Washington, DC part 3

Final post about Washington.  Here are random other things that you can do.

One big adventure is to visit Arlington Cemetery.  Any person who has served in the Armed Forces can request to be buried there.  This is also the place where JFK, Jackie Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy are buried.  The eternal flame goes on at the grave site.  You can also see the ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  It is a very solemn experience, but not one to miss.

  Two other places that you should tour are the White House and the Captiol.  Both tours are free, but you have to schedule them in advance.  You schedule both through your Congressman.  When we went, we got our passes through Rep. Henry Brown (for Horry County).  One of his interns gave us a tour of all the back offices, the rotunda, and the House of Representatives chamber.  We even got to watch a couple of the Representatives speak about topics.  The White House tour is self guided.  You must request the tickets very early in advance.  When you get there, you can only bring your ID (which you must have) and your keys.  No bags, cell phones, cameras, etc.  You get to walk through a few of the rooms and tour guides/secret service agents are there to answer questions.  You must go through security screenings for both.

 The final place is the U.S. Marine Corps (Iowa Jima) Memorial.  It is not around the same area as the Mall, Capitol, and White House.  You must take the subway to the Rosslyn Station and walk to the memorial.  There is a small park with the memorial in the middle.

I hope this has given you a little taste of what to see and do in Washington, DC.  Please feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will try my best to answer them.