Looking for walkies: Alexandria National Cemetery

Alexandria National Cemetery (16)
Originally uploaded by mmstudiosdc

It's much too hard these days to get my family to engage in a group activity, so I've decided to do a little documenting here on my blog on local places I'd like to take the four of us for a walk! Just a minor exertion, maybe with an educational bent or some gorgeous scenery, is all I'm looking for. We might even discover a wonderful place that we'd never given a second glance. Such as, the location I'm profiling today: the 5.5 acres of The Alexandria National Cemetery.

On my commute, I drive by this cemetery twice a day and have, until now, never done any research on it or thought twice about its place in history. What I learned, through Wikipedia (that's where I go to find the obscure facts, you know?) is that this cemetery predates the Arlington National Cemetery and in fact, Arlington was conceived when Alexandria's National Cemetery began to fill, according to the cemetery's website:

"Alexandria National Cemetery is one of the original 14 national cemeteries established in 1862. The first burials made in the cemetery were soldiers who died during training or from disease in the numerous hospitals around Alexandria. By 1864, the cemetery was nearly filled to capacity, which eventually led to the planning, development and construction of Arlington National Cemetery."

The cobblestone avenue, a fountain, an ornate wrought-iron rostrum, graveled walks and paths, a small pond and a greenhouse all contribute to a very beautiful and peaceful appearance. With the kids' recent interest in their Civil War figurines, it might be a good place to take them for a walk some weekend afternoon.

A piece of random trivia: very often, as I pass on a nearby road, there is a group of women in varying stages of fitness being trained inside the cemetery grounds by a very fit-looking guy. His Hummer is always parked nearby, and has his company's name, Awesome Physique emblazoned on its side. Whenever I see them, I can't help but think how much more inspiring it must be to get trained in such a beautiful environment, outdoors on a sunny day, than inside a stinky basement office gym. What a great idea.