Day 17 – An Unusual Place For Dogs To Enjoy

What To Do Today?

We weren’t sure what we wanted to do today., but since it’s our last day in the D.C. area, we wanted to do something and not stay at the RV park.

We thought about going to the grand opening of the Law Enforcement Museum here in Washington DC, but then we found out that you had to buy tickets in advance, and they were sold out.

We learned from our tour guide that there was a 5k run planned today as part of the opening of the Law Enforcement Museum, so we really didn’t want to go downtown because of the crowds.

So….we decided to go to Georgetown. Steve had expressed an interest in seeing an historic cemetery in Georgetown, and since Ken has a keen interest in old cemeteries too, it seemed like a good place to check out.  I liked the idea of walking around (even in a cemetery!) so we loaded up the dogs and took off for Georgetown around 11:00 a.m.

As it turns out, we still experienced some of the crowds because our GPS took us right through the downtown area to get over to Georgetown.  I didn’t mind because there are so many beautiful buildings to see while waiting in traffic.

 

A Happy Coincidence

The streets in Georgetown are very narrow and parking is scarce.  We found the cemetery with no problem, but everywhere around it had “no parking” signs.  After 20 minutes of looking, we spotted a parking spot, and on a pole right next to the spot was this sign:

This was great because we had planned on leaving the dogs in the truck while we toured the cemetery, but now they could go on the tour too!

We had to “register” the dogs, and then they were given little metal tags and some poop bags and welcomed onto the grounds.

Oak Hill Cemetery

The cemetery was founded in 1848 and is the most incredible cemetery I have ever seen.  It’s not so much because notable people are buried there (although there are some to be sure), but it’s the winding stone paths, the stately trees and way it is layed out that makes it so unique and beautiful.  It is a relatively small cemetery at 22 acres and was built on a hill over looking Rock Creek.  It is heavily  terraced and there are original cobblestone paths here and there.  A beautiful old stone bridge takes you back in time when you walk over it.  The picture at the top of this post shows Steve standing on the bridge.

Windy had an absolute blast running all around off leash, chasing squirrels and playing with other dogs.  Shelby moved at a much slower pace, but she seemed to enjoy herself.

Abraham Lincoln’s Son

There is a very old marble vault in the cemetery that once held the remains of Abraham Lincoln’s 11 year old son, Willie.

Dick has read accounts that over the three years his son’s remains were there, President Lincoln would visit him often.

After Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, Willie’s casket was exhumed and placed aboard the presidential funeral train for the journey back to Illinois so father and son would be buried together.

We spent a leisurely few hours walking around the cemetery, chatting with other guests and just enjoying being in such a beautiful place.  There are many faded headstones and some foundation issues, but we had a lengthy conversation with the head groundskeeper who said there are engineers being hired to make repairs to the existing area and to make plans for future burials.

After leaving the cemetery, we tried to have lunch in Georgetown, but the traffic was just horrible and parking near the restaurants was non existent.  We headed back towards the College Park area (where our RV park is located), but stopped at a B.J.’s Restaurant near Leesburg, VA first for a late lunch/early dinner.

Once we got “home”, Ken and Steve settled down inside the trailer to watch a movie, and Dick and I braved the cold evening by enjoying the firepit and talking to our neighbors.

For a day with no plans, it sure turned out to be a fun and interesting one.  The dogs are completely exhausted.

Tomorrow we leave D.C. and head for New York!