June 6

Our last day in Washington DC. I started the day with a 6+ mile run. Running in Washington DC is an amazing experience and might be my favorite part of being there. It is so beautiful with the Potomac River and gorgeous trees and beautiful green grass everywhere. I ran first to Lincoln Memorial and around the reflecting pool between the Memorial and Washington Monument - I then ran to Jefferson's Memorial and through Martin Luther King's Memorial and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's memorial. I love the Presidential Memorials and running there was just wonderful - an experience I will never forget.

We packed up and headed out to Arlington Cemetery. Since the Cemetery covers 600 acres, we bought a trolley tour pass and did the guided tour. We stood at the grave of John F. Kennedy where the eternal flame burns continually. His wife, Jackie Kennedy, is buried there too as well as two children lost at birth - one stillborn daughter and one little boy two days old. It sure made David and I remember the day he was assassinated. I was only six years old but still remember distinctly when Linda told me he had been killed. We saw the graves of many famous soldiers and watched the ceremony of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are 417,000 graves at this cemetery, all servicemen. Seeing all those tombstones is a sobering reminder of the lives sacrificed for our freedom - some seemingly in vain but nonetheless in the service of our country. We owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.

From the cemetery, we visited the Vietnam Wall of Remembrance. This was yet another very sobering reminder of the lives of 58,306 people given in the service of this war, a difficult war that seemed meaningless in the end, especially with hindsight. All the flowers, notes, and pictures left for those whose names are on the wall breaks your heart.

We then saw the Einstein memorial which is actually a very artistic statue meant to be climbed on and enjoyed. We took the requisite photos and moved on to the National Museum of American History.

We went through the Museum quickly because we thought it was closing at 5:30 and then on our way out, they told us it was open until 7:30. Both Avi and I were dead on our feet and were ready to be on our way. David relented although he would have loved to stay there longer. We had 150 miles ahead of us to get to Philadelphia so he decided it was wisdom to get on the road.

The drive from Washington DC to Philadelphia was absolutely beautiful. We drove through Delaware and the rivers and trees are just exquisite. Since we hadn't eaten dinner, we stopped at a random place by the freeway and had the most incredible Mexican food any of us had ever eaten. Nobody, either the patrons or the people working there, spoke English except one young man. It was just one of those unplanned moments where you get really lucky. We finished up the drive to Philadelphia, checked in and went to bed - exhausted.