Arlington, VA (USA)

[after getting an early lunch (1100L), I decided to drive over to Theodore Roosevelt Island again (see APR 2012) - I managed to find a parking spot (1145L) and then hiked around for several hours, enjoying the weather, flowers and new leaves on the trees - it wasn't too crowded, which also made it nice - around 1430L, I headed over towards the Pentagon, looking for the 9/11 Memorial there - I stumbled across the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac - it was located on Columbia Island (which I learned today was part of Washington DC - strange, I always thought I was in Virginia...) - I enjoyed a nice walk in the pines and other flowering trees before driving a little further to the Pentagon parking lot - I don't think I have ever been as close as this - for the first time, I also found the entrance/exit for the Metro stop - it wasn't too hard to park (since it was the weekend) and I quickly located the Memorial - it was located on West side of the building and was comprised of 184 benches (the bottom looked like the bow of a ship sailing in a calm pool of water), representing each of the people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 - I've now been to three sites that link to that terrible day (see AUG 2008 and JUN 2012) - there was a volunteer ("ranger") who provided some interpretation - she pointed out the Air Force Memorial, which I had always wondered about ("Was it there on 9/11?" - answer is "No") - once I finished at the Pentagon, it took me a bit of navigation (and taking some wrong turns) to backtrack to the Air Force Memorial - it looks like the contrails of three F-16s flying high into the sky - the construction reminded me a bit of the St. Louis Arch... - each of the Medal of Honor winners from the Army Air Corps and Air Force were listed on some massive walls nearby - perhaps the best thing about the site, though, was the view of Arlington National Cemetery and the Washington skyline - overall, each of these places was well worth the visit - I'm glad I ventured out today!]