Mr Eklund

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Day One -Sunday June 5, 2016

6:19am

The adventure begins. We were a little bit late pulling out of the parking lot at Kenilworth but made it to the airport at exactly 4:00am, which was the time we were supposed to be there to check in for our 6:00am flight. This group is on a Southwest flight that makes a stop in Milwaukee on the way to Washington’s Reagan National Airport. There is another group in the lobby ahead of us (also 8th graders headed to DC) but their group leader is a newbie. In other words she didn’t get up early to check her group in yesterday like we did so our group is sitting altogether while that other group is in middle seats spread throughout the aircraft. We pushed out right on time and now we are about 24 minutes into our 3 hour 31 minute flight to Wisconsin. I am going to read up on Thomas Jefferson and the Pirates of the Barbary Coast so that is all for the moment.

11:12pm

Just got to the hotel and completed bed checks…time to work on the update.

Apparently the second bus had a bit of a problem. They were on the way to the SFO and the bus started going slower…and slower and then just stopped. Fortunately they were able to make it to a bus turn out and a replacement bus got there fairly quickly and they were able to make their flight in time. 

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The first group arrived earlier so we had a chance check out a museum today while waiting for the second group to arrive. We went to the Air & Space Museum where we saw some incredible things such as: Russian space toilets, a German V-2 rocket, two of Charles Lindberg’s planes including the Spirit of America (the plane he was the first to fly over the Atlantic solo in.), An Eastern Airlines DC-3, and American Airways Ford Tri-Motor, an original Wright Flyer, a model of the Hindenburg, a lunar landing module, anchor like they drove on the moon and even an actual moon rock….that you could touch! Pretty fun

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Next it was over to Union Station for dinner. Both groups met up to dine at Pizzeria Uno. This was a new restaurant for us and the pizza was really good. Definitely a keeper. At dinner we also met up with Karen and Dale, two of the finest guides in DC. Combine them with James and Tony (THE BEST DRIVERS EVER!) and we have some really good people taking care of us. 

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After dinner we had time for two memorials. First up is the Air Force Memorial. Three Stainless Steel Spires heading up into the sky to look like airplane contrails heading up into the sky. Very impressive. Not only is it a great memorial but there is also a fantastic view of the city. Quite a beautiful site.

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We finish up with the Marine Corps Memorial which features a huge statue depicting the raising of the US Flag on Mount Suribachi during the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese during World War II. Beautiful sites, beautiful evening with really tired kiddos. Time to the hit the hotel and go to bed. Tomorrow, on to the Capitol and the World War II Memorial (since it is the anniversary of D-Day). Nighty Night.

Day Two - June 6, 2016 - 12:45am (June 7th actually)

 

 

Good morning. Gonna be hot and humid today, 87 degrees with about 70% humidity but the rest of the week is looking a lot better weather wise. Hopefully it won’t be intolerable today. For those of you following along with our itinerary you probably noticed we made some changes. Those changes will continue throughout the week. We will still see everything, just not necessarily in the same order it appears on our schedule.

 

First up this morning is our group photo. We will be standing on the steps of the Ulysses S Grant Memorial, which in the photo appears to be right on the grounds of the Capitol. In actuality it is located across the street, close to a 1/4 mile from the Capitol building itself. The view from our position is incredible in both directions.

 

So I wrote this first part before we actually got on the bus (late…”Wait, we are supposed to just go out to the bus, not wait for someone to come get us?”) and discovered how bad the traffic was today. Apparently starting today they are single tracking the Metro (closing down one side for major repairs so all trains share the other train both directions) on the exact same route we are taking into the city. Yikes! Horrible traffic and it is going to be like this for the next 3 weeks. This messed us up the morning even more than necessary because of the late start. Tony and James took a very circular route but finally got us to the Grant Memorial for our pictures. 

 

The group photos should look better than last year. Both the Capitol and the Grant Memorial are still being refurbished. The Capitol looks okay since the top part is done and the scaffolding is only on the lower half so this is the view that will be in the photo. The Grant Memorial on the other hand is completely boarded up and looks awful so I am having them photoshop it in so the photo should look nice. I will have the photo’s in a few weeks so I will let you know when they arrive so you can meet me at KJHS to pass them out. 

 

After our photos we walked a couple blocks, past the National Conservatory Greenhouse to the Disabled American Veterans Memorial. This is a simple but pretty impressive sight. There is a edgeless pond with beautiful glass etched walls. There is also supposed to be a burning flame that bubbles up through the water but it didn’t seem to be working today. Still it looked nice. 

 

Next we make our way up the hill towards the Capitol Building. Along the way we have a nice view of the Library of Congress. This is a beautiful building with dolphin fountains in the front. Next to that is the Supreme Court. As usual there were protesters on the front steps. Not sure what they were protesting but they had a line of pairs of tennis shoes with an American flag sticky out of each pair. There was also TV News film crews who were packing up their equipment. Apparently there was some Supreme Court decision announced today that was televised. 

 

We enter the Capitol through a relatively new visitors center that was built underground to accommodate the large groups of visitors. According to our guides, they are expecting about 15,000 students to be traveling through DC this week, 8,000 from Worldstrides alone. And it looks it. This place is crawling with kids. Inside the Capitol was crazy busy today but we found a quiet corner to meet with Courtney, who is an aide for our Congressman Jarod Huffman. Courtney is a graduate of Kenilworth and is largely responsible for us getting into the White House this year. She was great with the kids. She answered all the questions the kids and teachers had as well as had some great advice for college and their future plans. This is the third year she has met with us and she has really grown into her job. We are going to miss her because she got promoted but she brought her replacement, Shawn, to meet us today she we will know who we are working with next year. In addition to setting up the White House, she is also responsible for our tour of the Capitol as well as the passes for the House of Representatives gallery. 

 

The tour of the Capitol was interesting today because the inside of the rotunda was covered with scaffolding. Fortunately you could still see most of the paintings and sculptures but the scaffolding pushed so far into the room that it made the crowded conditions seem even more crowded. Statuary Hall was wall to wall people but it was still neat to see how the sound bounced off the ceiling so Congressmen could actually spy on other Congressman. After the tour, we made our way up to the House of Representatives Gallery. Congress was not in session so we could stay as long as we wanted and talk about what we were looking at, the guard even helped up out with very through explanations of everything. 

 

Next it is back to Union Station. This time we have lunch down on the ground floor where they have a variety restaurants to choose from. Choices include Burgers, Chicken, Crepes, Ice Cream (I know…nutritious meal), sandwiches, Cajun, or even Taco Bell. Lots to choose from.

 

Next it is on to Daniel’s Story at the Holocaust Museum. We do not go through the whole museum here because 1) it is too intense for most 8th graders, 2) you have to have an appointment scheduled ahead of time and 3) it takes about 3 hours. Instead we tour Daniel’s Story which traces the life of a boy through the entire Holocaust experience. From the beginnings of blaming the Jews for Germany’s problems all the way through the Concentration camps and liberation. Intense enough for almost everyone. They also have a new display this year that most students had time to go through called Neighbors. This was all about the people living around the jews and how they helped or turn in their neighbors to the Nazi’s. Again, intense enough to make an impact. 

 

From the Holocaust Museum we shift gears and head to the SPY Museum. Here the students could put themselves into the position of being a spy. They could take on an identity and see if they completed their missions or were compromised by the enemy. They could also check out a number of items from James Bond including a number of items from the films such as his car, torture weapons and even the teeth from the villain Jaws. Pretty amazing museum with a fantastic gift shop. Lots of items were purchased today that definitely need to go in the checked luggage and do not try to carry on to the plane.

 

Next we were going to stop and get our picture taken in Einstein’s lap but that place was way too busy and we didn’t want to miss out on the World War II Memorial, especially since today is the 72nd anniversary of D-Day. There were a number of wreaths place on the Memorial today including one from a California Honor Flight. The Honor Flights are put together by a group that wanted to make sure the veterans that all these memorials were built to represent get a chance to see them. There are not many WWII vets left but they also bring vets from the Korean War and the Vietnam War. I have seen these groups come through on the last couple of trips to DC. It is quite an impressive sight to see everyone stop and salute, shake hand, and thank these veterans (many of them in wheelchairs) as they are touring through these sites. I have seen many tears shed when honoring these brave Americans. I will be sure to point them out to the students should we see any of these groups over the next few days. 

 

The WWII Memorial has so much symbolism on top of the beautiful displays throughout the memorial. Be sure to ask your student if they found the “Kilroy was here” or what that phrase means. They were also impressed by the wall of stars, each one signifying 100 us soldiers lost during the war. This memorial was put together in a large part by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. If you ever happen to meet one of these gentlemen, please thank them for me.

 

We finish up our day’s tour with the newest memorial, the tribute to Dr Martin Luther King. Carved out of a huge chunk of stone is a giant statue of Dr King looking out across the tidal basin towards the Jefferson Memorial. As with all the other memorials this one was extremely crowded. I’ve been doing this trip for a long time but this year seems especially crowded. I am not sure why but it has definitely impacted our trip. The tour guides, drivers and I are doing the best we can to make sure we see everything but I will apologize now if we don’t make it to everything. Sometimes, things are just out of our control. 

 

On the schedule for tomorrow, Korean War, Abraham Lincoln, and Vietnam War Memorials before our tour of the White House. After the tour, its on to the Smithsonian’s. We have scheduled the Air & Space (for lunch) then the Natural History and American History museums, Dinner at a Mexican Buffet that is supposed to be real good then up to the top of the Washington Monument. A full day plus but for now it is way past time for bed. Yak at cha tomorrow (actually later today.) Good Night.
 

Day Three - Tuesday June 7, 2016  (Posted 12:37am June 8th)

A busy day in the plans this morning with a small chance of rain around noontime. The weather is actually pretty good this week. A little hot and muggy on Sunday, a little better yesterday and supposed to improve as the week progresses. Looking around at breakfast this morning I am seeing a whole lot of smiling faces. Gonna be a fun day.

 

We left a little bit early this morning because traffic was so bad yesterday and guess what, virtually no traffic at all. We have big plans for this morning to visit the “Big Three” monuments (Korea, Lincoln and Vietnam) before going to the White House. We start off with the Korean War Memorial. This one features 18 full size bronze statues of soldiers with guns, packs, radios, etc. on patrol. They are walking through low juniper bushes interspersed with strips of black granite that simulates walking through the rice paddies. On the back wall they have etched photographic images of the war and related events, including one of the hundreds of dogs that was used by soldiers to sniff out the enemies (as well as bodies.)

 

From there it is a short walk over to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. This is undoubtedly one of the most impressive monuments anywhere. A seated 18 foot tall marble carving of our 16th president. On neither side of the statue they have etched a couple of his speeches into the marble walls. On one side is the Gettysburg Address where he discusses the importance of the sacrifices made by the soldiers on the battlefield on behalf of our country. On the other is his 2nd Inaugural Address when he was talking about how we needed to put our differences behind us and pull our country back together. He sits facing the Washington Monument and beyond that, the Capitol. This is also the sight of another famous speech, the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr Martin Luther King. The spot where he stood to deliver this speech is marking on the second landing so a group of our students stood together to deliver the ending of this speech, closing out with Hailey Caldwell reciting the climactic “Free at Last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, Free at Last! I seriously thought her dad was going to start crying on the spot.

 

Next was one of the most moving experiences I have had on this trip at the Vietnam War Memorial, also known as “The Wall”. This site will bring you to tears just by reading the sheer number of names on “The Wall” but today we had the pleasure of offering some World War II veterans our thanks and gratitude for their service so many years ago. A contingent from California was brought by the Honor Flights to visit the memorials that were created to honor them before it is too late. A number of us had the honor of shaking these man and one woman’s hands and thank them for their service to our country. More than a few tears were shed today, by us not these brave men and women as they toured the memorial. I wish you all had the opportunity to share a moment with these veterans. They were ever so humble but you could also tell it felt good to be appreciated. 

 

In addition to these veterans, we also had a few people inner group with relatives on The Wall. We were able to located all of the relative’s names and were able to share a moment with the members of our group as they honored their relatives who sacrificed everything so the rest of us could be free.

 

Next up is the big surprise, a visit to the White House. We made our way through four separate checkpoints before entering the building. They have changed a major rule regarding our visit. In previous years we were absolutely not allowed to take any photographs whatsoever, either inside the house or even outside on the grounds. This year, you could take all the photos you want. No flash and no video but pictures were fine. I think everyone pretty much wore out their batteries snapping photos. And was the White House ever cool. We saw the library, the ladies sitting room, the Red, Green, Blue and Yellow rooms as well as the old family dining room and the big main dining room. It turns out President Obama was in the house. Apparently he was in the West Wing meeting with the President (Premier?) of India while we were taking our tour. I guess that explains why he didn’t take the time to come out and visit us. Oh well, we did get to see bunch of protestors out front who were upset about something India has done. It wasn’t real clear what they were mad about but they were singing some annoying chant over and over and over and over and over…annoying isn’t it. To make it worse they had little portable amplifiers with terrible sound that made it sound even worse. 

 

After we all made it through the house, we met out front to take a group photo. It was hard to find a spot for us all with the crowds and the protestors and street performers and the crazy man in the bullet proof vest and the dog who was taking our picture. Washington DC can be a crazy place sometimes. 

 

Next up we have an opportunity for the students to plan out the afternoon on their own. Everyone is dropped off at the Air & Space Museum on the Mall with coupon for lunch at McDonalds (there is a McDonalds inside the museum) and will be picked up in front of the American History Museum at the other end of the Mall about four and a half hours later. The students (with their adult) got to budget how much time they wanted to spend in each museum. They have choices of the Air & Space, the Hirschhorn Art Museum, another art museum, the main Smithsonian castle, the Sculpture Garden, the Natural History Museum and the American History Museum. Everyone had different experiences today but there were plenty of things to see and do. They had some pretty cool things in the American History Museum including the yellow guitar Prince plays in the movie Purple Rain and a pair of Mohammad Ali’s Boxing Gloves. The dinosaur bones were a big hit in the Natural History Museum as was the Hope Diamond. Personally I enjoyed the 3-D movie about D-Day in the IMax theatre in the Air & Space Museum. You will have to ask your students what they experienced today.

 

Next it is time to go to dinner. One group had a little trouble finding the right exit to come out of the museum which was no big deal except it turned into a big deal through no fault of our own. The first bus had about a five minute lead which meant they made it through the road closures and detours for the motorcades and police actions before they were put into place. This meant Tony had to try backed up street after backed up street after backed up street until we finally jumped off the bus and walked a couple of blocks to the restaurant. We didn’t arrive until after the people on the first bus had already finished eating. This was a new restaurant for us. It was Mexican food and was pretty good for East Coast Mexican food (they are getting better but Mexican Food is not an East Coast specialty.) The food was good so now I have a dilemma. The restaurant is all the way across town and at rush hour this is not great but on a traffic day like today it was a disaster, especially since we had to go all the way back across town to go to the Washington Monument (our next stop.) 

 

Since we knew traffic was such a mess and we had two groupings to go up into the monument, we told the first group to go ahead and leave as we started dinner. We wanted to give them a head start on beating the traffic. Much to our surprise, the traffic was so horrible that they were all still waiting for the bus downstairs after we had already eaten and came down to catch our bus. Now both groups are waiting and we are still going, where is our bus? Thank goodness traffic was not as bad after dinner, although we did witness one accident right in front of us. It was a minor scrape but the guy who got hit was so mad he hit the back corner of his mini-van with his fist so hard that he made a bigger dent than the car hitting him had done. I doubt he would have appreciated how hard we were laughing when he did that. Fortunately, we were in the bus and he couldn’t hear us. Despite the traffic we did have fun on the buses this evening. We did a little singing and rocked out a bit to pass the time. That reminds me, this morning, on the way into town I showed the video they show at the welcome center at Mount Vernon. We didn’t get to go to George Washington’s home but we got a good over view with a film that was produced by the Ladies of Mount Vernon themselves.

 

We finally arrived at the Washington monument and are allowed to enter the monument in groups of eight. While we were waiting the wind really starts a blowing. Better hold onto your tickets because you will never catch them if you drop one. The view from the top of this monument is incredible. There are windows on all four sides with maps to show you exactly what you are looking at. It is inspiring looking down on all these sites we have been visiting the past couple of days.

 

One last stop for today. We head over to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The Memorial to our third president features a 19 foot tall bronze statue of the man standing inside a domed and columned building that looks just like the dome at the University of Virginia which was founded by Thomas Jefferson himself. It was a long day but a fantastic day. I thought it was time for a treat so I hopped off the bus before it reached our hotel and bought 100 ice cream bars. I must of looked pretty funny carrying five huge boxes over the the hotel. It really was a nice way to finish up a great day at our nightly meeting with trivia questions, prizes and ice cream. What a fun day but I am exhausted. Another busy day tomorrow so I will yak at cha latter. Nighty Nite!

 

2016 DC Trip Day Four - Wednesday June 8, 2016

 

A couple years ago, I ran the Human Race. I had never run that far in my life and the following Monday a student (who ended being the the Scholar Athlete of the Year) said “Hey Mr Eklund. I saw you at the Human Race. Yeah, you might want to unhook the trailer because you were really dragging.” That’s how I am feeling this morning but fortunately the kids are looking rather refreshed at breakfast this morning. We have a another packed day ahead of us. We will be heading to the buses in about 20 minutes to go to our first stop, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. 

 

The FDR is a unique memorial. It is a series of outdoor rooms created with large chunks of red granite. As you walk through the memorial you are traveling through time…depicting the events that occurred in each term of FDR. The earlier rooms have bronze statues depicting bread lines, fireside chats and other scenes reminiscent of the depression era. The later rooms show the turmoil caused by the second world war. We were the first group to go through today so it was easy for Karen and Dale to describe what we were looking at and gave us plenty of opportunity to pose for pictures and read the quotes carved into the walls. This is a strikingly beautiful memorial and, since it was such a beautiful peaceful morning, we strolled back to the bus next to the Cherry Trees along the tidal basin to enjoy the view towards the city.

 

Our next stop is shopping at Joes Souvenirs located just around the corner from Ford’s Theater. We have been coming to Joe’s for years even after he changed locations. He has a large selection and his prices are good, plus we can walk from here to our next stop, Ford’s Theater. Unfortunately, I think everyone else in the city had the same idea. Joe’s was swarming with people. It was so packed that we radioed the second bus which was coming a few minutes behind and sent them to our other go-to souvenir shopping spot, Souvenir City. Not quite as good of a selection as Joe’s but the prices are good and it was not as busy, other wise the second bus would not have had time to shop at all.

 

After dropping our purchases on the bus its over to Ford’s Theater we go. A couple years ago they added (built) a wonderful museum underneath the theater. It is run by the National Parks service and it walks you through Abraham Lincoln’s presidency as well as his assassination and aftermath. There is a neat little gift shop as well. As I was walking into the gift shop to check on the kids the salesperson asked if I was a teacher. I was worried that there was a problem but she just wanted to tell me that our kids were behaving great and that teacher’s get a 15% discount. Of course, that meant I had to buy three more books about my favorite president. My summer reading list: a book on Jefferson and the Barbary Coast Pirates, A book about King George’s interactions with the colonists before and after the American Revolution, and three more books about Abraham Lincoln to go with the book I was already reading about the mahout to catch John Wilkes Booth. What are you reading this summer?

 

After touring the museum, we head up into the theater where a ranger describes the events around Lincoln’s assassination. He was an excellent story teller. He walked us through not just the assassination but through the events leading up to it, what each of the main participants in the story were doing and why then followed through until the assassin was finally caught. Did you know that John Wilkes Booth was surprised that most people in the South were disgusted that Booth did this even though they hated the president? They still use this theater today for plays and performances. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Our American Cousin (the play the Lincoln's were watching) in Ford’s Theater? Did you know most people didn’t hear the shot? In fact they were looking at Lincoln trying to discover where he had been slashed wth a knife when they found the gunshot wound to his head. John Wilkes Booth was using a single shot Derringer. Can you image how different things would have been after the war had that gun misfired?

 

Time for lunch, it is just a short walk to our the Shops at National Place to choose something for lunch. This place can be ridiculously crowded, and it is by the time we leave, but we are here a little early so there are almost no lines, well, except for Five Guys, which ALWAYS seems to have a line. In addition to Five Guys there are a number of other choice including Gyros, Chicken, Chinese, Pizza, Sushis, Smoothies and Mexican restaurants. I was disappointed my favorite Greek place at Union Station has closed but the Gyros here were pretty good. 

 

After lunch we head over to Arlington National Cemetery. We used to just shoot across the Memorial Bridge behind the Lincoln Memorial but they have changed the rules. Tour Buses are no longer allowed on this bridge. Since we don’t want to get a $1,000 fine, we take a rather circular route and use one of the other bridges to cross the Potomac. River. At Arlington we hike up the hill towards The John F Kennedy burial site with stops along the way so Dale and Karen can explain what we are looking at as well as who is or can be buried at Arlington. They are choked to learn that this massive cemetery is not our largest military cemetery. They hear the gunshots from a 21 gun salute for one of the 14 burials scheduled for today. 

 

Most students were surprised to learn that the Kennedy’s had two children who died shortly after birth who are buried next to their parents and the eternal flame on the hill below Robert E Lees home. We also find the simple white crosses making the burial sites for Robert and Edward Kennedy as well as a tombstone marking a tribute to the fourth brother Joseph Kennedy whose body was lost at sea during World War II.

 

From here we make our way over to the Tombs of the Unknown soldier. There are three tombs one for the World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War although the tomb for Vietnam is empty sign DNA testing was able to identify that soldier and send his remains him to his family in St Louis. This is where we watch the changing of the guard. When they switch guards, the incoming guard faces a tough inspection and this was the first time was saw a woman in the honor guard. She inspected the young man and apparently the back of his shirt was not correct. Nice to see the ladies take charge!

 

Across from the Tombs of the Unknowns, I get to have my major teaching experience on the trip. I introduce to the students to America’s most honored soldier, Audie L Murphy. I tell the story of this mazing young man who’s acts of bravery during World War II were simply astounding. I was very impressed with how attentive and engage the students were as were a number of tourists who joined our group as I was telling the story. I hope they look up to hers like Audie Murphy instead of some of the less worthy idols we see today. We will be watching Audie’s life story, “To Hell and Back” on the drive between Gettysburg and Philadelphia. I high recommend this film if you have not seen it yet. After the war, Audie became a big time movie star however most of his films were Westerns. As far as I am aware, this is the only time he played himself in a movie.

 

After the walk back down the hill, oh and by the way, the weather this week has been fantastic. Usually we are a mess with the heat and the humidity on this walk at Arlington but today it is downright cool with virtually no humidity. As I was saying, after the walk down the hill we head back into DC to the Newseum. This is a museum dedicated to news. Around the front of the building they have the front page of todays newspaper from every state across the country. Inside they have exhibits such as a section of the Berlin Wall, The radio tower from the top of the World Trade Center tower, a complete mock up of Tim Russet's office (and I thought I had a lot of stuff) and even a news helicopter hanging over the center of the lobby. There is even a place where you can have yourself filmed into a newscast, using green screen technology, just like we do on KTV every morning back at Kenilworth.Our kids really are cutting edge.

 

After a far too brief stay at the Newseum (I could easily spend a week in this museum) its time to eat again. This is our last food court of the week but this time it is located in an actual shopping mall. Most students ate as quickly as possible so they had time to do some shopping. We don’t stay here very long because we want to get to our next stop as early as possible so we can get good seats at the highlight of our trip…the Twilight Tattoo.

 

Our early arrival pays off. We get great bleacher seats (so we do not have to sit on the grass) and they have banners hanging in the back so the adults seating in the top row have a wide block (yes, it is breezy and actually a little cold. That’s never happened on this trip. We have had rain, thunder, lightening, even hail but it was never even anything remotely close to chilly before. They change things up every year and this year was no exception. Things started off with with a band wearing their dress blues and singers in their camp fatigues, rocking out and getting the audience dancing and singing and in the mood for a fun show.

 

This time they have the rock singers interspersed throughout the show coming out in between the Drum and Fife Corp, the soldiers dressed as George Washington’s troops, the Army Drill Team, soldiers dressed in uniforms from the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the first Gulf War as well as today’s army. They shoot of muskets. machine guns, M-16’s, M-60’s, a Spanish American War era cannon and multiple blasts from four Howitzers! My were those Howitzers loud! The Civil War soldiers came out on Horseback as did Paul Revere warning that the “Regulars Were Out!” (That’s what Paul Revere was reading saying, not “The British are Coming”, that would be silly since they were all British.) It was quite a fun show and afterwards our kids had a chance to meet the soldiers, take photos, sit in a Humvee, and hold the guns. We had such a great time…we were the last ones to leave.

 

Back at the hotel we have our nightly meeting going over the events of the day, asking trivia questions and tossing out some prizes and going over the schedule for tomorrow. Another fun day with lots of tired kiddos. We call it an early day so kids can pack up most of their stuff tonight to make loading the bus easier in the morning. 

 

* Sorry today’s blog is late. I was not feeling well last night and figured a little extra rest would help. I was right. I am feeling much better, ready to finish out our week.
 

2016 DC Trip Day Five - June 9, 2016

 

 

It is now 3:30 in the afternoon and we are on the bus headed towards Philadelphia. Again, I apologize for not getting yesterday’s notes posted sooner. Sometimes our bodies just tell us we need to take a break whether we want one or not. Feeling much better today, thanks for understanding.

 

This morning we got up and had to check out of our rooms and load our bags on the busses. I was impressed. We did a great job of getting ready to leave the hotel on time. We have a bit of a drive to Gettysburg which is supposed to go through the place where the traffic has been the worst this week. Tony and James come up with a different route that is a bit longer but should be able to avoid the worst of the traffic. It definitely is less traffic but better not go over the speed limit. We saw more cars pulled over by the police than you see at a traffic checkpoint. It was crazy so we definitely didn’t go over any speed limits. As a result, we arrive at the Gettysburg Visitors Center with less than five minutes to go before our appointment. We stream directly off the bus, through the visitors center and into the theater. 

 

They have a short film all about the Battle of Gettysburg. It is a fabulous film. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, it describes the entire three day battle as well as the events leading up to it and the effects afterwards. I wish we could get this film for class but the only place you can see it is in their visitors center. When the film is over we head up into the Cyclorama. This places us on Cemetery Ridge, exactly where the Union Army defended against Pickett’s Charge. The carnage is all around us. In the Cyclorama, the walls are painted to show the scenes of the battled curve down to blend right into a full scale diorama at the base of the painting. Through lights and sound they make you feel like you are in the center of the action. After the Cyclorama there is plenty of time to tour the Museum and shop for some fabulous souvenirs in one of the nicest gift shops on the trip. 

 

Speaking of the nicest place on the trip, its time for the best food, lunch at the Dobbin House. Some of the taste treats include bread that melts in your mouth, home made dill pickles and pretzels, and possibly the best BBQ chicken ever. Not only is the food fantastic but the service is even better. Nice to be treated so well. We also have a chance to check out the hiding spot for runaway slaves they have tucked into the second part of their building. This is a private restaurant but you are welcome to come in just to see the display. Next time you are out this way be sure to stop in and say hello. 

 

After lunch we had back to the visitors center and pick up two professional Gettysburg guides to ride with us on the busiest tour the battlefield. We got lucky and have two absolutely fantastic guides. They show us buildings with cannon balls and rockets stuck in the walls, take us to the top of an observation tower, bring us to the site of Pickett’s Charge, up onto Little Round Top, Seminary Ridge and Cemetery Ridge. We see the cemetery dedicated by Abraham Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address. Best of all we here a very detail account of what happen there. The guides were excellent story tellers and did a great job keeping the students attention. 

 

After dropping off the guides and a bathroom break back at the visitors center it is time for the drive to Philadelphia. It is going to be about two hours so we are playing “To Hell and Back”, the movie about Audie L Murphy where he plays himself. I was worried I had built the film up too much but I was certainly excited when they broke into applause when the film ended. So glad to see they appreciated this great American. 

The film ended and we still had a ways to go so it was time for some singing. They did pretty good on American Pie and Mr Caldwell really rocked Tiny Dancer with the white middle age age overbite dance. We had tons of fun on the drive, even when we hit the VERY heavy rush hour traffic as we approached Philadelphia. James, one of our bus drivers, grew up in Philly so he knew the short cuts to get us to dinner. I am not sure if they were shorter or not but we sure took a scenic tour coming into Philadelphia. We were running late so I gave the restaurant a call. The GPS said we would be there about 10-15 minutes late. Of course, overtime I looked over at the GPS it pushed back our arrival time. So I called again, and again. Fortunately the manager was as nice as could be. Ultimately we arrived about 45 minutes late which had to be an inconvenience for them since the restaurant was actually closed…only open for us. I felt bad we made them stay late but I am sure glad we tried out this new restaurant. It is definitely a keeper. Called The Corner Restaurant and it was very good, sort of like Panera Bread. It was roomie. The kids had a pretty decent menu to choose from and the food was really good. Will definitely come back here next year. 

 

After dinner it is off to the hotel. Now, describing our arrival at the hotel is going to take a while and it is already pretty late so I am going to write about the hotel tomorrow on the flight home. You won’t want to miss it. Everyone said they wished they had a camera to take a picture of the look on my face when we arrived. That’s my teaser. Talk to you tomorrow.
 

2016 DC Trip Day Six  Friday June 10, 2016
 

Wow! The last day of our trip is here already. We have seen and done so much and still have another packed day to go. Before I start on today’s adventure I have to tell you about the adventure of our hotel in Philadelphia. Apparently, I truly had the mouth hanging open in disbelief look on my face from the time we pulled up until I got into my room. Actually, let me preface this description with a little background of my previous experiences with this hotel. 

 

The first time we stayed here, there was construction off the lobby towards the back of the hotel. (That didn’t affect us much but I wanted to let you know to add context for later.) What did affect us was the narrow entrance into the elevator area and the fact that we were trying to move 100 people plus their luggage into four elevators that were being used by at least one possibly two other groups the were also either checking in or checking out of the hotel using the same elevators. That was bothersome but the big problem occurred the next morning when we tried to pull the busses out of the rear parking lot. There was a large back gate that would make it extremely easy for the busses to pull out. Yup, you guessed it, that gate was locked and there was absolutely no way they were going to open it for us. We had to drive around the hotel and exit through the front making lot. Unfortunately it was not possible for the busses to make the turn because a rental car van was in the way and the rental car guy “had to finish washing this car first” before he would go get someone to move the van. It took us nearly an hour just to get out of the parking lot. 

 

The next time to Philly we stayed in a different hotel. It was much nicer but we had to unload the busses on the street side of a very busy one way street. No biggie when unloading at night with no traffic but down right scary when loading during morning rush hour. So the next trip its back to the first hotel. Can't remember what they were working on but there was construction again and the three small elevators were still inadequate. Fortunately you could take the stairs. That was faster even though we were on the eighth floor.

 

This trip, OH MY! Where do I even start? Before we even leave Gettysburg I receive a text from the Worldstrides rep at the hotel telling me they have our nightly meeting space booked, although the room is too small to hold us all, and they will have it set up with cookies, drinks and treats. I do reserve a meeting room at the hotel each evening to review the day, go over what is in store for tomorrow, give away prizes, have trivia contests, sing happy birthday, etc. but the hotels have never provided treats and drinks out of the goodness of the heart. I figured maybe they heard I have complained about the construction every time I visit but didn’t give it much thought until we arrived. 

 

When we pulled up to the hotel we immediately knew things were not going to proceed as normal. The Worldstrides rep met us as we drove into the parking lot and had us park the busses in front of the construction at the front of the hotel in what was essentially the fire lane. We left the busses there all night. We got off the busses, unloaded the bags, gave out the room keys and then I looked at the front of the hotel. It was a major construction site. There was scaffolding and fencing and equipment everywhere. The main entrance was blocked off with a temporary entrance towards the side. Once we made your way through the tunnel of scaffolding and equipment we found ourselves in a temporary tunnel of sheet rock that made up the entire lobby, bar and hallway across the entire front of the hotel, all the way to those three small, slow elevators. Worse, the stairway was closed off due to the construction. Not a good thing when you have a 100 people with luggage all trying to make their way through this narrow hallway to wait forever for an elevator. Apparently the look of dismay on my face was rather intense since all the adults said later they were just waiting to see what I was going to do next. All I could say was, “I think I know why they are giving us cookies, drinks and treats.” I won’t bore you with the rest of the details about our arrival. Let’s just say this will be the last time we stay at this hotel and jump ahead to Friday morning. 

 

The joys of this hotel continued this morning. No one got their wake up calls. Good thing we advised every room to set the alarms on their phones. Breakfast was scheduled for 7:15am. All week we have had students arrive early for breakfast which worked out great so we would not have a huge bunch of people trying to get food at the same time. We had students show up early again this morning but there was no food until exactly 7:15am. Not a big deal but since this room is smaller than usual anyway it didn’t make things any easier. The hotel manager did come in to see me this morning to sort of apologize for the missed wake up calls but seemed more concerned about knowing exactly which rooms didn’t get their calls since he was pretty sure some did get them while others did not. Whatever, time to move on to a great day.

 

Today we are taking a walking tour of downtown Philadelphia. After another short cut around traffic, through some pretty interesting neighborhoods (good place for our students to appreciate what they have), we meet up with our guides to start today’s tour. Three excellent guides for three separate groups. Each tour is a bit different but we all start off with a visit to Independence Hall. We hear the ranger tell the story of the debate to write the Declaration of Independence and as well as the US Constitution in the actual location where it happened. Not only do we hear about them but we also see original first printings of both documents.We also get a chance to view George Washington’s chair with the sun engraved at the top. Ben Franklin commented that this must be a rising sun to indicate the rise of freedom in this new country. It is pretty inspiring just to be in the same room where all these great men determined the future of our country.

 

Independence Hall is split into two parts. Half of the building is where they debated committing treason by declaring themselves free from Great Britain. Across the hall, the other half of the room served as a courtroom. In the center of the room here is a box where the accused would stand during the trial. This is where we got the phrase “Standing Trial”. The ranger gave an excellent description of how a trial would be held. On to the next building which served as the first home of Congress. The House of Representatives would meet on the ground floor and the Senate would meet upstairs. Not surprisingly the Senate was more ornate since they are considered the upper house. That might also be why they are located on the upper floor (not really but a good pun!) The House of Representatives is significantly larger but still far smaller than the current House chamber located in Washington, DC (which we also had a chance to visit).

 

After Independence Hall, the groups split into different directions. Some of the sites that the groups visited include checking out the Liberty Bell. The crack is still there. They have not rung the bell in over a hundred years but it still inspires people around the world to seek out Liberty and Freedom. Some also had a chance to experience Benjamin Franklin print shop. They have recreate Mr Franklins shop and actually hand print copies of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. I took print shop in junior high so I knew the process but with the advent of computers, printing has become a dying craft. Kind of sad to see some things go. Most of the students had never seen anything like it and were quite enthralled with the process. 

 

Right next to the print shop is a new Ben Franklin Museum. This museum was designed for children. The entire site is filled with hands on exhibits designed to get kids engaged with this fascinating American. The museum has been built underground right at the actual site of Ben Franklins home. The house may be gone but you sure can tell where the bathroom was by looking at the great big cement circle located between the museum and the print shop labelled Ben Franklin’s Privy. Some also saw Ben Franklin’s gravesite. They placed his crypt at the outer corner of the cemetery with open iron bars instead of brick wall like the rest of the cemetery to allow passersby to pay their respect. 

 

Christ Church was another site visited today. This is still an active church that was attended by many of our founding fathers. Some of us actually sat on the same seat as George Washington, Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross. The docents at this church do a fantastic job describing church life in the late 1700’s. Those who made it over to the church today loved the experience. Some also saw a Quaker Meetinghouse. The Quakers have a bit of an unusual church service. There is no one in charge and anyone can speak. There is no minister leading a service like most of us picture a church service. The guides pointed out the site of George Washington’s Philadelphia home as well as the room home where Thomas Jefferson did most of his work to write the Declaration of Independence.

 

After a morning of touring, it is time for lunch. Today is another new restaurant, well a few restaurants actually. Located on the bottom floor of the Comcast Center (the tallest building in Philadelphia). There are a number of restaurants and shops. This time it was a little different from the previous food coupons. This time we each got a coupon worth $10. We could order anything we wanted and just pay the extra if we spend more than ten bucks. Of course, the biggest line was at Mike’s (great name) for genuine Philly Cheesesteaks. I gotta tell ya….they were fantastic. I believe everyone was happy with their lunch. This is a good place to eat however it was across town so we had to take the bus to get there and once again we got caught up in messy traffic. This time it was because we happened into the Drexel University Graduation traffic. We did our best to avoid it but traffic seemed to be an issue a lot more than usual this trip. Sorry about that.

 

After lunch it is over to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, better known as the Rocky steps. A lot of the students had a race up the steps. I am not sure who won but about half of these kids made multiple runs up and down the stairs. We posed for some photos at the top then made our way down to the statute. They have a statue of Rocky, arms raised. from one of the films. It used to be standing at the top of the stairs but has now been moved down to the bottom of the stairs around the corner from the steps. Lots of pictures were taken, arms raised in true Rocky fashion.

 

Alas, this means our time in DC-Gettysburg-Philly is almost over. We have heard so many horror stories about TSA security in Philly that we decide to beat the Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic and head over to the airport a little early. We make a stop back to the Constitution Center to drop off the guides, hand Ana over to her grandparents (she is going on to New York instead of going home with us….jealous) and let Mr Radke switch buses. We say goodby to Tony and James, check in our luggage, make our way through security and enjoy some time socializing before our flights.

 

We will be home when I send this so you all have an opportunity to hear first hand about your student’s experience. I hope they had a wonderful time. We had a lot of experiences this week. Because of some of those extra special experiences, we had to do a lot of tweaking and juggling of the schedule to make sure we fit in as much as possible. Thank you to everyone who contributed tip money. I gave thank you cards and cash (the tip money) to Karen and Dale in D.C, Dennis and John in Gettysburg, as well as Bill, Kathie and Ellie in Philadelphia. If you would like to send them a note of your own please send it to me and I will make sure it gets to them.