G.A.S.P.

I began the following day (4-13) with a visit to George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon. Washington lived here from 1754 until his death in 1799, and the home was the centerpiece of an 8000-acre estate.  The home tour (for a modest $9) includes a walk-through of the first floor living quarters and the second floor bedrooms.  The final upstairs room was George and Martha’s bedroom and contains the bed in which George died of Quincy’s disease (a bacterial infection of the respiratory system).  He and Martha are buried on the grounds of the estate.

From there I rode to Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington D.C.  There is a very nice bike path that runs all the way from Mt. Vernon to Arlington (and maybe well beyond).  I started on the bike path, but quit after a couple of miles and rode the rest of the way on the Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway.  I did so because the bike trail was very winding and slow and because there was very little traffic on the highway.  It made perfectly good sense to me, but not so to at least one driver who passed me.  As he passed, he emphatically pointed with his index finger (thrusting it three times to the right - toward the bike path).  A simple point would have been fine, but his “attitude” really bothered me, so I selected one of my digits and returned his gesture with three thrusts toward the sky.

Arlington National Cemetery is special – a place of great beauty and for solemn reverence. It’s the final resting-place of over 245,000 servicemen and family members, with more notables than can be mentioned.  John F. Kennedy’s gravesite is here as well as that of his brother Robert.  One of the most visited sites is the Tomb of the Unknowns, where I witnessed the very impressive “changing of the guard.”  I also walked just outside the cemetery grounds to see the Iwo Jima (Marine Corp) Memorial.

Click on the bicyclist to see photographs of Arlington National Cemetery.