Mar 26, 2012 - Alexandria

Sandy and I left Raleigh this morning and headed up for our spring break trip to Washington, DC. We had lunch in Alexandria then checked in to our hotel, the Courtyard Marriott. After checking in, we took the Metro to Old Town Alexandria and walked up and down King Street from the Metro to the waterfront. We checked out a few shops and had a drink at an Irish pub, then headed back to the hotel. We used the fitness center in the hotel before heading to bed.

Apr 25, 2010 - 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, DC

We took the Metro ( by now, we are experts at traveling on the Metro) to the Pentagon to see the Memorial to the people who lost their lives in the 9/11/2001 American Airlines Flight 77 crash. The plane crashed into the South West side of the Pentagon. 184 people lost their lives in that terrorist attack at 9:37am. •Rectangular reflecting pools of light glowed from beneath 184 gracefully cantilevered benches, each inscribed with the name of one of the victims. •The benches are arranged in a timeline of the ages of the victims. As we...

Apr 25, 2010 - Marine Corps War Memorial, VA

Today we drove over to see the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va. This is a huge memorial dedicated to all the men & women of the Marine Corps who gave their lives in defense of the United States since 1775. The 32-foot high bronze figures are shown erecting a 60-foot flagpole at the top of Mt Suribachi on Iwo Jima. DO YOU KNOW OR DO YOU CARE.... The island of Iwo Jima belonged to the Japanese. It was strategically located midway between Japan and Marianas islands. It was important to the US to take this island so our bombers did...

Apr 25, 2010 - Theodore Roosevelt Island and Memorial, VA

After viewing the Pentagon Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial, we also went to see Theodore Roosevelt Island and Monument. This island is located on the Potomac River and only has a walking/jogging path...no cars. It was a nice walk over a bridge and onto the island. At the memorial, there was a statue of Teddy Roosevelt and several tall carved marble plaques. Engraved on these plaques were various quotes made by Teddy Roosevelt. ....(gene) GOD'S PROMISE FOR TODAY: GOD IS EVERYTHING "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my...

Apr 22, 2010 - Alexandria, VA

It's another beautiful day in America. Today we went to the Post Office to pick up our mail, visited the Commissary and the Base Exchange. Myles & Vicki have so graciously opened their townhouse to us once again, so we will be staying with them in their apartment for the next week. This is such a wonderful reprieve from our little RV home. Vicki made some ono oxtail soup for dinner....sooo ono! ....(gene & carol) GOD'S PROMISE FOR TODAY: HEARING GOD'S VOICE "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it,...

Apr 11, 2010 - Mt Vernon - George Washington Mansion, VA

(Gene & Carol writing) Well, I'm sure you've all heard of the story of George Washington "chopping down the cherry tree". When asked who did it, he replied, "Father, I cannot tell a lie.". Well, since we were so close to his estate, we thought we would try to see if there was any truth in that story. So today we went to see George Washington's mansion in Mount Vernon,VA. There was an admission charge of $14 (seniors) to visit the estate and tour the mansion. My sister, Kay paid for our admission. It was quite interesting to tour the...

Apr 9, 2010 - Rest Day

This is the 2nd "rest day" for us whle in the D.C. area. Once again, I did the laundry, cleaned the house a little, went to the commissary to pick up some groceries. It was a nice day to relax and just enjoy the cool breeze blowing over the lake. We are still at the Quantico MCB in Virginia. I have to say that this is one of the most peaceful, beautiful RV park. We also checked out the BX. This is a pretty large store. They do have a lot of "brand name" products; even more that the other BX's we've been to....(carol) GOD'S PROMISE FOR...

Apr 6, 2010 - Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, DC

The "Spirit of St. Louis", "Glamorous Glennis", space capsules, "Friendship 7, Gemini IV and "Apollo 11 were a few of the numerous aircrafts that we saw at this museum. Charles Lindbergh piloted the "Spirit of St. Louis" for the first nonstop transatlantic flight, the "Glamorous Glennis" was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound, and the Apollo 11 command module carried Neil Armstrong to the moon. I'm sure you remember his infamous words' "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" as he took his first step on the moon....

Apr 6, 2010 - Hirshhorn Arts Museum & Sculpture, DC

The Hirshhorn Museum is a 21st-century art museum featuring international modern and contemporary art. The Hirshhorn art exhibits of various media are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. It is difficult to truly appreciate some of the artwork because they were so bizarre and intangible. Perhaps, those of you who are fans of art museum will appreciate the photos that Gene took of the various art exhibits. One exhibit that Gene liked was...we were ushered into a room in pitch blackness so we were told to feel the wall and...

Apr 3, 2010 - Cherry Blossom Festival, DC

Today Joyce & Ray and Kay & Mike arrived in Alexandria. They will be staying with Myles for the next 2 weeks. Myles took them through the Metro to see the Cherry Blossom before all the flowers fall to the ground. We joined them for another walking tour. The place was packed with people! This created congestion at the metro station. On the way home there was a possible bomb threat at a metro station, which means we had to do more walking to get to another metro station to get home. It was a mess and we all had tired feet! Also, today,...

Apr 2, 2010 - Korean War Memorial & Vietnam War Memorial, DC

As we approached the Korean War Memorial, we came upon the triangular exhibit of the Field of Service. Here a group of 19 life-size, stainless-steel statues depicts a squad on patrol. Strips of granite and juniper bushes suggests the rugged Korean terrain, while windblown ponchos recall the harsh weather. This symbolic patrol presents members of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. A granite wall bears a message inlaid in silver: "Freedom Is Not Free. A very impressive memorial. Next, we walked...

Apr 2, 2010 - Lincoln Memorial, DC

From the World War II Memorial we walked over to the Lincoln Memorial along the reflecting pool. The memorial is an awesome tribute to President Lincoln. On the walls are engraved his famous Gettysburg Address and his inauguration address. In the lower level under the statue floor they have more information about his term as president. DO YOU KNOW OR DO YOU CARE... His main objective during the Civil War was to preserve the nation, not as a nation divided, but as ONE nation. 11 states from the south seceded from the union which started the...