On our way back to the eastern US, we had a little stop over in Nashville before heading out to North Carolina, then over to Hazzard, KY, and up to Jonestown, PA, where we witnessed our first snow of the season; a Hollywood type, fat-flaked, slow-falling, moon-twinkling snow.  In the beginnings of a tradition, it snowed the last time we visited Jonestown as well.The culmination of this last leg was a performance at the ACSI convention in Washington DC.  We have done many ACSI events and they are always enjoyable, however, it is rare that we visit our nation’s capital.  On Sunday we played 2 morning services at Covenant Life Church, then had to check out of our hotel before performing there in the evening.  Later that night, we would have to load-out of Covenant and load-in for the ACSI at the Marriot.  Because of the time crunch, the guys and I drove the truck and trailer down into DC to check our luggage into the hotel while the rest of the band stayed behind doing a string master class.  After unloading all of our luggage into the one room available to us, we started back to Covenant Life,  however, a confusion in our directions sent us into downtown DC with our 40′ vehicle.  There we were on Pennsylvania Ave, passing the Washington Monument, the Capital Building, the White House.  Mario remarked, “There’s the white house.  It’s actually white.”  Yes Mario, hence the name.  As we attempted to navigate a new path, we circled around the monuments a few more times.  I thought, “Surely there’s nothing suspicious about a white truck and trailer slowly lurking around and around our nation’s most sensitive district.”  A few more turns and we were back on our way.  For a look at how we manage to navigate at all, see Don’t Fence Me In.I could go on about the late night load-out from Covenant and the later night load-in to the Marriot, parked outside an alleyway, having to move all our gear in one small elevator to the 2nd floor and down a quarter mile through narrow and winding kitchen hallways to a ballroom that was still being used by a prior party, but I won’t get into that.  Though, I might add that, we had eaten dinner at a barbecue joint the previous evening, and both me and Ben awoke about 3 AM feeling nauseous and running for the bathroom.  We spent the whole day pale and dehydrated with a food born illness.  Ben was particularly bad, being listless and rather skeletal.I have some family who live just outside DC.  My uncle works at the Pentagon and offered to take a few of us on a tour.  He met us at the hotel and accompanied us to there.  After a series of ID and security checks, Uncle Charlie introduced us to his friend Robert, who is a military strategist, and had recently returned from overseas.  Robert would be accompanying us on our visit as well.  There are no pictures allowed inside, or outside of the Pentagon, so you’ll have to just trust me on this.  The Pentagon is HUGE!  So big, in fact, that it used to house a full shopping mall, post office, several banks, gym facilities, and an Olympic size swimming pool.  Much of that has been moved off the property to allow for more office space, which at this point is still not enough, even though it is one of the largest office buildings in the world, housing more than 23,000 workers.  And even though there are over 17 miles of corridors, I am told that one can get to any point in the building, from any other point in the building in under 7 minutes.

courtesy of DoD.  Photo by Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force.

We were surprised to find many exhibits throughout the corridors displaying the art and history of the military, whether it be memorabilia from the major wars, pictures of the oldest surviving veterans, or hand sewn quilts memorializing the attacks of 9/11,  created by the nation’s artists, citizens, and children. My Uncle explained how he was present in the C wing when the plane hit there, crashing through the walls and offices of rings E, D, and C before coming to a fiery stop.  His office was located on the third floor of the D ring, above the path of the plane.  He told us how that particular wing was being renovated and was half empty, resulting in drastically reduced fatalities as many workers had been removed to another location during the renovation.  The windows had recently been made shatterproof resistant, which prevented flying glass from injuring people, merely crumbling in the intense heat.  The walls and floors had been reinforced.  He described how the floor buckled but did not collapse for about 45 minutes.  And even in the midst of all this chaos, the most crucial defense operations were safely bunkered below ground, in full operation.  Though the Pentagon has, for many years, provided a means for members of all faiths to have services within its confines, it had never had a dedicated chapel.  In the rebuilding of the C wing, they constructed a monument and a small, quiet chapel at the site of the plane’s entry.  Being in this space was a very moving experience.  All of the names of the victims in the Pentagon and on American Airlines Flight 77 are etched into two marble tablets.  To read more about the 9/11 Memorial Chapel click here.  After some time, we headed outside to visit the newly finished 9/11 memorial.

Click here to read more about the memorial. 

In the evening, we met up with Uncle Charlie and my Aunt Janet, as well as with my cousin Gretchen and her family, for dinner.  They brought us to Old Town Alexandria for dinner, to a tavern and museum built ca. 1785, where George Washington had supped, and where Gretchen is the museum director.  We partook of George Washington’s favorite dish, Orange-glazed duckling with scalloped potatoes and corn pudding, complete with pewter dishware.  Then Gretchen took us next door to the museum portion for a personal tour of the estate.

After relishing George Washington’s favorite meal and dancing where he may have danced (I hear George Washington was quite the dancer), it was goodbye and off to bed for a short night’s rest before a long drive home. To visit Gadsby’s Tavern go here http://www.gadsbystavernrestaurant.com To visit the museum go here http://oha.alexandriava.gov/gadsby.