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Bittersweet Return
By Chris | August 11, 2008
Jamie and I have returned from Pennsylvania safe and sound, as expected. We stopped in Washington, DC and visited the Arlington National Cemetary, as well as the Air Force Memorial, which was very important to me.
Old Glory near the Tomb of the Unknowns Amphitheatre
At Arlington, the somber mood was interrupted only by a lightly falling rain as we walked through the hallowed grounds towards the Tomb of the Unknowns. We caught the tail end of a changing of the guard, something I’ve not seen in probably nearly 15 years. The rain stopped and we meandered our way along the Potomac towards the Air Force Memorial. After finding directions via the internet on my cell phone we pointed the TrailBlazer in that direction.
View of the Memorial from Parking Lot
At first glance, it appears the memorial is in a rather poor location, but when you consider that it overlooks The Pentagon, and can be seen from many places in DC, it’s actually a very good location. The three arches looked magnificent against the sky and gave one a feeling of insignificance. It made me think to one of the things I do miss about being in the USAF - being part of something bigger than oneself. I miss being part of that at times. The weather was good for the AF Memorial, albeit a little windy - the wind bringing to mind the air on which the USAF’s mission rides.
Honor Guard Statues at Memorial
What surprised me most about all the memorials was the number of foreign visitors present. I heard German, and French (Jamie spotted that), and some Asian languages. It was pretty impressive to see that all these people came to see our nation’s capitol.
Afterwards Jamie and I headed southbound on Interstate 95 through spotty rain showers and seeming inexplicable and sporadic traffic backups. The traffic would pile up and then clear in a few minutes with no wreck, no traffic stop - nothing other than clear highway present to explain the backup. At one point the traffic became so backed up we got off near Lorton, VA and headed down US Route 1 about 20 miles and then picked I-95SB back up.
We spent the night at a Days Inn outside Petersburg, VA. I have to say, this Days Inn was very nice compared to the Econo Lodge in Dortches that we stayed in, and much nicer than the Days Inn I stayed at several years ago outside of Meridian, MS. We probably could have driven the whole way through, but we elected to stay a night and enjoy a nice large bed and some rest before the worst part of the trip: NC and SC. These have to be the most desolate stretches of the interstate on the way towards home.
I have to say that having been up North in the summer has made me miss it tremendously. My mom and step-dad Tom were great to us, and treated Jamie as if they’d known him for years. In NJ my father and step-mom Jill were also great during our visit out to their house. My next conquest is to deal with Jamie returning home to Beaufort on Wednesday - not something I’m looking forward to.
Topics: General |
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