The next item on the agenda was visiting Arlington cemetery.
I didn't realize the magnitude of this beautiful venue. There are over 330,000 grave sites dotting a vast 624 acres. It is truly humbling and sobering to see them stretching on and on. I am so grateful to those who have fought and continue to fight for our country.
Thank you.
Mary Todd Lincoln.
The eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy's grave.
We wandered up to the Tomb of the Unknowns. While we were waiting for the changing of the guard, we found refuge in the little museum there with pictures of funeral processions and different medals that soldiers have received.
Luke and Liam parked themselves out of the way on the floor and enjoyed the air conditioned room. They were quite adorable in the way they were interacting with each other. And for your viewing pleasure, here is also an unidentified bum.
The changing of the guard was beautiful. I love the way it is conducted with such precision and grace. I also admired these men who seemed unruffled by the stifling heat in their full uniforms.
Wending our way in the sticky heat also made me more grateful for our founding fathers and those in the Revolutionary War. They must have really wanted to form our country if they fought so hard day in and day out in this blasted heat. My thoughts then wandered to those who have fought in all different conditions and those now who endure temperatures of over 110 degrees to fight for our freedoms now.
Again, I thank you.
The heroes of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
We are grateful to Sir John Dill because his beautiful memorial had a large sprinkler placed on it watering the grass.
Although it was not my intention for the boys to run through the welcoming respite from the heat, I think I was pretty positive in the back of my mind that it was going to happen. I didn't mean to be disrepectful in anyway but I speculate that if there were sprinklers available to the soldiers during the Revolutionary War that these men would have done the exact same thing. And it was only for a minute.
A blissful minute.
We definately didn't see everything there but I am grateful for the experience.
We decided to return to the hotel to cool off for a while before heading to Baltimore to see the Orioles play.
Did you know there is another person with the same name as this darling boy who plays for the Orioles?
Yes, it's true.
One of our friends gave Luke a baseball card of Luke Scott and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. When I was planning our trip and told Justin we would be going to an Orioles game, he got super excited and the business man in him took over.
He contacted a few people in the Orioles organiazation to see if we could set up a meeting with the baseball player. They were always super nice but couldn't confirm anything. The best they could do was tell us to arrive early for batting practice and see if we could get his attention. One lady also added that he is on the DL and is a bit grumpy about it so not to get our hopes up.
Somehow Luke took that as we are definiately going to meet his namesake and it was not "if" but "when" he had his baseball card signed he would be so happy.
I was not optimistic and was praying in my heart that his dreams would not be crushed.
We arrived at the field early to try to jockey for position. Once the gates opened Justin pulled Luke toward the dugout and was persistent in his inquiries about the famous Luke Scott. No one would give him a straight answer. Not because they were being rude, but because they couldn't.
Until this wonderful young man emerged. I will refer to him as our knight since I regrettably do not know his name.
I would have given up way before this point. Just told Luke that the man was busy and he most likely would have forgotten about it a couple days later. This is when I am so grateful for a sweet talking husband. Justin caught his attention and asked if Luke (#2) was in the dugout. Our knight said he could go and check for him. Justin added that there was a young fan here with the exact same name. Our knight became what seemed to be genuinely excited and said "No way! That is awesome!" Then into the dugout he went.
By this time, Luke was bouncing up and down with excitement. I was still reserved and hoping that this elusive player would make a boy's dream come true.
And out he came.
He met with a serviceman first to chat with him a moment and thank him for serving our country. Then over to Luke he went.
He said "Your name is Luke Scott too?" and then shook his hand. I didn't catch the rest of their conversation but Luke had a huge smile on his face.
We got his card signed. Mission accomplished.
Needless to say, because of the generosity of our knight and everyone that Justin talked to along the way and the way that Luke Scott #2 treated my Luke, the Orioles are now my favorite MLB team.
We all caught a bit of Oriole fever.
I didn't realize the magnitude of this beautiful venue. There are over 330,000 grave sites dotting a vast 624 acres. It is truly humbling and sobering to see them stretching on and on. I am so grateful to those who have fought and continue to fight for our country.
Thank you.
Mary Todd Lincoln.
The eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy's grave.
We wandered up to the Tomb of the Unknowns. While we were waiting for the changing of the guard, we found refuge in the little museum there with pictures of funeral processions and different medals that soldiers have received.
Luke and Liam parked themselves out of the way on the floor and enjoyed the air conditioned room. They were quite adorable in the way they were interacting with each other. And for your viewing pleasure, here is also an unidentified bum.
The changing of the guard was beautiful. I love the way it is conducted with such precision and grace. I also admired these men who seemed unruffled by the stifling heat in their full uniforms.
Wending our way in the sticky heat also made me more grateful for our founding fathers and those in the Revolutionary War. They must have really wanted to form our country if they fought so hard day in and day out in this blasted heat. My thoughts then wandered to those who have fought in all different conditions and those now who endure temperatures of over 110 degrees to fight for our freedoms now.
Again, I thank you.
The heroes of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
We are grateful to Sir John Dill because his beautiful memorial had a large sprinkler placed on it watering the grass.
Although it was not my intention for the boys to run through the welcoming respite from the heat, I think I was pretty positive in the back of my mind that it was going to happen. I didn't mean to be disrepectful in anyway but I speculate that if there were sprinklers available to the soldiers during the Revolutionary War that these men would have done the exact same thing. And it was only for a minute.
A blissful minute.
We definately didn't see everything there but I am grateful for the experience.
We decided to return to the hotel to cool off for a while before heading to Baltimore to see the Orioles play.
Did you know there is another person with the same name as this darling boy who plays for the Orioles?
Yes, it's true.
One of our friends gave Luke a baseball card of Luke Scott and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. When I was planning our trip and told Justin we would be going to an Orioles game, he got super excited and the business man in him took over.
He contacted a few people in the Orioles organiazation to see if we could set up a meeting with the baseball player. They were always super nice but couldn't confirm anything. The best they could do was tell us to arrive early for batting practice and see if we could get his attention. One lady also added that he is on the DL and is a bit grumpy about it so not to get our hopes up.
Somehow Luke took that as we are definiately going to meet his namesake and it was not "if" but "when" he had his baseball card signed he would be so happy.
I was not optimistic and was praying in my heart that his dreams would not be crushed.
We arrived at the field early to try to jockey for position. Once the gates opened Justin pulled Luke toward the dugout and was persistent in his inquiries about the famous Luke Scott. No one would give him a straight answer. Not because they were being rude, but because they couldn't.
Until this wonderful young man emerged. I will refer to him as our knight since I regrettably do not know his name.
I would have given up way before this point. Just told Luke that the man was busy and he most likely would have forgotten about it a couple days later. This is when I am so grateful for a sweet talking husband. Justin caught his attention and asked if Luke (#2) was in the dugout. Our knight said he could go and check for him. Justin added that there was a young fan here with the exact same name. Our knight became what seemed to be genuinely excited and said "No way! That is awesome!" Then into the dugout he went.
By this time, Luke was bouncing up and down with excitement. I was still reserved and hoping that this elusive player would make a boy's dream come true.
And out he came.
He met with a serviceman first to chat with him a moment and thank him for serving our country. Then over to Luke he went.
He said "Your name is Luke Scott too?" and then shook his hand. I didn't catch the rest of their conversation but Luke had a huge smile on his face.
We got his card signed. Mission accomplished.
Needless to say, because of the generosity of our knight and everyone that Justin talked to along the way and the way that Luke Scott #2 treated my Luke, the Orioles are now my favorite MLB team.
We all caught a bit of Oriole fever.
What an awesome day! One more day in D.C. and then headed home. I can't believe our trip is almost over. It has been so much fun!
