It was HOT on our Pentagon trip! Really,REALLY HOT!

It's always a little nerve-wracking doing a trip to a new place, especially a venue like the Pentagon where there are strict security policies. But I was very fortunate that all of 52 of my passengers were incredibly patient and extremely prompt (and I had Paul along to help). Thank you, thank you everyone!

We made excellent time getting to the Pentagon. But that meant we had about a half-hour to kill before we were allowed to enter the security check-in building. I also learned--much to my dismay--that our bus was not allowed to drop off anywhere near the check-in building. We had to park about a quarter mile away. The Pentagon tour itself involves about a mile of walking, so adding another quarter mile may not seem like a big deal, but it was beyond hot on Friday and I had hoped to minimize time spent outdoors.

So it was a toss up whether to wait on the bus or hoof it over to the 9/11 Memorial which was about a half mile from the bus. Decided to take the trek to the memorial and had just enough time to snap a couple of pictures before it was time to head over to the check-in building.

I will say that the security process went much smoother than I had expected and we were allowed to enter the very well air-conditioned visitors' area to sit and relax before our tour started.

This is where I would normally tell you the details about our tour, but since I'm planning to do the trip again next year, you'll need to sign up for that trip and find out for yourself! What I will tell you is that the tour is informative, interesting, and there's nothing like watching your military guide in ceremonial dress uniform walk completely backwards for an hour (including on escalators) while conducting the tour.

We stopped at Pentagon Row for a lunch break. Again, this was my first visit, so I wasn't sure exactly what the layout was. Happily, the restaurants were situated together in one area, which made it easy for each person to find a place to suit his/her taste. I had a great salmon BLT (without the B) at Sine Irish Pub & Restaurant. Next trip I think I'll check out Champps.

Because of the weather, I cut our time at Arlington National Cemetery by a half hour. It was probably too short for some and too long for others, but it's one of those things where you have to try to find a happy medium. 

Paul and I walked over to the United States Marine Corps Memorial (a/k/a Iwo Jima memorial) because he had never seen it. As we were walking back, we came across a funeral procession where the casket was being transported via horse-drawn caisson. Very dignified and impressive.

I had wanted to see the Changing of the Guard again, but I couldn't deal with the blazing heat. I cannot even imagine how the guards are able to withstand the extreme temperatures in full dress uniform.

There was a threat of thunderstorms for the afternoon and they held off until right after our final rest stop of the day. Then the torrential downpour began. Kudos to our Delaware Express driver, Don Sapp, for his excellent driving skills! The sky cleared up as we drove over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, but just as we were about to hit the parking lot, the rain came again...in bucketfuls. Not the best way to end the day, but at least it was the END of the day!