DC

I am going to start with a little blurb about our time in DC which was somewhat in the middle of our summer travels.

We stayed at the Virginian Suites in Arlington, VA and got an Enterprise rental car. Of course, even a minivan is too small for our group of 7 and all of our luggage. We had to take two trips when we flew in and when we left the airport, one with the people and the other with the bags.

The Virginian Suites had a fun pool that we swam in almost every day for 2 ½ weeks. It was very heavily chlorinated and the girls’ blonde hair quickly turned green. One night I decided to try two home remedies in Carrie’s and Sydney’s hair to see if either worked. Sydney had a Baking Soda shampoo mix, and Carrie had Cola. The Cola didn’t seem to do much, though I must admit that it was the cheap generic stuff. The baking soda was a little more effective, but even with multiple applications the girls still arrived in Belgium with green highlights.

The apartment was right around the corner from the Iwo Jima Marine Corp memorial. During the summer months, the Marine Corp drum and bugle corps puts on the Sunset Parade. We went as a family the first Tuesday and I enjoyed it so much that I walked down by myself on the other two Tuesdays we were there and watched it again. It was so impressive and awe inspiring. The monument provided the perfect backdrop for the show. There was a point in the music where they are all marching away from us toward the monument slowly with a reverent song, like they are honoring their past comrades. Then they about face and pick up the tempo and march straight forward like they are ready to take on the world. Amazing. I highly recommend it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Drum_and_Bugle_Corps