Trip to Washington DC

Well, here we are in Washington DC again! I wrote my first blog when I was here with my sister two years ago for the DAR Continental Congress. Now I am here with my husband, my friend, Holly, and her husband, Bob, for the 123^rd Continental Congress. It starts next week, so we came a few days early to sight see and to do genealogical research at the DAR Library. We are staying at the Key Bridge Marriott in Roslyn, just outside DC. My god daughter, who works for Marriott, got us the good rate. She also told us that this is one of the first Marriott Hotel s and it started out as a motor hotel. It has evolved into a fourteen story building with two wings and a detached parking garage. It is quite comfortable and we even have the key to the concierge lounge!

We arrived at Reagan International Airport on Friday, June 20^th at 9 p.m. Holly and Bob got here on Thursday, so they picked us up in our rental car. We went to dinner at one of our Washington favorites – Red, Hot, and Blue, a bar-b-q restaurant on Wilson in Arlington.  After consuming our favorite pulled pork, bar-b-q sandwiches, we drove to our hotel, checked in, and fell into bed, exhausted – even though our body clocks said it was only 8p.m!

Saturday, June 21^st is the summer solstice, and we made the most use of the longest day of the year. We had a wonderful day for touring – it was cloudy and cool, and only rained a little bit! Samantha joined us for breakfast at Bob and Edith’s Diner on Columbia Pike in Arlington, another favorite. The food is well priced, plenteous, and even though there was line waiting to get in, it didn’t take us long to be seated.

Then we car pooled to Arlington National Cemetery. My DAR chapter has submitted several names to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. We wanted to see the memorial and look for their names in the data base. We found Jane Brooks, but the other three names we looked for were not there. We will have to follow through on that. Anyone who knows a woman who has served or still is serving in any branch of the US military can submit their name to be entered in the data base. What a wonderful thing to do to thank those women who have served our country and been so under appreciated.  The memorial itself is a magnificent and massive stone structure with a central fountain and lots of exhibits celebrating military women.