A Night in DC

Next year the Capital dome will be covered in scaffolding.
 It is getting a face lift after 150 years. 

We spent an awesome evening with our sons and their beautiful wives.  We drove into DC and checked out some Christmas decorations.  

Our first stop was the Capital and the Botanical Gardens.  We went right around dusk so I was able to capture the wonderful evening blue sky.

The gardens were illuminated with sparkling lights and full of colorful poinsettias. 

We wandered around the gardens looking at all the displays of miniature buildings made from natural materials.  You can see all the pictures I took from the gardens by clicking HERE.

They are almost done taking the scaffolding off the Washington Monument 

There was a pretty sunset as we walked to dinner.  We enjoyed some yummy pizza at PI Pizza.

Then we walked down to the White House and checked out the National Tree.  It is covered with thousands of LED lights.  Around the tree are small trees from each of the states and US territories.  On each tree there were ornaments made by children of the state.

 We tried to get some pictures by the tree. It was hard with all the crowds and lack of good light.  If I had my tripod and remote I could have gotten better shots. 

This one is my favorite from the evening.  

 

This was my attempt at getting a shot of the White House. They have you so far away from the fence nowadays, it is hard to get a good picture.  You can barely see the garland and wreathes that decorate the house.

 On the way back to the car I captured the 

illumination of the Capital. 

It was a fun family evening.  

Next time, our family Christmas pictures.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Memorial Day!

 
This Memorial Day weekend we took a trip with friends to Arlington National Cemetery.  I have been avoiding this trip because I knew it would make me really sad to see all the graves of soldiers that have mad the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  
There are more than 300,000 graves in the cemetery and they have an average of 27 funerals each day that add to that number.

We took a tram tour around the cemetery.  You can read some surprising facts about Arlington National Cemetery HERE 

On Memorial Day weekend flags are place in front of each grave.     

The majority of the grave stones are the same shape, but at some point they started to allow the families to provide their own headstones.  I think it makes the area look unorganized.

 We stopped at President Kennedy's grave site and saw the eternal flame.

Our next stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

These guards are an elite group of soldiers that dedicate two years of their lives to guarding the tomb.

Sargent of the Guard

 They change the guard every 30 minutes.  

Every single movement is in sync.  It is really amazing to watch!

Changing the wreath

 During this holiday weekend they place many different wreaths on the grave.

They play taps as the wreaths are hung.

Next we stopped at Arlington House.  The cemetery land was once owned by General Lee's family.  

We were able to walk around the inside of the home.

Beautiful Gardens

 

Our last stop was the amphitheater.  This is where the first Memorial Day ceremony was held back in the 1800's. 

 
This was a great experience and made this Memorial Day special.

We are blessed to be living in a free society. May we honor 

our American soldiers for their ultimate sacrifice and the 

liberty we have in this country. 

May we also give thanks to Almighty God for the freedom we 

have to spend eternity with Him because of His gift of 

forgiveness through the death, burial and resurrection of 

Jesus Christ.

Zoo Lights

Recently we took a little trip into DC. 

 I have wanted to go see the 

Zoo Lights at the National Zoo.

 We had a nice evening walking around the zoo.  We went a bit early in hopes to see some animals but most of them were inside.  

 This tree was real pretty.  It was covered in tiny blue lights and stood out among the trees.

 If you are every in the DC area during the holidays.  Make sure to check out this FREE event.