Arlington Honors

Last week we went on vacation! Kinda. We traveled to Virginia to say a respectful farewell to a dear friend's father who had recently passed away. Highly ranked in the United States Navy, he earned the great honor of resting among the Nation's heroes at the vast Arlington Cemetery. We didn't take pictures of the service, but rather of the cemetery itself. We asked it it would be okay to post some pictures and our friend was cool with it. It might seem a little sad, and it is, but I'll try to be a bit cheerful, too.

Outside the church you can see all of the grave sites of many soldiers that fought for our great country. Without people like these, we might be living a very different style of life right now. So yay freedom! And thanks!

Click on the "Read more" below. Tissues optional?

Snapped a picture inside the church. Relatives we had yet to know were curious as to why a pony showed up? By the end of the weekend we were all close friends!

Awaiting the start of the service. You just can't take a good picture of a stained glass window. It's never as bright as in person. Trying to distract ourselves.

Wandered outside for a bit. Got a picture of the church it was simple but you don't really need much from the building. It was very nice.

The service was under the tent there. 21 gun salute. Bugle playing Taps. Folded Flag. Exactly like you see in the movies but way more honorable when you are actually "there." The overwhelming gratitude of the country, like "officially" from the country, really helped a lot.

This new section will fill up with more heroes over a while. Each one in good company.

Seeing all of the people that are here... It's actually kinda nice to "know" like specifically, somebody here. It's a nice connection to have, to this place. And, in essence, to the whole country, too. 

If you zoom in, you can see a squirrel enjoying a snack and hanging out with all the brave soldiers here.

 See it? Past those trees. It's the Washington Monument. You can find your way around town by knowing where that's at.

 Rolling hills, and all the symmetrical stones. It's really a beautiful place.

 Dinner for the family at Outback! All sorts of good stories were shared.

Is it too much to say the Heavens cried a ton that night? Aw that's cheesy to say, right? Sorry!

Board games in the hotel lobby really helped cheer everybody up. 5 seconds to name 3 things from the card! It was harder than it looked.  

Got to know the family really well playing Cards Against Humanity! There's more to this trip than the sadness of this day's events. There was a whole city to explore and many more pictures to share.