Young at Heart Fall Trip – Washington DC – Day 4

Monday was primarily a driving day as we returned home to Dayton from Washington DC. However, Donna, our driver, decided it would be nice to return via I-68 rather than the way we came on I-70. Although the road was a lot more hilly it was certainly much more picturesque! There is already a lot of color in the hills!

As we travelled, Rick Bowersox recalled a nice place along the way that would be a great stop. It worked well for lunch and a pleasant break. We stopped for lunch at the Penn Alps Restaurant and Craft Shop in Grantsville, Maryland. The restaurant features Amish and German food and has an excellent Soup and Salad Bar. Also, on the same property there is a great attraction called the Spruce Forest Artisan Village. This place provides a great outlet for local artisans to show their talents and market their work. One building is also restored from Germany. There are a number of log homes, used as workshops and stores.

Penn Alps Restaurant and Crafts Shop

 

Spruce Forest Artisan Village

 

We also saw the Casselman Bridge which was erected in 1813, and is still standing as a picturesque relic of Maryland's early transportation history.  The Casselman River Bridge, with its 80 foot span, was the longest single span stone arch bridge in the world during the era of the National Road (Route 40).

Finally, we returned to the bus to continue homeward.

I believe everyone enjoyed this trip!

Remember: You can double click any photo to see a larger image. Also there are a couple of links for Penn Alps and Spruce Forest that you may want to visit for more information about them. The link to Spruce Forest also provides more information about the Casselman Bridge.

Young at Heart Fall Trip – Washington DC – Day 3

Because it is Sunday, we began the day with a short devotional time aboard the bus, including singing some old favorite choruses.

Then, we continued our touring of Washington DC with Justin, our guide. We started our tours at the Arlington National Cemetery. This was certainly a time of quiet respect for those who served our Country in the military.

All of us know men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Over 300,000 men and women are buried at this location.  We were able to visit the grave sites of the Kennedy’s including John, Jackie and two children, plus his brother.

The cemetery is on the site of the original Ulysses Grant home. Ulysses never returned to the home following the Civil War because it was used as this cemetery and two Union Generals were buried on the front lawn. His wife did return but never even reentered the home.

One location that everyone visits at Arlington is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were there to see the changing of the guard.

After this ceremony we used this amphitheater site for our Annual Fall Trip group photo. See who you recognize!

We also saw the mast of the Maine. A number of the men who lost their lives during the Spanish American War (where the Maine was sunk) are buried on this site.

Another must see site is the statue of Iwo Jima also known as the Marine Monument.

Following Iwo Jima, we went to the Smithsonian. Unfortunately, we really didn’t have time or energy (speaking for myself) to see all of the museums. Actually, I think it would take several days to do this justice. We ate there then viewed the exhibits. Nancy and I chose to do the Air and Space Museum.  So, for now, you are stuck with my photos from that experience. I know others visited other museums and sites, so maybe we can cover some of those in another blog post.

I think it is fitting that the first photo be of the Wright Brothers airplane. They had a nice exhibit but I think ours here in the Air Force Museum and also Carillon Park are superior. Still, I have to admit to seeing and learning things that I did not know. For example did you know that a number of songs were written about the Wright Brothers and their wonderful flying machine! One was called “Song of the Wright Boys”.

Rather than give further narrative of the museum, here are additional photos:

We ended the day with a fun dinner and entertainment by Efi Tovia Xperience. Some of our people took this opportunity to dance with the music. I won’t explain what dance they were doing because I don’t have a clue. We also used this opportunity to make friends with people from other tour groups.

All it all, this has been a great time in Washington. We leave in the morning and may not have reason for additional photos, but if we do have more, we will add a Day 4.

Young at Heart Fall Trip – Washington DC – Day 2

Today, we continued our time in Washington with some serious touring of the many monuments and features of our Capital.

First, we were joined by Justin, who was a very good guide. Fortunately, he will continue as our guide, tomorrow.

The first stop was to visit the Jefferson Memorial. You could also easily see the Washington Monument, is often seen from many other memorials and monuments.

 

Of course, the focus is on Thomas Jefferson

Next, we spent time at the Martin Luther King Memorial. I was impressed with this statue and the wall with many of his quotes.

Following this, we went to the White House. We couldn’t get real near it but I was also impressed with the protests. We saw this in many places but it was never disruptive during our time here.

We planned to go to the Capital building but couldn’t get close enough with our bus because there was something going on with a cordon of police. We never discovered what was going on. Maybe, tomorrow.

Then, we visited the WWII Memorial. I was very impressed with this because it included monuments to each state and also had a nice reflecting pool. It was also a very fitting frame for the Washington Monument.

The Ohio Monument!

And Kilroy was Here!

Finally, time for dinner at Buca di Bepo

Now, we continue our touring with a visit to the Korean War Memorial. Very interesting! I saw many of the guys carrying the M1 Carbine that I had until just recently. I also pointed out the BAR that I carried during by Basic Training, and if course the old standby, the M1 Garand. I liked the sound of the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). Didn’t enjoy carrying it, though.

Nearby, were the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

I mentioned Donna, our driver, yesterday. Thought we should at least include her photo as we end our second day!

Thank you Donna for all you do to make this a pleasant experience.