Portrait and Adventure Photographer

DC for the weekend

10/14/2011

I spent last weekend in Fairfax VA visiting family and made some trips into DC to explore. Enjoy!

JFK Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery

TOMB OF THE UNKNOWNS: "HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD"

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Interesting facts about this duty:They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. They cannot swear in public FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way.

After TWO YEARS, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first SIX MONTHS of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends FIVE HOURS A DAY getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.That is certainly commitment.

The Marine Corps War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial). This is one of my favorite memorials and I was able to capture it at the perfect time of day. Interesting fact: there is an extra leg and an extra hand added into the statue to make it sturdy.

The U.S. Capitol from across the Capitol Reflecting Pool.

At the Museum of Natural History, there is a special exhibit on the Chilean Miners Rescue including a video of the actual rescue playing as they bring some of the miners up in the capsule....very moving.

Most emotional part of the weekend was visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum. For obvious reasons, there is no photography allowed in most of the building and I can't say I would have taken pictures even if I could have. I did take a couple in this Room of Remembrance. Under the flame reads: "HERE LIES EARTH GATHERED FROM THE DEATH CAMPS, CONCENTRATION CAMPS, SITES OF MASS EXECUTION, AND GHETTOS IN NAZI OCCUPIED EUROPE, AND FROM CEMETERIES OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT AND DIED TO DEFEAT NAZI GERMANY."

The four floors following the rise of Hitler and chronicling all of the horrific things that happened to all of those innocent people is something everyone should see.

After a break back in Fairfax and a nice cookout, we headed back into the city to capture some places at night. I was really bummed because I could not get to the Pentagon Memorial which was #1 on my list of places to photograph at night. :(