SUNDAY ... A DAY OF REFLECTION

sofa bed ... kicked our ass! LOL

Sunday morning started out with a small snafu in our room when we went to fold up Bonnie's sofa bed. Somehow we got it half jammed in the sofa and it got stuck. Not only could we not fold it up, we couldn't pull it back out either! We left a note for housekeeping to see if they could get it fixed for us. Because Sunday was the day scheduled for the Rolling Thunder motorcycle parade through DC, we decided to head in the opposite direction from downtown. But not before my sister, Bonnie, met up with Bobbie Scholley, a friend and fellow member of the Women Diver's Hall of Fame, for breakfast and a quick visit. Bonnie is currently the serving president of the organization. Bobbie is a retired officer from the service and later that day we would see her bio in the Women's memorial museum at Arlington National Cemetery. Patty and I strolled a few blocks into Georgetown for our

breakfast, down at alley (literally, a place called Cady's Alley) to find another trendy little breakfast place, Leopold's. Our hotel staff recommended it and we would never have found this place without their directions!When we came back from breakfast, housekeeping was still fiddling with the bed. When they were done... they left us a note.

We all met up back at the hotel and headed out on the bicycles towards Arlington National Cemetery. There I had one of the most sobering and heartbreaking experiences of the trip. Seeing the row upon row of gravestones, knowing that so many men and women served our country and many of them gave their lives doing so, is a humbling experience. And walking among those gravestones, I couldn't help but think just how damned stupid war is, what a waste of human life to fight to the death over things that are usually political debates started by individuals who have nothing to lose by sending those young people to fight. But alas, I digress...

Our first stop was at the Women's memorial, and it was a fascinating history of women, most unknown to the American public, who served our country with great distinction. There I learned of a female doctor who served our country gallantly, treating wounded service men during one of our earliest conflicts, was awarded the medal of honor for her service, only to have it rescinded because she didn't actively serve in the military! Following her death, the medal was returned to her family. But how sad and shallow that was.

From there, we headed up the hill to John F. Kennedy's family plot and finished off our visit at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We arrived at the changing of the guard and stayed through the changing of the wreaths. The woeful sound of the trumpet playing taps grabs at your heartstrings and leaves a lump in your throat. I found my eyes leaking...

We hopped on the bikes and headed back towards our hotel, only to discover that M street into Georgetown was a parking lot of jammed up cages and motorcycles. It was a little harrowing, maneuvering the bicycles between the parked cars and the irate drivers sitting in traffic. Bonnie opted to walk her bike back to the hotel as she was too nervous to thread the needle through the traffic. Patty and I rode back and upon

arrival at our hotel, I dubbed us Urban Ninjas! We put the bikes up in our suite and Patty walked back downtown to catch up with Bonnie and walk back with her.. Because of the traffic situation, we opted to park the bikes for the rest of the day.

We grabbed a late lunch across the street, picked up more wine and some groceries from Trader Joe's, which is right across the street from the hotel, and proceeded to party like the sisters we are for the rest of the day, settling for some Papa John's pizza to finish off the evening.

Bonnie and I at the Women's Memorial

Bonnie and I hoofing the bikes up a hill coming out of Arlington Cemetery