Memorial Day Weekend

We had our first “96”, which in Marine terms is a 96 hour weekend. Woo hoo! It was so nice for Kyle and I to have 4 days straight to spend with one another. And boy did we do a lot! We also had a little pal, Flat Eddie, with us from South Korea. My friend Leah is a teacher in South Korea and she is doing the Flat Stanley project with her students. I offered to take one of her students Flat Stanley's on an adventure :)

Friday morning we left our apartment around 9:30 so Kyle could sleep in just a bit. We drove about 40 miles into D.C. and we found a great, and might I add FREE, parking spot right by the Washington Monument! It was the perfect spot for us to find. For those of you who haven’t been to D.C., all of the monuments are in a huge circle. We started our walk at the Jefferson Memorial, then The Korean Veterans War Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The World War II Memorial, The White House, The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and then the Capitol.

Inside the Jefferson Memorial

A view from the bridge with the Washington Monument on the left and the Jefferson Memorial on the right

Flat Eddie at the Korean Memorial

In front of the Lincoln Memorial

This man was holding a picture of a friend in his uniform from years ago. He held his hand on his name for a couple minutes and eventually stepped back and saluted. Watching this man made me realize the impact war has left on our surviving soldiers, especially those from Vietnam. Kyle and I both feel like watching him, we were let into his heart...somewhere we shouldn't be. All I wanted to do was go up and give him a big hug and say thank you. Because it was such an intimate moment I refrained from speaking to him, but now I wonder if I should have interrupted him anyway to thank him for his service. I can't go back now, but from here on out I am going to make an effort to thank every veteran I see. I challenge you to do the same.

At the WWII Memorial...we found Oregon!

In front of the Presidents House

At the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is $1,000,000 in $10 bills!

At the Capitol!

After we strolled around the monuments and memorials we went to a Nationals Game. We got to the game and strolled around the beer garden and then Kyle was determined to buy me a hat. He likes the way I look in one of his hats, but he wanted me to have my own, so I don't keep stealing his ;) Here are some pictures from our exciting night at the game:

"ATIONALS PARK" The guy who took the picture missed the "N", but it's still a good picture!

A beautiful sunny day with a bit of clouds, and then...

After we get our chili dogs and sit down, it start pouring with huge lightning bolts and thunder!

The sky looked so amazing! The game was delayed a bit, but it was a memorable experience.

A close up of my new hat :)

Saturday we went to Kings Dominion, which is a theme park/water park. We went with a guy and his fiance who is in Charlie Company with Kyle. It was a blast! There were some very fun and very fast roller coasters! I only got one picture, but it was with our favorite ride :)

On Sunday we went into D.C. one again, but this time it was for a motorcycle rally called The Rolling Thunder. The Rolling Thunder consists of veterans. We parked near the Pentagon before the rally and visited the Pentagon Memorial to remember the lives that were lost. 

"We claim this ground in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001. To honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families, and all who sacrifice that we may live in freedom. We will never forget"

The benches with the names of all the lost.

After our visit to the Memorial, we walked to where all of the motorcyclists, around 400,000, were waiting to start their ride for all of our fallen soldiers.

Kyle with the thousands of motorcycles!

We saw a group of people taking pictures, so we walked over and we saw Bristol Palin! We heard someone mention Sarah so we walked around the circle and...

low and behold, Sarah Palin! :)

Kyle holding the American flag for all of the bikers.

In this picture is Staff Sergeant Chambers. He comes out every year to salute our veterans. He holds his salute for the ENTIRE time which can last over 4 hours. It was amazing to see him endure the pain of holding his salute to honor all of our soldiers who have served before him.

Some of the bikers with the Lincoln Memorial in the background

Kyle LOVED the rally! Throughout the entire ride he kept telling me, "I want to get a bike" or "Don't you think we should get a bike?",  or "I wish I could grow a beard like those guys...man I wanna be a biker". Haha! He makes me smile. But who knows...maybe 20 years down the road he will have a bike and we'll be riding in the Rolling Thunder...I'm not so sure about the beard though ;) 

I will leave you with one last picture of Kyle with Flat Eddie! My American Soldier :)