Jeff Taylor

Friday:
Departure from home – 4:30 pm Friday, July 22nd. Drove 5 hours, on I-65, then to I-64. This landed us in Owensville, Kentucky. $25 in gas, $65 in hotel fees.

Saturday:
Departure from Kentucky – 9:30 am Saturday, July 23rd. Drove 5.5 hours, on I-64, where we paid a total of $2.50 in tolls and where we started getting into the mountains – beautiful. We also ended up on I-81, which brought us into Harrisonburg, where we traveled on US-33 to the Massanutten (Yes, sounds kind of like ‘Mass of Nothing’) resort (apparently catering to golf and snow skiing). $25 in gas, some supplies from Walmart, deposit on the condo of $50.

Sunday:
Started going over the schedule to plan our activities. The big activity – the DC tour! we went up to the resort center to get our activity cards. While traveling back from the market we saw a very starved deer, very unfortunate. Activity cards – $99 each.

Monday:
Went to a time share sales pitch, which was only supposed to last two hours. This lasted five hours, but the guy trying to make the sale took us on a free ski lift ride to the top of the mountains. The view was simply amazing. After that we fished and got a pizza and called it a day. Money received – $80

Tuesday:
Didn’t do much for most of the day. Went to Rite-Aid to pick up some items. Also went to a candle-making class and did our laundry. Other than that we just chilled. Spent about $70 total, I think.

Wednesday:
Traveled to DC for site-seeing. The sites were incredible! We started off by seeing a blackhawk helicoptor (one of three that were seen over the period that we were there), while around the Iwo Jima memorial – that which has been compared to the signifigant site that was presented by the firefighters of New York on 9/11.

Tourist note: the security in D.C. was very evident, with the helicoptors patrolling the no-fly zones, the security while entering and exiting buildings, concrete walls outside of the buildings, etc..

We also drove by, but didn’t stop, the Pentagon. There was a very evident view of the damage that was done by the passenger airliner, but the building was repaired very rapidly.

While at Arlington cemetary we focused on seeing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (inscribed with the phrase “Here rests in honored glory an American Soldier known but to God”), which included the changing of the guard. The guards are stationed there 24×7, and were even there during the last hurricane, though they were authorized to leave thier post. We also went on to see the Eternal Flame, which marks the JFK burial site. There are a few things many people look for at Arlington cemetary, but it is also important to make note of the gravesites of those who served our country, as well as thier families.

After lunch we stopped at the Library of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of our time was spent in the Library of Congress, where we were scanned while entering and leaving (and I was harrassed while leaving about smoking, jokingly of course). The building structure was quite impressive. There were too many details to mention, but every point was different – different names, quotes, etc.. We were able to view many of the lawyers and senators looking up references, as others were looking up geneology information. Everyone else (those that were touring the building) were only allowed to view from sound-proof areas, as to not disturb those that were working. There were other sites there, such as two Bibles, but too many sites to mention.

We also took a trip by the White House for photographs, one of which was taken while I was on the cellular with my daughter, who wanted pictures of the White House. When I told her “I’m at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” she asked “You’re at the White House?” How she knew that, I’ll never know! Of course there was a live-in protester, as well. Some people need to get a life. Keep your cause. Everyone needs one. This is insane, though.

The next stop – one of the hightlights of the tour for me – was the war memorials. The first stop was the long overdue World War II memorial, representing the two arenas that the U.S. were involved in the war. The two tall monuments represented the Pacific and Atlantic fronts, with smaller monuments representing each state of the U.S., as well as the gold stars that stands for the soldiers who gave thier lives, and thus were represented by the hanging of a gold star in the window of thier loved ones. For more information, as well as the registry database, visit the WWII Memorial website.

We also visited a memorial to the nurses who play such a large part in any war, which diplays three women attending to a wounded soldier. In the same area are eight Weeping Willow trees, which represent the women who died in Vietnam.

A short walk away is the Vietnam War Memorial, which was built during the mid-80s. The polished black granite was questionable at first, but since has become something of a standard for those we’ve lost. Bear in mind, though – it is not the stones that are the memorial. The nearly 60,000 names that are inscribed on the wall are the memorial. It has been a very important site to many who leave tokens in memory of lost friends and family here, as well as those who never want to see a repeat of such a battle.

The Lincoln Memorial was also a short walk from the Vietnem Memorial. Being at one end of the reflecting pool, it has been a source of many movies and history, including the location from where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech.

The fabulous Korean War Memorial lies in walking distance from these sites as well. Each statue is unique and larger than life. On the far wall it is stated that “Freedom is not free.” Further down the wall are images in the wall, ghostly reminders of those that served and were lost. In the reflection of the wall are the images of the individual statues.

The last two memorials that we visited were the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial. The Jefferson is the white domed building which houses a statue of Thomas Jefferson, who authored the constitution of the infant United States. The FDR Memorial was laid out to represent the three terms of FDR’s presidency within four outdoor rooms, including statues of the fireside chats, the breadlines and Eleanor’ leadership for the United Nations. One room specifically struck me, displaying piles of rubble representing the second World War.

There are too many sites to see within Washington D.C. in a day, and the sites we viewed were limited due to time constraints. Having more time to stand and study the memorials, to see more will have to wait for another time, but it will happen.

Total day’s cost – about $200, covering travel, meals, souveniers

Thursday:
We recovered from all of the walking the day before. We also went to the local liquor store and did some glass etching. Now we’re drinking mixed drinks from the glasses we just etched. Spent about $100

Friday:
Getting packed up to go home. We also went to the Shenendoah caverns. They were nice, but obviously the laws for touching the formations were not being enforced. The guide also didn’t state why not to touch them.

Saturday:
Started the long ride home. It was a lot longer then the ride to Virginia. It took us about 18 hours!! But that also included stops at the the Hershey Park in Hershey, PA (too crowded and over-rated), as well as the crash site of flight 93, in Somerset, PA. The temporary memorial was beautiful. The site itself is on private property, but there is a large flag out at the site. The phrase “Lets Roll” seems to be the catch phrase for the brave souls that perished that day, September 11, 2001.

These photos, and many more, are now located in this site’s gallery.

The courts appear to know thier place. Why didn’t our president? Why didn’t Congress, or Jeb Bush? Everyone has to make a statement.

In reality this should have been kept at the local level. It didn’t happen. Too many people took interest in this case. While many intentions are honorable people need to learn where priorities are. People should take as much interest in thier local and state governments.

All the while it was an opportunity for individuals and organizations to share the big lights and cameras. The whole media circus over this poor woman was disgusting. Her parents should have NEVER let it get this far – and they should have known the consequences, that the protesters would not leave until the end.

This article pretty much says it all.

“This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends and the millions of people throughout the world who are praying for her safety,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Government Reform chairman Tom Davis said in a joint statement. “This fight is not over.”

This what was said about Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman who is in a persistent vegetative state – and has been for 15 years. Hope? Not likely. Who would want to live like that for such a period of time? I realize her parents want to give their daughter a chance, but it’s time to stop, and the government should stay out of it.

But the governemnt hasn’t stopped. It’s gone before congress. Even the president has had his word on it, saying “where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern.”

I realize this has gotten a lot of publicity (way too much), but people need to get real. If they want to help, they should do it in thier own area.

Two weeks ago my worst nightmare came true. The thing that runs through a parents mind, but then you push it out. You think ‘It’s better that I don’t think about those things’ right? I get home from work and receive a phone call… there’s been an accident…

My family is a very close one, so when I get a call and my cousin asks me if I’m sitting down… well… I was told that my two neices, ages 18 and 19, were in a car accident. Davyna, 19, had been life-lined by helicopter to a local hospital. Unfortunately the news didn’t stop there, but my heart had.

We love you Melissa and miss you. We thank the heavens that we still have your sister, and only wish you could be here too, but since you can’t we will help your mom and dad to take care of little Kristina. I just hope you know how much you girls are loved.