Holley Does DC

So, on November 3, I moved into the new apartment.  It is a very large apartment, as apartment goes.  Two bedrooms, a large living room and dining room, and a small galley kitchen and a very small bathroom.  I have 5 closets, three walk-in closets and two long traditional closets.  I am on the 4th floor, and I have two large window in the main living area that faces the street and the courtyard below has a beautiful fountain.  I do not have to worry about putting out trash cans anymore, there is a nifty garbage chute right down the hall where yoth tu dump all the bags of trash and someone else empties them!  The master bedroom is VERY BIG– I have room for all my large furniture, and room to spare.  It is actually bigger than the room I had in the house in California.  The extra bedroom is just as big as the master bedroom which means that the first half of the room is the guest bedroom, with the queen size bed, dresser and a TV stand.  The back half, near the large picture window, will be my craft and sewing area, with three tables in a u shape to hold everything I like to use.  The window brings in nice light, but is partially shaded by a very large tree…which will be nice during the summer.  

Here are pictures of the first week I moved in.  When I get all the rooms together, I will send an update so you can see this before…and then the after!

From the front door, the living room on the left, and the dining room on the right

From the front door the living room 

From the front door, the hallway to the bedrooms on the left.  You can see the extra storage closets doors on the left side of the hallway…and the open door at the end of the hallway is the bathroom.  First door on the right is the guest room…and the second door on the right is the master bedroom.

The kitchen, in all it’s glory.  If you stand in the very center, you can cook at the stove, open the fridge and turn on the water without moving!  Very convenient!

Master bedroom.  See how much room???

The guest room…it’s not ready for guests yes….but it will be soon!  Are you ready to visit??

New dining room table and chairs….you know how I love black!

Well…that’s all for now.  

This cemetery has to be one of the most beautiful cemetery’s I have ever seen.  I have a thing for cemeterys…when I was growing up, I would find them in every little town we would vacation in.  My mother was worried that I was a morbid kid!  I tried to explain to her that I loved the peacefulness and the artistic beauty of the granite.  And the history and sentiment written on the stones about the lives of people someone once loved touched my heart.  Multiply that feeling by 100 and you get close to the feeling when you visit Arlington.

We rode the bus tour to the major sites….what a knee saver!!  Definitely worth the $7.50 for the day.  (no, it was not $27.00 like it says on the bus…that is the big package for all DC national parks)

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy’s final resting place.  You can’t see the eternal flame, but it is there, I promise.  They say on the tour “for all practical purposes the flame has never ceased since it was turned on in 1968″  Did you pick that up?  For practical purposes…hmmm…I bet that means that it probably HAS been turned off…and I bet sometimes accidentally.  Can you imagine it…?  ”Hey, Joe…what is this knob?  I smell gas…I’m going to turn this off…”  Ha! 

Whoops!  I need to pay attention to the signs around the grave of JFK and show a little respect…

The grave of Audie Murphy, one of the most decorated soldier in our nation’s history.  I am moved about how simple and unimpressive it is.  If they didn’t point it out you would miss it!

On one side is the ampitheater, this is where the President will speak in a few days on Veteran’s Day.

Inside the ampitheater.  The beauty of the white marble, the sheer amount of the white stone is almost overwhelming.

On the other side, is the tomb of the Unknown Solider.  See the mat under his feet?  That is where the soliders all walk.  The solider walks 21 steps in 21 seconds.  This is like the 21 gun salute that the military performs for funerals.  It represents the constant respect our nation has for the unknown soliders throughout our history that were never found or identified.  It also is to honor all known heroes who died for our country too.  Did you know that every minute of every day, a solider is marching back and forth in front of this tomb?  In the cold, rain, snow, heat…they walk.  In the summer, the shifts are 30 minutes long.  This does two things.  First, the solider doesn’t get heatstroke during the summer, and it also allows more tourists to see the changing of the guard during the high point of visitors.  During the winter, (now) they change once on the hour.

We wait for the changing of the guard.

(here is where the movie of the changing of the guard will be when i figure out how to download it!)

My favorite part of the cemetery.  I was very excited to see the area where women like me are honored.  It made me very proud to have served my country.

The gates that lead to the Women’s Memorial are incredibly impressive. 

From the top…the view is stunning.  

After our tour, we stopped in the gift shop.  I couldn’t resist this picture….

Look at what you can get cheap?  Can anyone say LAME DUCK??

This was a wonderful day.  I can’t wait for my first visitor so that I can go back soon!