Arlington Cemetery

I'm trying to catch up on my travel posts. This is from DC in October 2010.

We were on a tight schedule this day and our biggest mistake was not eating before we went to the cemetery! It was a long ride and we thought we'd get something at the cemetery. Well, food is not allowed at the cemetery. And, we were there for hours even though we 'hurried.' One of the girls in our group had her blood sugar crashing and her mom talked one of the employees into getting some food (from his own stash). But, the rest of us went HUNGRY.
 

 

I loved that we visited DC in fall. It was beautiful!

 

 

The Kennedy's.

 

 

We got to the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers fairly early and sat and waited for quite awhile. But, it was a beautiful day and we had nice seats on the stairs. We didn't realize this was a day they would change the flowers so we got up and left our seats. It was disappointing that we didn't see it, but we were tired and still had a long walk ahead of us. And, one of the moms had a grave she wanted to find. We ended up going on without them. Everyone was tired & hungry.

 

My favorite photo of the day.

I read that the rocks on the tombstones are a Jewish way of paying respect. And, when I looked at the stones I'd taken photos of, they do have the Star of David on them, though I also saw one with a cross.

Dickens on the Strand

In December, Alex & I attended "Dickens on the Strand" for the third year in a row. This holiday festival in Galveston celebrates the Victorian London of Charles Dickens. There is a parade, food, entertainment, and a visit by the "Queen" and her Beefeaters. Also, many of the spectators dress up in period costumes.

We once again stayed at the Hilton Galveston Island Resort. We really enjoyed the hotel last year. And, this year, we got a great deal on a room with a full gulf view! On Friday night, we drove up after school and then went to dinner, also like last year, at Rainforest Cafe. Then, we went to a movie, Arthur Christmas.

 

The next morning, we spent some time on the beach. We took a lot of photos, and Alex found this Monarch butterfly in the water. It was still alive and we ended up putting it on some foliage.

 

It was a nice day and we watched some people surfing. We saw several of them actually surf!
 

Then, we headed to The Strand, the historic part of Galveston where the festival is held. We parked about a half a mile away and we were thrilled that there were some bicycle taxis available this year. Ours was very friendly and we were happy for the ride. He took this photo for us.

We watched quite a few street acts, including this man who juggled fire...and hammered a nail into his nose! Gross! And, ouch!

 

Some Victorian beggars. The crowd was actually throwing coins for them to gather.
 

We love chalk art! There were only a few of these, but they are always fun to look at.

Jacob Marley from The Christmas Carol?
 

One of the streets act was a bird show! I love birds!

 

The start of the parade!
 

And, Queen Victorian in the parade.

Lastly, our favorite act for the third year in a row...Merrie Mary. She's a juggler and we love her!

Looking Back at 2011...and Ahead to 2012

I still have a lot of posts to catch up on for 2011. Our "big" trips were as follows...

1. JAPAN!!! What an amazing adventure! And, we got home just 2 days before the tsunami.

2. FLORIDA - We spent several days at the beach and visited Disney for the first time.

3. MONTANA/WYOMING - Where we visited the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and more! Our "Wild West" vacation. What are our plans for 2012???

1. WASHINGTON DC - Alex & I are headed there for Spring Break. We were there about a year and a half ago, but there is a lot more we want to see!

2. TWO WEEKS IN EUROPE! We will probably spend a couple of days in London, at least a week in France, and several days in The Netherlands. All of these are 'firsts'.

3. FLORIDA & SAVANNAH, GA - We will be visiting Amelia Island in Florida and spending some time in Savanah - our first time to Georgia!

Visit Fort Worth

I loved this post over at Family Rambling about things to do in Fort Worth! We were just there last weekend at the Kimbell Art Museum. We've also visited the Amon Carter Museum, the Museum of Science & History, and the zoo. But, it looks like there are a lot of other places we need to visit next time!