| arlington |
| this was a pretty special day of our trip. mark's dad had flown down for the day, and he took us on a tour of where mark grew up- annandale, virginia. we saw their old house, mark's two schools and even stopped at the mcdonald's mark frequented in his pre-vegetarian childhood. we ended the day at arlington national cemetary, where my grandmother is buried. it was the first time i had been to her grave, and while sad, it prompted some really great memories of an amazing woman who continues to deeply influence my life. |
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| now, i know it looks a bit funny to be tipping a mini-bottle of gin to my grandma, but my mom really wanted me to do it. see, in many asian cultures (this is the growing up in hawaii influence coming through) it's customary to bury your loved ones with things they enjoyed during their lives. before you get the wrong idea, my mom just thought grandma would like a taste of gin during the hot summer months, as she was known to favor gin martinis when she was alive. i couldn't help but oblige. cheers grandma! |
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| after visiting my grandmother's grave, we watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. the ceremony is pretty impressive on its own, but is made even more so when you know that it happens every half hour, 24 hours a day, rain or shine. when one of the hurricanes came through DC in september, they were given the choice to forgo the ceremony. the soldiers refused to cancel even one of the guard changings. |
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