Great days in DC

We left the DC area this morning after a couple of great days. Let's recap:

We spent the first day with our guide touring the city. We saw many of the memorials and monuments. It's especially moving to stop at the memorials when you have veterans along on your tour. We had a number of veterans from the Korean War and they had many stories to share as well as a tear as we walked past this moving memorial. When we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial we remembered our time at Gettysburg and also standing on the steps of the memorial we could see the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. shared his "I have a dream" speech. Then it was on to the Vietnam memorial where we had another Veteran with. His story was again moving as he told of returning home and then helping return home the remains of a young man to his family. He has been friends with that family ever since and while visiting the memorial found the name of this very special young man. We also have a woman with us who served as a nurse during WWII and a couple of other Veterans on this trip....it was a great day.
We stopped by the White House, President Bush was in Europe but we took pictures anyway. There was a protest going on against China at the time..so we were able to experience some of that. There were many other sites, it was a great day. By the time we headed back to our hotel in Alexandria we were tired....but we had enjoyed a great day touring.
Oh, I almost forgot, the Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom and beautiful. We especially enjoyed them near the FDR Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial and around the Tidal Basin.
We woke the next day and traveled to Arlington National Cemetary. We watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unkown. It's always moving to watch the precision of this, but also to experience the solemness of this event. Then it was on to the Smithsonian for a quick stop before our afternoon Capital tour. The day ended with a dinner cruise on the Potomac River and it was a great ending to a couple of wonderful days in DC.
Now it's on to Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg....but more about that later.