Park Units 170-175: Theodore Roosevelt Island, George Washington Memorial Parkway; Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove, Dwight D. Eisnenhower Memorial; Arlington House; Hampton NHS

 We packed up our mountain of things from the hotel and checked out early this morning. We headed first to Theodore Roosevelt Island which is a memorial to the president and a beautiful little preserve with trails and a monument. The parking lot was almost full since there was a running group there, and it is always nice to see the parks being used. We crossed the narrow bridge to get to the island and made our way to the monument area, then returned to the car. A nice walk on a cold day!

Next we drove on the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove. Libby had fallen asleep so I crossed the bridge to the grove by myself. It was empty, peaceful, and had a magnificent view of the water to the Washington Monument. I would like this type of memorial to myself if I ever get famous, ha ha! I really loved the few moments of respite from the busyness we had over the last few days.

Next we headed back into the city to visit the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. We were waiting until the bookstore opened at 10:00 to visit. We were interested in this memorial because of the controversial design that the Eisenhower family did not want. It is a huge monument and makes a bold statement. Whether or not it is true to Eisenhower's life and personality is better left to someone more knowledgeable than us. It was a peaceful and quiet moment on a Saturday morning with no-one else around.

We got our stamps at the bookstore and headed in the car to Arlington House. Silly me, I did not realize that this was within the confines of Arlington National Cemetery. I thought it was separate and we could park there. Wrong! We had to park at the cemetery and then go through the visitor center for a security screening. Then we made a very long walk up a very steep hill through the cemetery. It took about 30 minutes to walk and it was cold and uphill. We were exhausted by the time we got to Arlington House. The site memorializes the family of Robert E. Lee and the enslaved people who ran the farm. We listened to a very interesting talk by one of the rangers about how the National Park Service has changed their views so dramatically about how they present the civil war - for example, labeling the southern states as "traitors" and focusing on the enslaved peoples lives. We were very pleased to hear about the new perspective that is being considered. When we were ready to go, the bookstore was closed and we panicked that we couldn't get the stamps (this is the location for the Roosevelt Island stamp and the LBJ Memorial Grove stamp too). We asked one of the rangers what we could do, and the happily produced a box with all the stamps that they keep at the house when the bookstore closes for lunch!

The walk down was easier and it was very interesting to be at Arlington National Cemetery again. It's so similar to the Calverton National Cemetery where my dad is buried, and has a stark beauty in the formality.

Finally, we headed north on I95 and stopped one more time at Hampton National Historic Site. "Once possibly the largest private home in America by 1790, the Hampton mansion serves as a grand example of late-Georgian architecture in America. Hampton is also the story of its people, as the estate evolved through the actions of the Ridgely family, enslaved African Americans, European indentured servants, and paid laborers within a nation struggling to define its own concept of freedom." We toured the outside grounds because we were too late for the house tour. We also met the same park ranger who had chatted with us at Fort McHenry a few days ago. He remembered us and asked about what parks we visited and we shared a good laugh about how hard it is to get to Arlington House. It was freezing cold but we enjoyed being outside for a little while and hope to return in the spring to see the house and enjoy more of the farm.