Washington D.C. Weekend
I am back from a very memorable weekend in Washington D.C. with my sister-in law, niece and wife Rhonda.
The weather was beautiful with the temperatures reaching above 80 degrees. A far cry from the cold and wet weather we have been having here in New Jersey for the past few weeks.
One of the more memorable moments occurred as we were getting ready to view the White House on Saturday from the back forty - a National Park Service employee approached us and asked if we wanted tickets to view the White House grounds. We could not believe this opportunity and readily accepted the 4 tickets to the 12:30 public viewing. It seems that there are only 2 times during the year that they open the grounds to the public to view the White House gardens.
If viewing the White House and the elaborate gardens were not enough - as we entered the grounds, the Marine Band (The Presidents Own) were performing patriotic march music for all in attendance. For those that did not know, I spent 6 years in the Marine Corps playing trumpet at Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Marine Band San Diego. I am not nearly good enough to hold a candle to The President’s Own - but it did bring back some nice memories.
The Army Band (Pershings Own) were waiting in the shade for the Marine Band to finish their performance. I started to think how ironic it was that the Marines were FIRST (to fight) and the Army was coming in AFTER. You have to love the Army/Marine Corps rivalry!
We went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall where I played TAPS and viewed the panels of both Robert P. Sheppard and Frederick Y. Holjes whom our Memorial Park in Lebanon Borough were named after.
Other places visited include the Marine Corps Memorial, Capital Building, Botanical Gardens, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument.
I will post pictures from our trip in the next day or so.
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