More Blog, Day 2

Rows and rows of white markers uniformly dotted the hillside at Arlington National Cemetery. When passing by the memorial to the U.S.S. Maine, which sank in Havana, Cuba in 1998, I read not the names of the departed but their occupations. From Sea-cooks and blacksmiths to lieutenants and majors, they were honored side by side. The cemetery is on the site of the former home of the Confederate general from the US Civil War, Robert E. Lee. His house still stands at the top of the hill and is a US National Park. When we visited the house I not only thought of how sad it was that every day they perform at least 36 funerals in the cemetery, but also that someday I would love to live in that house. We saw Mel, the famous bus-driver from the trip two years ago, but didn’t have a chance to really talk with him, and we thought of the alumni from that trip. Another Tourmobile driver was very memorable because of the way he spoke… His voice was thickly accented with who knows what, and fluctuated unnecessarily. He mentioned several times that the Kennedy Center had free shows every night and that we should attend them. The he pondered whether to go as well… for a long time… Another driver became our favorite, his name was Norman. He waited patiently for Mrs. Bentley and Mr. Williams as they ran from the National Air and Space museum.-Melina

For lunch, we went to Union Station. We all split up into our mini groups and picked a restaurant in the food court to eat. Melina, Maddie, and I ate Greek food after Mr. Williams, our chaperone, left us with our $15 lunch money before deserting us. We then ate our food together by ourselves! (ok, all of the other adults could see us, but it was still fun!) After using our remaining money to buy ice-cream and watching Sam buy a picture of himself with Justin Beiber, we left Union Station and got to walk to the Air and Space Museum. Noah got stuck on the other side of the street after running ahead. We could see him on the other side walking all by himself (He caught up with us a few minutes later.) We saw most of the monuments today as well. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and everyone’s feet hurt, but it was definitely worth it! I miss you guys! -Madeleine