Amy Small
Bus One - Group Two
More Pictures
Metro? Which line? The blue line was the one boarding by us eighth graders on our last, freezing cold, morning in our nation’s capital. It was only about seven thirty when Group One left for their tour of the Library of Congress, filled with details on the whole thirty four million books and beautiful hand carvings into the world’s “nicest” marble that can be found.
Group Two left shortly after to venture to the Washington Monument via Metro. After walking in the brisk air a few blocks, we were disappointed to learn there were no tours coming up until later in the day. So, off we went to meet the other group at the National Air and Space Museum.
The Air and Space Museum was full of information and interesting facts on planes, shuttles, and other air-loving flyers. After wandering for ourselves, getting some dog tag chains, and riding a simulator or two, we were on to the Imax movie! It was a very exciting story of a man in the air force at a training camp called Red Flag who expressed his love for flying his plane and the difficulties of flying his plane especially during war. Many people also found it was also a great place to catch up on that extra needed ten minutes of sleep!
After the movie, Group Two headed back to the Washington Monument to go up all five hundred feet of the monument. Just to come down to get back to the bottom to freeze!
Next, both groups headed to Mount Vernon to see George Washington’s home and take a quick tour through it, followed by wandering around the property, where the hit seemed to be the new baby sheep walking around.
After a long day of saying goodbye to the city, we boarded the busses to drive a short distance to a shopping plaza to get some dinner. Finally, we’re headed home, deprived of a week’s sleep; trying to get comfortable; and replaying our memories of the week over and over again in our heads so they’re in firm, to be able to go back to school and talk about them again.
FRIDAY, March 20, 2009
6:45 AM Give keys to front desk. Check out of rooms. Put luggage on bus.
7:30 AM Group 1: Take metro to Library of Congress (Capitol South)
8:00 AM Group 2: Take metro to Washington Monument
9:00 AM Tour and prayer at Supreme Court
10:45 AM Both groups meet up at National Air and Space Museum/Lunch
12:05 PM – Imax Movie “Fighter Pilot”
2:00 PM Leave for Mt. Vernon. Last look at Downtown D.C.
2:45-5:00 PM Tour at Mount Vernon.
6:00 PM Supper
7:00 PM Head home. Stop at rest areas.
SATURDAY, March 21, 2009
10:00 AM Devotions in Founders’ Hall upon arrival
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday
Lots of pictures today!
THURSDAY, March 19, 2009
8:00 AM Leave Hotel
8:45 AM White House/ Prayers for President- Lafayette Park, White House
10:00 AM National Archives
Group 1: 12:30 Lunch at Old Post Office Group 2: 12:00 Lunch off of Vendors
12:30 Prayer at Supreme Court
1:00 Library of Congress Tour
2:15 PM All picked up by buses
2:45 PM National Zoo/Grab major snack
4:45 PM Evensong Service (5:30) at the National Cathedral/
Bus snack after service
6:15 PM Ride past Embassy Row
7:00 PM Roosevelt Memorial
8:00 PM Jefferson Memorial /Devotions at top on side of pillars
8:45 PM Back to Hotel for Pizza Party
8:00 AM Leave Hotel
8:45 AM White House/ Prayers for President- Lafayette Park, White House
10:00 AM National Archives
Group 1: 12:30 Lunch at Old Post Office Group 2: 12:00 Lunch off of Vendors
12:30 Prayer at Supreme Court
1:00 Library of Congress Tour
2:15 PM All picked up by buses
2:45 PM National Zoo/Grab major snack
4:45 PM Evensong Service (5:30) at the National Cathedral/
Bus snack after service
6:15 PM Ride past Embassy Row
7:00 PM Roosevelt Memorial
8:00 PM Jefferson Memorial /Devotions at top on side of pillars
8:45 PM Back to Hotel for Pizza Party
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday
Washington D.C. 2009
Wednesday
On this day in Washington we visited the capital and got a grand tour if the House of Representatives side, we got to see the walkway where President Obama walked just before he was inaugurated. Also on Wednesday we took our picture in front of the capitol building. At 11:30 we traveled to the National Gallery of Art and had lunch, after that we went inside and saw many famous works of art. At the National Gallery of Art we searched and searched to complete our Spanish homework for that day. We saw many works of art by Leonardo Da Vinci, and El Greco.
After that we traveled to Arlington National Cemetery, first thing me, Amy Small, Caroline Cook, and James Tate-Cortese walked from the welcome center to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while everyone else took the bus. We all met up later and us four laid the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was nerve-wracking. We thought the sergeant who would be helping us would be the meanest and hardest person ever. He actually wasn’t he was 100% normal he was really nice and tolerant, some of us messed up but he quietly corrected us when we messed up. It was a great honor to be one of the four to lay the wreath and I had a lot of fun doing so.
Lastly we went to the Lazy Susan Dinner Theater and saw a play performed buy the staff called High School Musical. Some enjoyed the play more than others but in the end we all had some fun. In conclusion we had a lot of fun today from the Capitol to the dinner theater. My personal favorite place today was Arlington because I helped lay the wreath.
Written by: Spencer Stolfo
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Written by: Steven Schelling
Today will be a very fond and memorable day for me for the rest of my life. After my alarm didn’t go off and my roommates, Matthew Timmer and his mom, and I woke up and made it out the door with only seconds to spare, our group set off at eight in the morning for the Capitol. The first thing we did was get an introduction to the rest of the Capitol in their huge screening room. Then, we met up with our tour guide who first showed us the Rotunda, the inside of the giant Capitol dome, which contained eight huge and ornate paintings showing major events in US history. It also contained several statues and a huge mural on the ceiling. Then, he showed us several other rooms, containing many statues of prominent figures in American history. We finished off our Capitol visit looking around in the extremely overpriced gift shop.
After finishing out Capitol tour, we walked to the other side of the Reflecting Pool and took our class picture before heading over the National Gallery of Art, where we ate lunch (and I spilled coke on the beautiful marble stairs). We went inside the Gallery and went on a hunt for paintings by Spanish Masters we had to answer questions on for our assignment. After not finding any, I gave up looking and just picked a random painting I liked. We did some touring around and some painting interpretations (my favorite paintings were in a series called the Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole), and then we went off on our next adventure: Arlington National Cemetery.
We took the bus to Arlington and then rode on one of their busses deeper into the cemetery. We went up to one of their viewing spots where we could look out over a large part of the cemetery down the hill, and also look up at the house of Robert E. Lee. After that, we got onto one of their buses to head over to the Tomb of the Unknowns, where we watched two changings of the guard and a wreath-laying ceremony performed by James Tate-Cortese, Caroline Cook, Amy Small, and Spencer Stolfo. After watching the extremely moving ceremonies, performed by the robot-like soldiers, we had those who were selected to lay the wreath read the essays they submitted to have the opportunity to lay the wreath. When all that was finished, James took me to the headstone of his grandfather who had died in a military plane crash in the 1960s. His body was never recovered. That was a great experience, because all of our friends were there, along with James’s mother. An added bonus was that the headstone was in a very scenic part of the cemetery. Arlington was my favorite part of the trip. It’s hard to put into words the respect and gratitude you feel when you watch the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns and the 310,000 headstones in rows, standing at attention forever.
Our final event of the day was going to the Lazy Susan, a dinner-theater, where we saw their rendition of High School Musical, which had some extra humor thrown in. The food was decent, and the show was very entertaining. After the final curtain, we boarded up the bus and headed back to the hotel, where I got a good night sleep, excited for the next day.
Here are the pictures.
Wednesday
On this day in Washington we visited the capital and got a grand tour if the House of Representatives side, we got to see the walkway where President Obama walked just before he was inaugurated. Also on Wednesday we took our picture in front of the capitol building. At 11:30 we traveled to the National Gallery of Art and had lunch, after that we went inside and saw many famous works of art. At the National Gallery of Art we searched and searched to complete our Spanish homework for that day. We saw many works of art by Leonardo Da Vinci, and El Greco.
After that we traveled to Arlington National Cemetery, first thing me, Amy Small, Caroline Cook, and James Tate-Cortese walked from the welcome center to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while everyone else took the bus. We all met up later and us four laid the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was nerve-wracking. We thought the sergeant who would be helping us would be the meanest and hardest person ever. He actually wasn’t he was 100% normal he was really nice and tolerant, some of us messed up but he quietly corrected us when we messed up. It was a great honor to be one of the four to lay the wreath and I had a lot of fun doing so.
Lastly we went to the Lazy Susan Dinner Theater and saw a play performed buy the staff called High School Musical. Some enjoyed the play more than others but in the end we all had some fun. In conclusion we had a lot of fun today from the Capitol to the dinner theater. My personal favorite place today was Arlington because I helped lay the wreath.
Written by: Spencer Stolfo
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Written by: Steven Schelling
Today will be a very fond and memorable day for me for the rest of my life. After my alarm didn’t go off and my roommates, Matthew Timmer and his mom, and I woke up and made it out the door with only seconds to spare, our group set off at eight in the morning for the Capitol. The first thing we did was get an introduction to the rest of the Capitol in their huge screening room. Then, we met up with our tour guide who first showed us the Rotunda, the inside of the giant Capitol dome, which contained eight huge and ornate paintings showing major events in US history. It also contained several statues and a huge mural on the ceiling. Then, he showed us several other rooms, containing many statues of prominent figures in American history. We finished off our Capitol visit looking around in the extremely overpriced gift shop.
After finishing out Capitol tour, we walked to the other side of the Reflecting Pool and took our class picture before heading over the National Gallery of Art, where we ate lunch (and I spilled coke on the beautiful marble stairs). We went inside the Gallery and went on a hunt for paintings by Spanish Masters we had to answer questions on for our assignment. After not finding any, I gave up looking and just picked a random painting I liked. We did some touring around and some painting interpretations (my favorite paintings were in a series called the Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole), and then we went off on our next adventure: Arlington National Cemetery.
We took the bus to Arlington and then rode on one of their busses deeper into the cemetery. We went up to one of their viewing spots where we could look out over a large part of the cemetery down the hill, and also look up at the house of Robert E. Lee. After that, we got onto one of their buses to head over to the Tomb of the Unknowns, where we watched two changings of the guard and a wreath-laying ceremony performed by James Tate-Cortese, Caroline Cook, Amy Small, and Spencer Stolfo. After watching the extremely moving ceremonies, performed by the robot-like soldiers, we had those who were selected to lay the wreath read the essays they submitted to have the opportunity to lay the wreath. When all that was finished, James took me to the headstone of his grandfather who had died in a military plane crash in the 1960s. His body was never recovered. That was a great experience, because all of our friends were there, along with James’s mother. An added bonus was that the headstone was in a very scenic part of the cemetery. Arlington was my favorite part of the trip. It’s hard to put into words the respect and gratitude you feel when you watch the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns and the 310,000 headstones in rows, standing at attention forever.
Our final event of the day was going to the Lazy Susan, a dinner-theater, where we saw their rendition of High School Musical, which had some extra humor thrown in. The food was decent, and the show was very entertaining. After the final curtain, we boarded up the bus and headed back to the hotel, where I got a good night sleep, excited for the next day.
Here are the pictures.
7:00 AM Breakfast at Hotel
8:30 AM Capitol Visitor Center/Tour
11:15 AM Official Photo by Capitol
11:30 AM Sack Lunch in Park by National Gallery of Art
12:00-1:30 National Gallery of Art
2:00-5:00 Arlington National Cemetery/Tour Mobile/Changing of the Guard/ Amphitheater Devotions
Wreath Laying at 3:15 PM/Iwo Jima Memorial
5:15 PM Depart for Lazy Susan Dinner Theater “High School Musical”
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday
Here are all the Tuesday Photos.We were hoping to have a little commentary but nothing so far. They must be very busy or just having fun! :)
TUESDAY, March 17, 2009
8:00 AM Departure Spy Museum
9:00 AM International Spy Museum
11:15 AM Ford’s Theater/Peterson House/Lunch
1:00 PM Newseum
3:15 PM National Law Enforcement Memorial/National Building Museum
4:30 PM Early Supper/Shopping at Union Station
6:00 PM Einstein Statue Photo Op/Vietnam Wreath Laying/Tribute Letters/Rubbings
7:15 PM Korean War Memorial
7:40 PM Lincoln Memorial
8:20 PM Devotions at Reflecting Pond
Monday
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On Monday, we rode the bus to Petersburg, VA. We got breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and then headed off to the Washington Monument. It is over 555 feet tall and the view is incredible.Next, we went to the Museum of Natural History, which was very fun, and I learned a lot. We ate an expensive lunch, but at least it tasted alright. We went to the Holocaust Museum next, which was one of my favorite places we went on the trip. It was very moving, and I took my time reading each of the writings on the wall and watching the videos. I learned a lot at the Holocaust Museum.
After leaving the museum, we visited the World War II Memorial. We had devotions there and prayed. Then, we checked into the Americana Motel, where we are staying the whole week. Finally, we went to the Pentagon City Mall to eat dinner, which was a lot of fun. Overall, Monday was a great day to introduce us to Washington D.C.
Steven Eley
View Monday pictures here.
Our schedule on Monday was:
4:15AM Stop at Petersburg, VA, Welcome Center
for Freshening Up
6:00AM Breakfast at Cracker Barrel
9:00 AM Devotions/ World War II Memorial
9:45 AM Group 1 – Washington Monument
Group 2 – Get Holocaust Tickets
11:00 AM Museum of Natural History/Lunch
3:00 PM Holocaust Museum
6:30-8:45 PM Supper and Shopping at Pentagon City Mall
9:00 PM Devotions in hotel lobby
9:30 PM Curfew
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Day 1 - The Bus Trip
We all get flat tires but you just don't expect it on a bus! Everyone is safe and sound, the tire is fixed and we are on the way to D.C.! More to come. View the first few pictures on Picasaweb
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