Buses, Trains, subways, restricted speeds, guys named Bob, Arlington Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknown Solider, Iwo Jima performance, and EARTHQUAKES!

To get tickets to go on a subway train that went to Arlington National Cemetery, we took a bus to the train station.

On the bus, there was strangely a bumpy sensation. My mom was texted by her mom, saying that an earthquake was felt in Virgina, Maryland, NYC Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. I didn't feel it that much. All I felt was a rumble and a few bumps. Mom's mom (I love saying that) said it was a 5.8.

We then boarded an uncrowded train, hoping to get to L'Enfant Plaza, where we would transfer to another train to get to Arlington Cemetery. The announcer said the subway would be going at a restricted speed as a precaution to the effects of the earthquake. All about this time, people were getting in, and telling their experiences at the time of the earthquake. Most were in a building, some walking down the street and one guy said, "I was just taking my shower when the ground shook and I said 'What was that?"'

The subway went slower than previous ones I had been on, but it still went pretty fast. We got to see nothing but subway, but it was still enjoyable with the family and I joking about the earthquake.

We got off from that train, and went down stairs, to wait for the other on the blue line. It was crowded. All different kinds of people, red and yellow, black and white, all were crowded around, waiting for the train. Business people, tourists, locals, even a computer scientist, all were there. If you breathed, you breathed on somebody. You were literally shoulder to shoulder from another.

The train wasn't much better. Sure, most people had gone on the previous train, but dang!, after people filed in, it got much more crowded.

A red haired man with glasses was reading a newspaper when I got in beside him. Dad was above me, holding on to the rail.Mom and Rebecca were on the other side. It got heavily more crowded, so a lot of people were crowding over me. The guy's name happened to be Bob. After talking about the earthquake, bit by bit I got him talking. I found out he worked at the Library of Congress, and that he was a librarian. He was little grumpy (at all the people being there) but all in all he was pretty nice. Just a little boring.

When it was our stop to go to Arlington, I said goodbye to Bob, and charged my way out. I say this literally, and I mean it. The subway train was literally filled up with people. There was no room left.

I probably wouldn't of gotten out if a lady screamed in a new jersey accent, "HELLO?! THERE ARE PEOPLE TRYING TO GET... A FAMILY TRYING TO GET OUT! MAKE A WAY FOR THEM!"

Some people moved, but I mostly had to push my way out. I finally got out. Dad counted heads.

We got out of underground, and finally got out. "I'm so glad to see the light of day," I said. We saw a sign saying Arlington Cemetery Parking, behind a bush. We went to it, and entered, going straight for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

There were so many graves in there. They were all spread out in a straight line, having people as far back as WWI. There were so many graves! And for a while they all looked the same.

Some were sad, the grave saying 20 years to 30. It made me appreciate our troops even more after that.

The other members of the family were like that too.

A sign said Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All this time I had been asking my parents what it was. Dad finally said,"A long time ago, they found the dead body of an unknown soldier. Nobody claimed him, no one knew who he was. So, they had this idea to make him the symbol of all unknown soldiers, and they assigned guards to 'guard' him, signifying that the unknown solider... all unknown soldiers, are never alone and that we appreciated them and are with them.

"There are guards guarding it, and every 30 minutes, they do a ceremony, changing the guard. "

We got up to The Tomb, and saw a marine that was thin and had a stern face, and marine clothes (dress blues). He had a rifle type gun standing in front of the tomb. The tomb was under ground. A few minutes later, another man without a gun, came up with another guard. There was a sort of ceremony, where the formal guard kept getting away from it, and the new guard getting closer. It was really cool, and it made me cry.

Then the prior guard left with the other marine.

After seeing the Tomb, we got on a metro bus that was going to see the Marine Silent Drill Team and drum crew.

It takes place at the Iwo Jima Monument.

We got seats (more like areas on the ground) directly across from the Iwo Jima Monument. All veterans got to sit in high class seats, but we sat on the ground. The performance was amazing! All of the unity, flipping of rifles, no commands, wonderful music, and great choreography. It had it all. The only thing it didn't have was a hippo on roller skates.

But seriously, it was SOOOO good.

After getting recommendations to go to a Mexican restaurant called Santa Fey Cafe, we crossed streets and got to it. A man greeted us at the door, and I later got to know him as Kip. He was very nice, and the dinner was very satisfying. Even after the meal, he got us a cab! So nice!

In the cab, we drove all the way to Maryland. Then, we got out of the cab and into our jeep.

Well, that day I experienced an earthquake.

-Andrew.