Home from San Diego

Wow... this was a long weekend. I am absolutely exhausted, and so glad I have this week off. I have some photos to share, but I will add those tomorrow. Tonight I need to sleep. A lot.

I ran into Carrie from Chatterbox at the show... I just turned around at a display table and there she was. I re-introduced myself to her. She told me the book had just come off the printer, and she had just given away the only copy she had. Oh... I would have loved to have a sneak peek. I see it is out on the CBX website, so I hope it shows up here soon... woohoo!

Here is a photo of the book. Mine is on the front cover, to the right of the star.

Substance of Life

See ya in a few days!

In a few hours I will be off to the San Diego expo. Hopefully it will be a busy show with lots of fun people to meet. I am taking Matt with me, so I will post some pictures of our adventures when we get home! We will be visiting Old Town while we are there, and spending some time on the beaches. Be good while I am gone! LOL

I will be back later

I have to go get ready for today, but I will be back on later today to add links to today's posts and fix the typos... :0) Please check back tomorrow if you would like to follow the links for more information about the places I have mentioned today.

Father's Day on the wall

I have saved these photos for last,although they will show up first on the blog. My uncle,James Herbert Smith Jr. , is one of the men who was lost in the Vietnam war. He served a full tour with the Marines, came home, and could not find work because of the attitudes that returning soldiers were faced with in America at that time in our history. Finally, he re-enlisted with the navy, and was killed when his helicopter was shot down near the end of his second tour. I knew he was honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall , and I wanted to visit it so I could send my grandmother photos and a rubbing. She will never be able to get to see this in person. I was unprepared for how deeply it would affect me. As I rubbed his name on the wall, and saw his name appearing on my paper, all I could think of is that he is not forgotten. I thought of my own sons, and how much they mean to me, and what it would do to me to lose them. I thought of Nana, and how she has told me this was the saddest moment of her life. It is a memorial to honor the fallen and lost soldiers of that war, and I couldn't help but think of my grandmother, and all the other mothers, who kissed their sons good-bye and never got to see them again. The flowers were sent by the children of these men, many of whom never got to see or hold them before they died. My uncle had no children, but I am grateful that I could visit his memorial on Father's Day, and leave him a message that he too will not be forgotten.

Photo opportunities

Sometimes I will see a photo opportunity, and just pray that the photos will reflect what I see with my naked eyes. These are some of those photos. The top two are of the Vietnam Wall. As I walked by it, I saw the reflections of first the Washington Monument, and then the United States flag in the wall. Both reflections just stopped me in my tracks, but particularly the flag. The lighting was just right because the reflections and shadows from the trees framed the monument and the flag. I know the picture shown on the blog won't show as well as the real picture does, but I hope you can glimpse a bit of how I felt when I saw these shots. The middle photo is of a photograph that was put together by a veteran of the Vietnam War. I can't do it justice with words, so I won't try to. The last photo is amazing to me. I wanted a picture of the flag and the MIA/POW Flag flying over the wall, but the wind had stopped blowing and the flags were lying still against their pole. I decided to take it anyway, and as soon as I was ready to take the photo, a small breeze came up and both flags unfurled for me.

Tomb of the Unknowns

We saw the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns . When he dropped us off, Bob told us to watch for the car with the Tomb 521 license plate. It belongs to the wife of the Vietnam soldier who was originally entombed in the tomb. She knew it was her husband, though, and after he was exhumed, DNA tests proved her right.

Eternal Flame

As we walked through the cemetary down the hill, we found President Kennedy's eternal flame memorial. He and Jacqueline Kennedy are buried with their two babies they lost in the 50s. Bobby Kennedy's grave is located next to theirs about fifty feet away.

Space and Iran hostage memorials

These are the memorials for the Challenger, the Columbia, and the Iran hostage rescue mission. I have been to many different memorials and history sights in my life, but Arlington National Cemetery is the best. A lot of thought, a lot of compassion, and a lot of meticulous care has gone into making it a true memorial to honor our country's fallen heroes.

USS Maine

Bob dropped us off at the Ampitheater in front of the mast of the U.S.S. Maine. He told us where to go to see the changing of the guards. He also told us to walk back down the hill to get to the spot we parked. We love you, Bob, but why didn't you mention the parking lot was literally miles away????? LOL

Kris Romeo Bishendat

When we arrived at the September 11Memorial, Bob told us we would get to meet the Bishundats. Kris Romeo Bishundat was one of the soldiers killed in the 9-11 attack on the Pentagon, and his parents were there that morning visiting his grave. They visited with us for a few minutes, and we all cried together for a small while. His mother had covered his grave with rose petals from the head to the foot, and those petals were the most touching thing I have ever witnessed. I didn't take photos of the grave or of his parents, it just didn't seem appropriate, but his parents pointed out his jeep that they have decorated as a memorial to him and drive around. Mr. and Mrs. Bishundat, if you should ever happen to read this, I would like you to know it was truly an honor to meet you. We expressed our condolences to you at the cemetary, but words just cannot express how deeply we feel for your loss.

September 11, Pentagon Memorial

As we drove through the cemetary, Bob heard me mention to Gayle that I had seen the Masonic emblems on some of the tombstones. He was surprised that I knew what they were, and then he was surprised again when he pointed out the Pentagon and I asked if the September 11Memorial was nearby. He said that there aren't a lot of people that know about it. So he took us to it. It is a moment I will not soon forget.

Meet Bob

This is Bob. He is a retired Major General who lost his wife in 1984. She is buried in Arlington, and now he works as a greeter there, and visits her daily. Bob found us on our way out of the park, and after a few minutes of conversation he decided we needed to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. He decided to take us there in his own car, and provided us with a personal tour that couldn't be found on a tour bus.

Marine Corp War Memorial

Gayle and I had all day Sunday to see some more sights before our flights. We were heading to DC again when we saw signs for the Iwo Jima memorial and Arlington Cemetary. We thought we would stop for a few minutes and see the memorial. It was stunning. It is really called the Marine Corps War Memorial , and it lists all of the wars the Marines have fought in since 1775. The the Netherlands Carillon was also there, and as we walked across the grounds, it began to play "The Star Spangled Banner." If you have never heard this played on bells, you must make it a goal in your lifetime to do so. It was haunting, and Gayle and I both teared up. We thought we were done at this area, and we were heading back to the car. That was when we met Bob.

Backwoods version of Walmart

This is a funny set of photos from a little wooden store we found in Chantilly. It cracked us up just to read the sign. You can pay your bills,get a money order, buy some jeans or boots, get some groceries, have some coffee, and even buy live bait all in this little store. We had to see the inside. Don't you love the row of not just cowboy hats, but derby hats as well?? We thought the cowboy hat adorned with shark teeth was particularly cool on Gayle. Sarah and LaDawna discovered (and purchased and smoked) the grape flavored cigars. For variety, though, they are also available in peach and lime flavors..... mmmmmmm.... yeck. I thought the stocking of the shelves was ingenious... if you need boots, corn, or salt,they are all on the same set of shelves... LOL. And if you need any personal items, you can buy a thirty year old bottle of Prell, a cup of castor oil, or a box of very, very, very dusty tampons. The icing of it all was the eggs. At both registers there was a plastic basket of cracked hardboiled eggs sitting out on the counter available to purchase.... makes ya hungry doesn't it?

Misc DC shots

These are just some other misc shots of DC. The top left is the Washington Monument and its reflection in the Reflecting Pool. The top right is the United States Department of the Treasury, which is on the back of the $10 bill. The bottom two photos are of what is now the offices for the federal court of appeals, but was originally James and Dolley Madison's house. As we walked by the Treasury Credit Union, a man came out and saw me taking photos. He went and got all of us applications to open accounts at the Credit Union, and shared some of the history of the building. Then he gave us fantastic directions for getting the rest of the way around the DC area. I wish I had taken his photo. He looked almost exactly like General Custer.

Korean War Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was also intensely moving. You can read about the soldiers having to cross fields in a spread out manner so that if one of them stepped on a mine field the others around him wouldn't be as likely to get killed or maimed, but to see the statues of these soldiers doing that made my heart lurch. The faces are a close up of the wall that says "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE" They are super-imposed on the granite, and it really makes you feel as though their spirits are staring out at you from the wall.

Lincoln Memorial

The next stop was to park and walk through the mall in front of the Washington Monument. The majority of the memorials are located around the mall, but we only stopped at a few because we thought we would see more of it on Sunday. We found the Vietnam wall first, but I am going to show that in a seperate post.

I loved seeing the Lincoln Memorial. The Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation are engraved in the marble on the walls, and reading those words again just amazes me all over again. President Lincoln was an amazing speaker. He had a way with words that not only conveyed his thoughts in an intellectual manner, but they conveyed the spirit and heartfelt feelings of this man as well.

White House

Our next stop was the White House. This was a fantastic experience for me. There was an anti-war rally taking place on the lawn across from the White House, and as I walked around them I found these men (Free Republic) with their signs as they protested the rally. I can't describe it, but I felt so proud to see them, so proud of what they stand for. After I took this man's photo, he saw me ask the girls to take my photo in front of the White House, and he asked me if I would like to hold his sign. I said "Yes! and may I hold your flag as well??" It was a proud moment for me... I went to Washington and got to be part of a show of support for our troops and our president. God Bless America!

US Capitol

The first building we visited on Thursday was the US Capitol. There were several statues around it that I took photos of, but I haven't added them here. We had to make our visit short since we parked in a permit-only space, and well, we didn't have a permit.

Misc Chantilly shots

These are just a few misc shots from the trip. The six little ducks were crossing the road on our way to set up our booth. They were adorable. The geese, while cute in their own way, were just obnoxious. They wouldn't get out of the way in the parking lots or the drive thru because they expected us to feed them. The photo of me is in the Washington Mall in front of the reflecting pool.