking a few blocks before grabbing a taxi to head back to our hotel. We had such a beautiful day in Washington, D.C., and I was so happy to have my photos to share with you.

I hope you enjoyed visiting the White House with us today and hope that each of you have an opportunity to visit Washington, D.C., someday and see the White House in person, too. Have a beautiful day! xoxo Kim

This week, we are celebrating President's Day.....and this is the perfect week to be sharing my recent trip to Washington, D.C., with you! Last week, I joined my dear husband on a business trip to the "other Washington" where he was involved with some meetings with his company. I had never been to Washington, D.C., and was very excited to spend Valentine's week there with my husband. We scheduled two extra days after his meetings concluded to explore as many sights as we could fit into our schedule. I was very excited to finally be seeing some of the wonderful things I had only been able to visit through photos and readings in school in my history class :) History became very real to me last week! I have so many photos that I would like to share with you, sooooo many, that I am breaking it up into several postings. Today, I would like to take you to a place that really stirred my heart......Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

My husband and I took the metro near our hotel to Arlington Cemetery. As we neared the entrance, we saw these beautiful gates...

I loved the ornate design....

Stone eagles watch over the cemetery...

On the side of the gates, which is large enough for a vehicle to pass through, are stone arches.

Here is a photo of my husband standing under one of the archway passages...

A nice man who passed us making photos of each other at the entranceway was nice enough to make a photo of my husband and I together at the gate...

Me standing at the beginning of our walk through the Cemetery. You can see some of the many grave markers behind me...

The weather in Washington, D.C., like the area in which we live in near Seattle, has been very mild this year. The temperatures we experienced while on our trip were almost identical to what we have been having in Seattle. We experienced some rain on the day we viewed some of the museums, but this day was very sunny and beautiful. It was a perfect day to walk the grounds of this beautiful cemetery.

As you begin to see all the many, many white grave markers at the Cemetery, you begin to feel a stirring in your heart. As the sign says, these truly are "hallowed grounds" that we are walking on....

Arlington Cemetery is one of the best known of over one hundred national cemeteries in the United States. There are approximately 620 acres of property at Arlington National Cemetery which shelters the remains of over 320,000 servicemen and women. There are veterans from every war and major conflict in the history of the United States buried at this Cemetery. As one of the brochures for the Cemetery states, "This is our nation's most sacred military shrine and bears witness to the whole of American history."

If you have never been to the Arlington National Cemetery before, I cannot begin to tell you what emotions you feel when you survey all the white grave markers....it is truly a moving experience.

The property that Arlington Cemetery sits on was once home to the tribes of Native-Americans who fished the neighboring rivers. They hunted in the forests. There have been stone tools found on the property of the Cemetery that once belonged to and were used by the tribes. During the colonial period, this area was home and farmland for European settlers. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington and step-son of George Washington, inherited the land in 1802. Raised as the nation's first presidential son, Custis dedicated his life to the commemoration of the first president. Between 1802 and 1818, he built Arlington House as the centerpiece of his 1,100 acre plantation. It was our nation's first memorial to George Washington and a home for Custis' growing family. In 1831, Custis' only surviving child, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married Lt. Robert E. Lee of the United States Army in the front parlor at Arlington House and, for over 30 years, the house was the home to one of America's most famous soldiers and his family. By the end of May, 1861, the Lees had vacated the home and federal troops occupied the estate, using Arlington House as the headquarters. In 1864, Washington, D.C., was flooded with wounded and dead soldiers from both North and South. On May 13, the first military burials at Arlington took place at what is now Section 27 of the Cemetary. By the end of the Civil War, there were nearly 16,000 dead buried on the old plantation. Ultimately, the Lees were compensated for the loss of their property by the federal Supreme Court. Arlington House and the new cemetery remained with the War Department and served as an early cemetery headquarters. The U.S. Army began restoring the house and slave quarters in the early 1930s. In 1933, the War Department separated Arlington House and transferred it to the National Park Service. There is so much history and so many stories on these grounds. It is truly a great experience to stand here.
George Washington Parke Custis is buried at the cemetery in Section 13. As most of us know, President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington Cemetery as well as Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Like so many Americans, and people all over the world, I loved President Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy when I was growing up. I was in elementary school when President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a Presidential motorcade parade in Dallas, Texas. If you were alive at this time, you will never forget where you were the day the Nation learned that President Kennedy had been shot. It was a very sad day for our country, and a day that stands out in the minds of all Americans who remember this day.

Signs point the way to the gravesite...

When you get close to the gravesite, there is a sign to remind all that this is a place of respect. At the gravesite, no one spoke above a whisper.

Approaching the graves....

An eternal flame keeps watch over the graves....

I remember Jackie Kennedy lighting this flame at the time of President John F. Kennedy's burial.

It was very touching to see the grave of President Kennedy...

A single deep pink carnation was placed at President Kennedy's grave...

I have always admired and loved Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. I still have the pillbox hat that I wore in elementary school at the time she was First Lady. Jackie Kennedy's style of dress influenced many of us during the time that she was in the White House. Designers loved to dress Jackie, and you could see the influence she had on the dress of Americans. Lots of ladies wore their own versions of her pearls, gloves, suits and pillbox hats during the 1960s. Jackie brought back a lot of culture and style to the White House. She also took great pride in restoring and refreshing some of the interior of the White House. I remember watching the tour of the White House that she personally hosted on television. Jackie continued to capture the hearts of Americans and the world even after her White House days. Many people refer to the time that President Kennedy was in office as the time of "Camelot." The Kennedys were probably as close as we ever got to America's version of a "Royal Family." Even after Jackie's White House days, we were all intrigued with her, and she continued to influence the dress of American women. Everyone remembers those famous oversized "Jackie O" sunglasses that were seen everywhere. Even today, when I see a very large pair of sunglasses, I think of Jackie. I think also women loved Jackie because she was such a good Mother. She loved her children so much and spent a lot of time with them. She was very protective and loving towards Caroline and John, Jr., and also her grandchildren. She had a love for her family, history, poetry and books which she passed along to her children. Sadly, John F. Kennedy, Jr., died with his wife and her sister in a tragic plane crash a few years ago. My heart goes out to Caroline. The Nation lost a beloved President, a beautiful former First Lady, and a handsome son who was, like his Dad, loved by many....but Caroline lost her family....a Dad, a Mother and a brother. My Mother, like me, always loved and admired Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Both my Mother and Jackie Kennedy Onassis died of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Here is the gravesite of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis....

A single deep pink carnation was placed at Jackie's grave...

The graves of their little ones who died are also there beside the President and Jackie. One child is buried on each side with the former President and First Lady in the middle...

My husband took these photos of me standing at the gravesite...

President Kennedy's burial place is the most visited single gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery.
As you walk down the steps from the gravesite area, there are walls with these words etched into them...

You will recognize this famous speech...

Walking a short distance away from President Kennedy's gravesite, we spotted a gravesite that had astroturf leading up to it and a rope separating the gravesite. I didn't realize it until I walked up to take a look, but this is the grave of Edward Kennedy.

I was unable to get a clear shot of his grave marker, but if you look very closely, you will be able to read the name and dates...

Walking through the Cemetery, we saw a section of older graves. Some with large concrete or stone crosses...

Mark spotted the grave of this five star Fleet Admiral in the Navy, Admiral William D. Leahy, and his wife, Louise Harrington Leahy. Mark, as you may know, spent many years in the Navy and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 15 years ago...
Mark with another Admiral's grave...
Some interesting gravesites and markers...

Walking on, my husband spotted these three gravesites. Not to be disrespectful, but the bar is set pretty high when you are buried between "Good" and "Perfect." :) You have to smile....

My ancestors, like many, fought in the Civil War, so I wanted to look for the memorial and gravesite for the unknown dead from the Civil War....

The remains of 2,111 unidentified soldiers gathered after the War from the fields of Bull Run and the route to Rappahannock are buried at this site. Brave soldiers who never returned home but forever remembered and honored.

Unknown Civil War dead are located in Section 26 of the Cemetary and was dedicated in 1866.

This arbor has a vine growing over it. I would love to see this Cemetery in the springtime when the cherry blossoms are in bloom and all the vines are beautiful and thriving. The Cemetery is very beautiful in the winter but would be so pretty with all the blooms and greenery.

This marker had a beautiful leaf border around it...

Now to find, the Tomb of the Unknowns which is the first thing you usually think about when you mention Arlington National Cemetery....

The current Memorial Amphitheater and the adjacent Tomb of the Unknowns (Unknown Solder) have become memorial icons. Flags surround the marble benches and the podium where world leaders pay tribute to those who served. Presidential wreaths are presented each Memorial Day and Veterans Day. We found our way to the Amphitheater...

I love this photo I took of the sunlight shining through the trees...

My husband, Mark, inside the amphitheater...

The amphitheater is very beautiful and parts of it ornate...

My husband took this photo of me standing in the hallway....

The Tomb of the Unknowns (Unknown Soldier) is located behind the amphitheater....

Powerful words say it all....... "known but to God"....

The Tomb of the Unknowns was established in 1921. A sentinel of the Third United States Infantry maintains vigil around the clock.

The sentinel on guard paces 21 steps alongside the tomb, then pauses 21 seconds, then returns.

The changing of the guard takes place every hour (or half-hour from March 15 through September) and is very moving to watch.

There is a small shelter guard tent for the sentinel to retreat to for a very brisk break to relax for a moment or take a sip of water. We saw the sentinel go into the shelter guard tent for just a few seconds, and then he quickly returned to his post and began pacing again. It is not easy to stand so erect and at attention for long periods of time. This sentinel looked very regal as he paced and stood at attention. It is a real honor to guard this tomb.

I particularly like this photo of the sentinel as he passes the tomb....

I also love this next photograph...

The tomb says "Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God." The World War I soldier has been entombed here since 1921. Joining their comrade, unknown servicemen from World War II and Korea were interred on May 30, 1958. An unknown from Vietnam was interred on May 28, 1984. The Vietnam unknown was removed from the tomb and was identified in 1998 through a sophisticated DNA process. In the photo below, you see the sentinel during his 21 second pause at the end of the 21 step pace. You can see that the sentinels walk such a straight line that they have worn down the pavement a bit. You can actually see the outline in the concrete of the path they walk.

We stayed for a while and quietly watched the sentinel pace and guard the tomb. While we were silently watching, I couldn't help but think about all those men and women who have served and are currently serving our great country. I was thinking about all the sacrifices that these servicemen and women and their families have made to help keep our Nation safe....

Each serviceman or woman buried here is not only a soldier but also someone's loved one....someone's family...

Each grave belongs to a person....

and each person has a story to tell....

and each one of us have a lesson to learn....

A lesson of just how many people it has taken through the years....how many soldiers and how many lives given....to keep our beautiful United States of America free and safe from many who would seek to take away that freedom....

May we always pray for our servicemen and women and their families. May we always appreciate the freedom that we have and the lives that we live everyday because of those who serve. May we always be grateful and show our thanks.

A quilt displayed at the Arlington National Cemetery....

I hope you enjoyed visiting the Arlington National Cemetery with me today. I hope that everyone can visit this Cemetery someday. It is a very moving experience that you will never forget. There are many other monuments and memorials at the Cemetery besides the ones I featured in my blog. You could spend an entire day or two just walking the grounds and visiting each one. My husband and I hope to return to the Arlington National Cemetery soon to continue visiting these sites. Thank you for visiting my blog and have a beautiful day! xoxo Kim