Destination DC -

The day started with a shock. There was a message on my phone that the AirBNB room we booked in Arlington, VA was cancelled due to plumbing problems. We searched for alternate locations and ended up at the Holiday Inn Crystal City. The hotel is conveniently located the one I’ve stayed at before.

After breakfast we packed the bikes and started our short, 400-mile route. It was an easy ride until we hit Richmond where we encountered the usual high-speed craziness and inevitable slowdowns. We made it safely without any close calls.

We showered and went to dinner at my favorite restaurant in the area, Freddiie’s Beach Bar. The food was excellent and the atmosphere entertaining.

We rode into DC over the Memorial Bridge and, after circling a bit, parked with a few hundred other bikes near the Wall.

We walked along the Wall and visited other monuments in the area while waiting for the vigil to begin.

We walked past the Lincoln Memorial on our way to the Korean War Memorial.

We took in the District of Columbia’s World War I Memorial on our way to …

The World War II memorial.

We returned to the Vietnam War Memorial and observed the candlelight vigil. A group of Gold Star Mothers placed a wreath at the Wall while buglers played “Taps.” After visiting the memorials and experiencing the vigil, Bob observed, “We certainly know how to honor our dead.”