A history lesson

After a nice breakfast in our room, we went to Arlington National Cemetary. We opted to take the tour and were very glad to have the guide point out historical facts and deliver us from location to location within the cemetary. Our first stop was the JFK memorial where the eternal flame burns. Although I tried to help Jack understand that we were in a place where you need to show respect, he still couldn't help himself and he tried to blow out the flame!! (from a respectable distance, however) He just had to try to conquer something that was supposed to be everlasting!
The next stop was the Tomb of the Unknowns and we witnessed the changing of the guard. Jack was on his best behavior for that and I am guessing that the guns captivated him. Ialso made him count the guard's footsteps to see if he was really pacing the required 21 steps.

Our last stop in the cemetary was the Arlington House. The home was built by the grandson of Martha Washington (she had a husband before George). This home was the nation's first memorial to President Washington and was filled with his treasury. This man's daughter married Robert E. Lee and the home became theirs after his death. They only stayed there a short time before Civil War broke out and forever altered the home and those who lived there.
Robert E. Lee made the decision in that home to resign his commission with the US Army and stay loyal to Virginia by becoming a confederate officer. He was faced with that difficult choice as he had strong ties to the Union...his cousins signed the Declaration of Independence and his father was a Revolutionary War hero. Eventually the home was confiscated by the Federal government for Mrs. Lee's inablility to comply with the wartime practice of paying property tax in person.
The home is now a memorial to Robert E. Lee and is aligned with the Lincoln Memorial. The home and the Lincoln Memorial are joined by a bridge, a symbol of reconciliation.
After that tour we walked that bridge all the way to the Lincoln Memorial and on to the National Mall for more museum time! Tomorrow will be one last day in DC and then back to NC! We have had a great time here!