Arlington National Cemetery

We began this trip with a brief stop at some of the primary visitor stops at Arlington National Cemetery. After a brief orientation at the Visitor Center and walking through the rows upon rows of precisely placed headstones and manicured gravesites, we took an easy half-mile walk to the Kennedy Family gravesite and the Eternal Flame. Then, after a somewhat circuitous climb up to the Robert E. Lee family’s Arlington House estate for a brief tour of the grounds and overview of the family genealogy (including his wife’s great grandfather, George Washington). Then, after another half-mile walk, we reached the amphitheater and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier–and the incredibly formal, incredibly solemn (not to speak of very drawn out) changing of the guard ceremony.