Second, I thought it would be important to note that many of the places I WANTED to see were not easily accessible- or for that matter very friendly as far as trying to help me GET there by any means necessary (I'm looking at you Luray Caverns and Monticello!) As a non-driver (for now), I accept that buses, trains, planes, cabs, and my two feet are going to be my only options until such time I have a driver's license and vehicle. I'm not opposed to taking a bus to someplace and hoofing it or cabbing it to my final destination- even though it will be expensive and time consuming. But to not even be able to tell me the closest Greyhound or Amtrak stations without various customer service reps speaking to/emailing me like I was a complete idiot was very frustrating.
Third, I have a TON of friends from Virginia (mostly from the Tidewater region: Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk, Hampton, etc.), so I want to thank them for all of their advice on visiting places- and where to avoid. I think that I got a pretty decent selection, and for Part I, I will focus on my adventures at Arlington National Cemetery and the National Firearms Museum.
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| View within the cemetery with Washington Monument in the background |
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
I actually went to the Cemetery in August- the same day I completed the first half of Washington, DC, but since this was technically Virginia, I decided to wait to discuss my time there. Most of these pictures were taken on my crappy Blackberry Tour with a few taken on my iPod when the Blackberry decided to die (you know RIM...I'm trying really hard to remain faithful to the Blackberry brand, but this piece of junk is working my last technological nerve...however, I digress!).
I spent about two hours there, which I thought would be plenty of time, but ended up being hardly sufficient. I was quite surprised at how much learning and beauty there was to take in. My first stop (after the Visitor's Center) was the building dedicated to women in the armed forces. An event was being held in there the day I went, so I didn't get to see the entire building, but the displays of various women's uniforms throughout the services and eras was very cool. From there, I hoofed it past the graves/memorial sites of Presidents Taft and Kennedy. I overheard the Tourmobile buses discuss notable graves but honestly I didn't focus too much on the announcements. There are THOUSANDS of graves there (300,000+), and the care taken to keep the grass trimmed, memorial trees pruned, and statues and tombstones clean is tremendous and to be commended. I took pictures of a few memorials and statues that I thought were especially striking, such as the Nurses Memorial, the Confederate Memorial, and the McClellan Gate (the original entrance to the Cemetery).
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| The McClellan Gate (photo from the Arlington National Cemetery website- much nicer than what I was able to capture!) |
I also watched the Changing of the Guard ceremony that in the summer takes place every 30 minutes at the Tomb of the Unknowns (other times of the year, the change happens every hour). The Tomb of the Unknowns (or Tomb of the Unknown Solider- an unidentified American soldier from WWI) has been guarded by the US Army 24/7 since July 2, 1937. The Changing of the Guards is a ritual that relieves whichever soldier is on current watch from his protective marching back and forth in front of the Tomb. It involves two soldiers coming out, one of whom gives the commands as the other two do a bunch of fancy gun-work to eventually have the solider that was on duty march off with the commanding solider (I will go on the record and say I have not a clue about the formal ranks of these individuals or the formal names for the movements they completed- but I have total respect for them!). I wasn't able to actually RECORD the ceremony (again, I only had a dying Blackberry at the time, not my nifty new digital camera) but anyone familiar with military or marching band movements will be able to appreciate the precision and synchronization needed to perform this without any errors. I would suggest watching it for anyone interested in US history, or military history in general.
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| I wasn't THIS tired at the end of the day, but it was indeed a lot of walking |
I truly only had two downsides to my visit to Arlington National Cemetery. One was that getting up to some of the memorials to get a closer look or take pictures was a little awkward having to literally walk over graves to get to them (most especially with the Confederate and Nurses Memorials). This made me feel like I was being disrespectful, even though other people strolled through the sometimes too-thick grass with no hesitation. Perhaps I've just watched too many zombie movies- but I was really paranoid walking over grave sites and was just WAITING for a skeletal hand to grab my ankles lol.
Other than that, I would say take advantage of the Tourmobile for two reasons: the sun and company. Again, I was there in the middle of August, and even my veteran walking legs were tired and worn out climbing the hills and wandering through the unbelievably large Cemetery. I was hot, thirsty, and worn out by the time I hobbled back to the Visitor Center to rest before heading back home. Second, because the place is so huge, I often found myself completely alone. It can be either very peaceful- or very creepy- to be the only breathing human around and as far as you can see there is nothing but trees and tombstones. I always felt better when I could see someone stooping to read a name or aiming their cameras in the distance to photograph a statue. Again, perhaps I've watched too many horror movies! (*UPDATE* As of 10/31/2011, Tourmobile will no longer exist. Sorry!)
I actually learned about this place by chance. I was at work, and a visitor came and asked me about a gun museum he had heard about. I had no clue what he was talking about, but a quick Google search had me learning about the National Rifle Association and their collection in the National Firearms Museum. Even though the visitor didn't want to follow the seemingly lengthy Metro directions to get there, I was officially intrigued and decided I would go along and find this museum myself.
I went out on a rainy Wednesday and rode the Metrorail for over an hour to reach the end of the orange line, caught a Fairfax County Cue bus and rode for about 30 minutes, and then walked just over a half mile and found myself standing at the NRA headquarters with signs indicating that the museum was also on the property. For a brief second, I was nervous. Everything I had ever heard about the NRA wasn't exactly welcoming- that it was an organization full of white, mostly male, uber-conservative hunting maniacs led by Charlton Heston that collected guns and animal heads like trophies. I am probably a complete 180-degrees away from that image. However, my courage kicked in and I walked through the glass doors bold as brass, determined to see this museum regardless of who would greet me on the interior of it!
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| Den display in the Peterson Gallery |
I have to admit that after my visit to the Andy Warhol Museum, this has been my most rewarding site find thus far! The first thing I noticed was a room full of rifles and hand guns in state-of-the-art glass cases, a wall of certificates and awards, and what looked like a very ornate smoker's den to the far right (complete with carved ivory tusks framing a faux fireplace) and a glass enclosed display of Gatlings aimed at the visitor (with bullet casing art in the background) to the far left. I had stepped into the first gallery of the Museum- the Robert E. Peterson Gallery. Filled with guns once owned by people such as JFK and Annie Oakley, and other odd and end curiosity pieces, this room set the tone for the quality one could expect from the rest of the facility.
Organized in pretty linear format (historically), the museum goes from the earliest guns (including the oldest "gun" (arm cannon) on display in America that dates to 1350, and a gun that came over on the Mayflower), up through the Revolutionary War (with special emphasis on Virginia's militia) and the development of the Second Amendment- the right to bear arms, of course. From there, you begin to learn about advancements of gun machinery and manufacturing and how these developments helped (and hurt) up through and beyond the Civil War. Displays about WWI and WWII (including a cool "bomb scene" where Allied Forces are picking through the abandoned weapons of defeated Nazi troops). They have a replica of Teddy Roosevelt's study that you can walk in see displays about his storied history with rifles. There are displays about the guns in children's toys from the 40s and 50s, guns used in games (as in amusement park target games and paintball), and of course sport and hunting displays. One really neat fact I learned is that the Beretta company is the oldest family owned business in the world, having been in business since the 1400s.
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| Display of the uniforms and weapons of the Virginia Militia |
I didn't check out the gift shop, I didn't have spare cash and it didn't look that impressive to begin with. I did, however, read more information about the NRA (which was displayed everywhere) including a brochure aimed directly at women that highlighted the benefits of membership for both genders. I appreciated that although guns and weapons can be a political hot-button topic, nothing (other than the historic presentation of the Second Amendment) came across as blatantly trying to sway the visitor one way or the other. I also liked that throughout the museum were computer stations where you can learn very detailed information about each and every artifact in the collection by selecting the gallery and case it is displayed in. While some of the exhibits (such as the current temporary display about guns in movies) were made awkward by encasing them in sometimes cabinet looking fixtures, overall this museum was outstanding. I would encourage everyone to check it out!
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| Golden Rugers on display- look at that detail work! |
As always, I encourage you to check out and "like" my Facebook page. Feel free to email me at fiftystates5years @ yahoo.com with questions, comments, or suggestions. Follow me on Twitter (@50states5years), and by all means leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
I'm having a really great time planning these outings, and it's exciting that so many people have been so supportive! I've planned out my Maryland excursions (hint, I'll have my sea-legs by the end of all these adventures!) and will finish up Virginia before Thanksgiving.
