Vaca Part 11 & Final: Arlington National Cemetery

Our last day was reserved for the cemetery. I thought this would be a great slow day with an hour at the cemetery, a half hour at the Pentagon memorial and a couple hours at the Natural History museum (trip two). I had not expected to see so much and experience so much and have Ben and the kids taking in so much. It truly is more than just a cemetery. It is where President Kennedy and his wife are buried, along with their infant daughter (I didn't know they had lost an infant) and young son.

It is where about 400,000 service men and women are buried along with some of their spouses and children...this number is the number of military lives our country lost during WWII. Let that sink in a moment. Everyone of these graves would have been needed just for that one war!

It is where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located. Guarded with honor and respect for the sacrifice made by so many. We were able to witness a changing of the guards, which was executed with precision, of course.

It is where the Arlington House is. It is also just a beautiful cemetery with trees and paths and benches and wildlife and rows and rows of white tombstones with names engraved and so much loss, but so much legacy!

The experience took us more than three hours (remember, I planned on one) and still we could have stayed longer. Every piece of this trip was so wonderful, from the weather to health, housing to the vehicle, experiences to memories being made. I love that we made this a priority, that we made this happen for our family, that we experienced it together, that we are all looking forward to next year's trip!

Thank you for reading along as I shared this journey...