Arlington National Cemetery

I started my day with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. Taking public transit from the friend’s apartment I was staying at was easy – D.C. has great options for getting around. It also so happens that Arlington is west of the District proper. I planned to start there, hop a few stops east, then get off and walk the length of the National Mall. My walk would take me very close to the International Spy Museum, my last stop for the day. This ended up working great, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I arrived right when the cemetery opened. I took some time to peruse the main office and read some of the exhibits on display. For example, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a general, shared concept- it represents those that have fallen in battle and who have never been identified. The tomb is a way to honor their sacrifice. A singular monument that acts as the grave for all the forgotten. Both the United Kingdom and France have similar tombs – the UK’s in Westminster Abbey and France’s under the Arc de Triomphe. 

After grabbing a map and a tram tour ticket I headed outside. The tram is a hop-on, hop-off type of tour. You can use it purely as transportation to cross large stretches of the cemetery, or you can take the whole thing from start to finish to see the cemetery’s highlights. I used it more as a means of transportation, the cemetery is beautiful but is both vast and hilly. 

Some of the most meaningful things I saw in the cemetery were the Kennedy Family Grave, the memorials of 9/11 and the Challenger explosion, the tomb of President William Howard Taft (he happens to be a personal favorite of mine; I did a report on him in 4th grade), and the most moving of all, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are countless other things to see. The tram drivers pointed out the graves of Civil War soldiers, five-star generals, and other significant military personnel. I remember one grave that was pointed out belonged to the first guy to get away with murder using the defense of “temporary insanity”. 

Daniel Sickles was both a US representative and the attorney general for D.C.. He found out that his wife was having an affair with Phillip Barton Key II (the son of Francis Scott Key, composer of the Star Spangled Banner!) Daniel decided his best course of action was to shoot Phillip. His attorneys had a hard time defending Daniel because he was unrepentant. He would openly brag about the crime in any testimony he gave. Deprived of any other defense, the lawyers pleaded that Daniel’s grief and betrayal led to him going briefly insane and killing Phillip. Miraculously this worked, and Daniel went on to not only have a full military career, but he stayed together with his wife!

Aside from these dramatic historical tidbits, the cemetery was a solemn place. As a military cemetery, almost everyone entombed within Arlington was a hero – they fought and died for their country, or sacrificed great portions of their lives to help run it. This really culminated with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is guarded 24/7, with a changing of the guard ceremony taking place every half or full hour depending on the time of year. There are three bodies entombed in the monument. An unidentified body from each major war was picked to represent all of the unknown fallen. Currently, there are soldiers from WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. There was a Vietnam War soldier; however, he was later identified, so his body was removed and reburied. 

The changing of the guard was a very formal exchange involving multiple guards, precise movements, and pageantry. It made me feel glad that these men have eternal company from the living, that their sacrifice is recognized and honored every minute of every day. These men may have died alone, but they are not forgotten.

I spent a lot of time by the tomb, but after viewing two different changing of the guard ceremonies and three wreath laying ceremonies, I decided to leave the vigil to those who do it best.

After leaving the Cemetery, I hopped on the Metro and got off at Foggy Bottom, a station just north of the west end of the National Mall. I was wisely informed by my local friend that eating near the Mall would be a mistake. There were not a lot of options, and what options there were would be expensive. Keeping that in mind I stopped in at a coffee shop, opting for a simple lunch consisting of purely chocolate- a brownie to eat and a hot chocolate to drink. I lingered at the coffee shop, people watching and charging my phone. I was right near George Washington University so I was in good company. Now sufficiently warm and full of sugar, I headed south to the mall. 

National Mall

At this point the sun had come out, so it warmed up to a pleasant temperature. Once I got on the green, I was thrilled with the National Mall. It was half traditional park, with people walking, jogging, picnicking, and just living their lives, and half deeply meaningful tour through history. The atmosphere was cheerier here then at the cemetery. 

I started at the Lincoln Memorial (exactly how I remembered it as a kid) and progressed west, past the reflecting pool that I could have sworn was closer to the Washington Monument. I was disappointed to see that the Washington monument was not a single 555-foot tall hunk of stone. Then I thought for half a second and realized we don’t possess the technology to carve then move a small mountain. Up close the Washington Monument is created (very reasonably) with panels of marble cladding the exterior. From a distance the seams recede and the obelisk stands whole.  

Between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial stands the World War II Memorial. This happened to be my favorite memorial that I saw all day. I was enchanted with it. Essentially it’s a big central fountain and pool that is encompassed by walls and marked with 2 gates. The gates are labeled “Atlantic” and Pacific”. 56 columns stand spaced along the outer wall, each bearing the name of a state or U.S. territory.

It was pretty, you could even dip your feet in the main pool; there were signs posted encouraging this. I was captivated with this idea that they reversed land and sea. You entered through the ocean gates, which of course was paved solid ground. Looking at the central pool, ringed by the 50 states it becomes clear that the pool is the U.S. One gate marking the Atlantic coast, one gate marking the pacific coast. But why represent the main mass of the U.S as a body of water? No answers presented themselves, but I enjoyed pondering the question as I walked through. 

I didn’t cut north to see the White House, as I was meandering more than moving from target to target, and I had a rough timetable to keep. I did pass the various buildings of the Smithsonian: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, (the architecture of which I studied in college: did you know the cladding can adjust how much light comes in? And the design was inspired by traditional Nigerian carved wood columns?) I also passed the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History which physically pained me to walk past, as well as the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum, the Museum of Asian Art, the National Gallery of Art… 

As hard as it was to see these buildings closed and not be able to go inside, just seeing them from the outside was my favorite part of walking the National Mall. The architecture of all of these buildings is beautiful and intricate, yet each wildly different from the others. The result is a super interesting, eclectic assortment of buildings, each surrounded by gardens. 

The museum is both informative and an interactive experience, so it was popular with kids and adults alike. I had to buy a timed ticket and return a bit later to actually enter. This is one place I would recommend buying your ticket ahead of time.

International Spy Museum

As far as a museum goes, the topics covered couldn’t be more interesting – famous international spies, espionage gadgets, double agents, botched missions, hacking, sending secret messages, and much more. The museum is also designed in a very engaging way – you aren’t walking through a blank room reading signboards. The lighting, sound and set design is top-notch. All in all I found it to be a fun experience, if a little expensive. Though, to be fair, I ran out of time and would have liked to have spent another 40 minutes inside.    

I could have spent a week in DC, especially considering the number of excellent museums. If you find yourself with a layover, or on a short trip to the capital, I highly suggest getting out and about. I will definitely be back!