Day 12 - Pentagon and beyond

We set off for the Pentagon and the tour we had booked online.  You aren't allowed to take photos of the building so we've downloaded a photo from the internet to show you how massive it is (it's the world's largest low-rise office building).

The only place inside where we could take photos was in the waiting area for the tour to start.  Rhonda gave a very impressive speech calling for world peace, until she realised that world peace would make the Pentagon redundant.  A member of the honour guard came to take her away.

The tour was excellent, and bizarre.  We had two guides, who swapped roles halfway through.  The guides walk backwards while conducting the tour, something they have to practice for.  It's so they can keep their tour groups in sight the whole time.  The building is very impressive - it has 7,754 windows (the guides said that everybody remembers that statistic) which stop people spying from outside the building and are bullet proof.  The inside memorial to the 59 victims from the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, and the 125 workers from the Pentagon was small but moving.  

After the Pentagon we moved on to the National Cemetery at Arlington.  It contains over 400,000 graves and they still bury between 25 and 35 bodies a day.  We took a bus tour of the cemetery and spent time at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy (Jacqui is buried next to him, and two children, one either side) and then the site of the tomb of the unknown soldiers (one each from WW1, WW2 and the Korean War- there was a fourth 'unknown', from the Vietnam War, but he was identified by DNA recently).

The JRK gravesite

JFK again

A wreath for Australia, outside the tomb of the unknown soldiers, laid that morning by Bill Shorten during a visit

Saluting the Australian wreath during the ceremony for the changing of the guard

Graves, graves and more graves

A beautiful rose in the gardens at Arlington

We enjoyed our time at Arlington, in a sad and reflective way, but were impressed by the experience.  Next stop was the Lincoln Memorial, about a half hour's walk away.  It is impressive during the daylight, and even more impressive at night.  Some daylight shots are below.

The back of the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln was huge!

The view from the side of the Lincoln Memorial, down the National Mall to the Capitol (which is about 3.5 kilometres away)

We went back to the National Mall in the evening to take some twilight shots, shown below.

We saw a squirrel on our way to the National Mall - the little varmints are everywhere (everywhere there are trees and grass)

Fountains at the WW2 Memorial

The WW2 Memorial again

The Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln as the lights come on

Washington is beautiful when the lights are on

By the time we got back to the hotel it was quite late, and our legs hated us.  I must say we are sleeping very well here.  No signs for today, but a general comment on signage - it's rubbish.  It shouldn't be difficult to know where you're going, but it often is.  Tomorrow we're booked in for a tour of the Capitol building.  'Bye for now.