Spring HAS NOT "Sprung" in DC!!

Our second day in DC was Easter Sunday. When we woke up this morning, I checked the weather....39 degrees,feels like 32. Perfect weather for sight seeing!!

We attended Easter Services at the National Cathedral. Truly an amazing experience. If you have ever been in this cathedral before, you know how grand it is. Hearing the Easter sermon and receiving Holy Communion was very meaningful. We are Methodists and this service was Episcopalian. I found many similarities with more pomp and circumstance. The Very Reverend Samuel T. Lloyd III delivered a great sermon about how Easter gives us something to hang onto when times are hard. To summarize, he said that most earthly things lead to a dead end...the economy, the homeless, the less fortunate, etc. If this world is all that there is, then there is no hope. However, the blessing of the Resurrection of Jesus gives us all hope. He was very animated and began his sermon with several jokes. We are used to that with Preacher Tim. We said the Nicene Creed, which we have said on occasion at home. We received the Sacraments of Holy Communion. It is an experience that I will always remember. Sometimes doing the same things in a different place or situation makes me more aware.

We then went foward and received Holy Communion. The Blood of Christ was not the grape juice we were accustomed to, but wine. When we were on our way back to our seats, Whitman said "That did taste like grape juice, it tasted more like cough medicine." When I told him that it was wine, his only concern was that we had broken the law. Children are not supposed to drink wine. I told him I thought we'd be ok. Then he said he was glad because thought they had used out-of-date grape juice.

By the way, both boys looked very handsome in their Easter outfits; however, I have very few pictures of them because we were absolutely freezing. I do have some great pictures of them huddled up in the very beautiful black winter coats with the hoods pulled up over their heads!! Oh well.

After church, we decided to return to the hotel and change into warmer clothes. We were all starving because our meal schedule has been crazy. So we changed and then ate at Ted's Montana Grille. I think it is owned by Ted Turner. It was the first real meal we actually sat down and ate since we had been in town. It was great. Jody had bison pot roast. The rest of us had old standards of steakhouses. Again, we didn't eat until 3:30.

We then walked to the metro station and went to Arlington National Cemetery. I think we all really enjoyed our visit. We decided to take the bus tour since it was so cold. We rode to Kennedy's grave site and got off the bus. Then we went to the Tomb of the Unknown. We watched the changing of the guard. That is a really neat thing to witness. We then went to Arlington House. We didn't get to go in but we walked along the gardens and looked out over the city from this very high point. The wind had died down and the afternoon was really nice so we decided to walk down through the cemetery. Just seeing the mass of tombstones is just so amazing. We did see one thing that particularly struck me. A man and a women were sitting in lawn chairs (like I take to the baseball field ) in front of a grave. It was probably their son. For me, Arlington is a place of history. For them it is a place of grieving. It just reminded me that this place is an active cemetary. There are people dying everyday to protect our freedom. What an awesome way to recognize their service. I think everyone should visit Arlington.

As we walked out of the cemetery, we (Jody) decided that we would walk across the Arlington Memorial Bridge back into DC. When we crossed the bridge, we were behind the Lincoln Memorial. We (He) decided that we would walk to the Foggy Bottom metro station. The boys were really beginning to melt down.(Not an appropriate word since we did see temps out of the 40's today, but you know what I mean!) All Whit has wanted to do is catch a cab. I don't know what he expects that to be like, but he knows he wants to do it. Haden is just hurting from head to toe. For those that know him, you know this happens quite often. So we walked about 400 blocks to find the metro station.

As we were leaving the Mall, we walked through the Vietnam War Memorial. We may have to do it again. We were all so tired at this point that we didn't really take time to look at it. It was also very crowded.

For those that know me, you know I can occasionally panic. Okay, I panic often. One fear that I have is walking around a city and wandering into the wrong neighborhood. I have a pretty good sense of direction, so I can usually find my way around. Once I know what to expect, I'm fine. I'm usually the one in the lead. However, Jody decided to take over as tour guide when he chose this alternate route to Foggy Bottom. He can also tell when I am about to go into panic mode. Everything always turns out fine, but I am ready if it ever doesn't. He could tell I was getting uneasy on our excursion. We made it to the metro stop just fine. Panic over!

The metro stop what right outside the doors of George Washington University Hospital. When I saw it, I told Jody that we needed to stop in and visit Britany Mikel Daniel. I don't really know her, but I have kept up with her via her blog. She has been in the hospital in Washington for almost a month because her water broke when she was on a business trip to DC. She is now almost 28 weeks pregnant. I couldn't literally be steps outside the hospital and not pop in. We had a nice visit. Keep her (and Beau) in your prayers. That is a very small room to be confined to for an indefinite amount of time.

So finally, we hopped on the metro and made our way back to Crystal City. Everyone has crashed. We are gearing up for another great day.

As far as today's favorites, Whitman and Jody liked Arlington Cemetery, Haden liked the Changing of the Guards, and my favorite was church at the National Cathedral.

On a side note, we have talked to the boys about how many of the places we are visiting are memorial for people who have died. We tell them to be respectful and not climb on them or run around while we are visiting. So now Haden asks me everytime we stop "Is this a memorial?" This is his code for "Can I stomp on these stones and make alot of noise or not?"At least he asks!!

Tomorrow should be a very exciting day. We are going to the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House. I don't know who is more excited, me or the boys. We are also going to try and go to the Bureau of Engraving and a museum or two. Maybe the weather will cooperate a little more.

I'll give all of the details tomorrow night!!

Oh, and BTW, Haden is still texting so look out!!