Adventure Theatre, Memorials, and Arlington Cemetery,

Thursday May 18

In the morning we went with Jackie and the kids to Adventure Theatre's production of Five Little Monkeys. It was written by my colleague and fellow board member of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (TYA/USA), Ernie Nolan.  It was produced by another colleague and fellow board member, Michael Bobbitt, who is the Producing Artisitc Director of Adventure Theatre.  The kids loved this high-energy, rhyming piece. Afterward they rode the carousel at historic Glen Echo park. 

 The rest of the day was filled with monuments.  

Ethan and I first took a canal cruise and saw the city from the perspective of the water. 

Next, we saw the Lincoln memorial. Ethan said visiting the Lincoln memorial was one of his top 3 favorites of our trip.  He was excited to see the Gettysburg address sketched in marble. This year he memorized the entire speech as part of his "Give Me Liberty" fifth grade American history program.

Washington memorial  

 

 Vietnam memorial

Then we visited Arlington Cemetery. 

 This truly is hollowed grown. 

 What an powerful image it is to see row after row of white markers indicating the final resting spot of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. 

 Everywhere you looked, one could see the markers. 

 Arlington cemetery topped my list of my favorite places to visit on our trip.

Watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown was also a moving experience.

I am really grateful that Ethan had the opportunity to visit Arlington cemetery and better understand that our freedom is not free.

 Ethan and I had dinner at the Whole Food market and headed home to say goodbye to the Sander's family as they left for vacation. That night we thought it would be fun to walk to an ice cream place, but we ended up walking around for an hour and canvassing about two miles.  We didn't get home from our "adventure" until 10pm. Not the smartest thing we've ever done.