Memorial Day.

So as the memorial day weekend approached everyone around me seemed to be making plans!  I mean we get Monday off right...so we have to make the most of our long weekend.  This is a time where people pack their cars full of all sorts of camping gear and fill the extra space with beer and food.  And everything seems to be on sale at the grocery store - well all the necessary items for a party at least, like hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, buns, condiments, pop and we must not forget the beer.

So for my memorial day weekend we did not pack up our camping gear, but we certainly weighted the car down with food!  And we piled in the car and took off for my parents house on the Hood Canal.  And the weekend was great - I went for a few runs and even rode my bike, and then on Sunday I was reminded of what this weekend was all about when my grandma told me she went to visit my grandpas grave!  He served in the navy and passed away way before I was born, but it is days like Memorial Day where we remember him not just for the man he was, but also for the time that he served. 

My in-laws were asking me about the actual day itself, and I was slightly emberassed by my lack of answers to their questions.  So of course I did a little bit of research.  And I discovered that Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by a General, and it was first observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.  The first state to officially recognize the holidy was New York and that wasn't until 1873.  By 1890 the day was recognized by all the northern states, and the south refused to acknowledge the day, honoring the dead on seperate days until after World War I when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fightin in the Civil War to honoring ALL Americans who died fighting in any war.  It is now celebrated in almost every state on the last Monday in May.

So I learned something - I always thought Memoral Day was a day to honor ALL who had served and passed away, but it's actually a  day to honor all those who have died while in combat.  Learn something new every day!!

So here are some pictures from the weekend.



The house from the beach!