Mr Eklund

2026 DC Trip Daily Blog

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By the way,  these blogs are written at the end of a very long day.  I am basically exhausted by the time they are posted so I would like to apologize for any typos )

 

DC Trip Day One - Sunday June 7, 2026

We had a bit of a rough start with the buses showing up late. Fortunately, I had enough of a cushion built into the schedule that we were still able to make our flights.  There wasn’t really much time to buy anything to eat so hopefully you took my advice about bringing snacks with you. We got lucky when United checked all our carry on sized bags for free. Actually, I am not sure if they charged anyone for their full sized bags either.  Yup! There’s a reason I always give the airline employees boxes of See’s Candy when we fly.  A little sweetness goes along way.

I am on the flight to Dulles today.  There is another school group onboard as well.  Thank you for taking your assigned seats. You may have noticed how miffed the flight attendants were when the last minute connecting passengers found that other groups kids sitting in their seats.  As usual, the Kenilworth kids impressed everyone with their Lifeskills!   Thank you.  Your Kenilworth Cares was showing today!

Flight time is scheduled for just under five hours.  We are being met in DC at the two different airports with a total of three buses.  Tony is meeting the group at Reagan National while James and Terri will pick the rest of us up at Dulles.  Tony and James have been with us for over fifteen years while this will be out first trip with Terri. 

After arriving and gathering our luggage we meet up with our guides.  Ella Schiralli met the group at Reagan National while we picked up Bradley Metzger and James Delahanty at the Old Post Office.  Interesting. The Old Post Office has been a hotel and office budding for a long time yet they still call in the old post office.  On the way to pick up Brad and James, we went past the South side of the White House. You could barely see the White House when you looked through the UFC Arena that has been set up on the South Lawn.  I am guessing the president is to planning to go anywhere via helicopter for a while because the UFC Arena is set up right where the helicopters would land.  One thing that really stuck us was the sheer number of ports potties.  OMG! There must have been a thousand of them.  

Our first stop today was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  Located on the tidal basin it is a beautiful domed open sided building with an 18 foot tall bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson in the center.  There are also a number of his more famous quotes etched into the marble walls.  Quite an impressive tribute to our third president but it is rather fitting since he is consistently ranked among our top five presidents. Another good thing about this monument is the view offered from the top of the steps.  Looking across the tidal basin you could get the best view of the White House that is available right now. 

After Jefferson we head over to dinner.  Since they were not quite ready for us when we arrived everyone headed next door to Ford’s Theater. This is where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while attending a play shortly after the end of the Civil War.  We didn’t have time tonight but later i the week I will tell the story of that fateful day at our nightly meeting.  It’s not quite the same as going inside but I tell the story fairly well if I do say so myself.  

Dinner tonight is at the Hard Rock Cafe.  I was hesitant to book this again since the last time we came the service was soooooooooooooo ssssssssllllllloooooowwwwww but, I am pleased to say they had totally redeemed themselves.  The service as well as the food was excellent this evening.  We had a choice of a cheeseburger, chicken sandwich, grilled chicken caesar salad, a Mac Chicken and Cheese concoction, Crispy Chicken Dippers or a beyond burger.  I had the chicken sandwich but everything looked tasty and I heard nothing but good reports from everyone. Two thumbs up!!

After dinner we head over to the World War II Memorial.  On the way there seems to be construction just about everywhere you look.  It is astounding how much work seems to be constantly going on here.  There is a lot of temporary exhibits going up for this summer’s 250th birthday but based on what I am seeing it is pretty doubtful (okay…let’s just say it…impossible) that it will all be completed by the fourth of July.

The World War II Memorial such a beautiful memorial with so much symbolism every where you look.  From the gold stars on the wall to the etching’s telling the entire story of the war to the fountain, columns and wreath, it is just such a beautiful site.  It is located about halfway between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument but the sunk it low enough that it doesn’t obstruct the view in either direction.  We even had a large group looking for the KILROY WAS HERE! on the wall.  I heard James telling quite an entreating story about Kilroy and why the cartoon was printed all over the place throughout the Atlantic theater of the war. This is one of those sites that you really need to do some research before visiting to understand all that is being presented. 

From here it is time to call it the end of a rather long day.  We get to the hotel, drop our bags in our rooms and have a short meeting to go over the details for tomorrow. When I first started writing this I was having trouble logging into the wifi. If you cannot see this until the morning it is because I had to wait and post it from the bus in the morning.  See you tomorrow.  

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DC Trip Day Two - Monday, June 8, 2026

 

Everybody woke up on time.  Lots of kids were at breakfast early but we discovered most of the kids didn’t have any idea how a wake up call works. Glad we had them set their alarms their phones so we only had one group that took multiple kicks on the door to wake up!  It was a win.

 

First stop today was Arlington National Cemetery. It was the perfect day for Arlington.  It was cool (under 80), a little breezy and not crowded at all. It was so nice.  We made our way up the hill to the Tomb of the Unknowns.  Along the way we learned about the various type of headstones and why some are different.  Once at the Tomb, we had a very special treat. For the first time in the 22 years I have been doing this trip there was a female soldier standing guard. Pretty special since there are only three females serving in this detail. We made it up to the Lee Mansion at the to of the hill.  The view from here is incredible.  In fact it was because of  this view Jackie picked the spot she did for John F Kennedy’s gravesite.  What a special day!

 

After hiking back down the hill to the buses we start our day of Smithsonian's.  We started off at the Air and Space Museum.  Wow!  The remodel is not quite done but what has been completed is just…Wow!  So cool.  There are planes ( The Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, a Ford Tri-Motor, The Glamorous Glynnis [ Check Yeager plane that first broke the speed of sound) etc.), rocket ships (a lunar landing module, Mercury Space Capsule, Pershing rocket, etc.) and even an X-Wing Fighter from Star Wars.  There was also some things that made you say, “Huh”? These were in the “speed” exhibit where they had a 1959 T-Bird and one of Evel Knievel’s motorcycles.  Cool stuff but I heard three different people say as they walked past me “Why do they have this stuff in the Air & Space Museum?”

 

Each group was on their own as far as how to spend their day.  We all started at the Air & Space as everyone was given cash to buy lunch then as a group then decided how long to spend in each museum as they headed down the Mall. Each of the Museum’s had a cafe as well as their was the sculpture garden and the Smithsonian Castle. It seems the kids were presented with, for the first time, the concept of receiving a cash allotment for lunch, and then looking at what items actually cost. It was a good lesson learned by all!

 

Then next Smithsonian Museum was the Natural History Museum.  This one feature’s a lot of cool things found in nature such as dinosaur bones, the Hope Diamond, just about every type of gem or mineral you can think of, stuffed animals of practically every animal in the world. (The taxidermy bill must be astronomical.)  For the science minded person this place is Nirvana.

 

The next museum was the American History Museum.  This one features all the cultural and entertainment artifacts.  Items such as Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. Practically every inauguration dress from every first lady. The actual flag that hung over Ft .McHenry when Francis Scott Keyes wrote the Star Spangled Banner. The hat that Lincoln was wearing the night he was assassinated. Lin Manual Miranda’s costume from the play Hamilton. The original R2-D2 and C3PO from Star Wars. The list goes on and on.  Such a cool museum.

 

After working our way independently down the Mall, everyone met up to go into the African American Museum.  I was surprised to learn it is already the tenth anniversary of this fabulous museum.  Amazing.  It’s ten years old and it is still one of the hottest tickets in town. That being said, this year the entire town seems to be a lot less crowded. Everyplace has been easier because it simply is not so crowded.  This made the African American Museum quite an enjoyable experience today.  You could easily get close to every exhibit instead of waiting for the crowd to move along.  This was particularly nice on the bottom two floors (there are eight floors in this museum) which is usually wall to wall people simply shuffling along.  For a history junkie, this is the place to be.  The bottom two floors are probably the best since they trace the African American experience from the first slave ship arriving in the colonies to about 1968.  So much too see. Or maybe it is the top two floors that displays all the cultural achievements (such as music, film, comedy, television, and did I mention music!)  and sports (think Muhammad Ali, the 1968 Olympics, Jackie Robinson, and the list goes on and on.) You could easily spend all day or more in this museum.  Oh, and another special treat, Mr Raya and his family was at this museum today. He and his family are on a family trip and made sure to stop in and join us at this museum.

 

From here we walked across the street to check out the Washington Monument.  My apologies.  I think I said at the meeting that we had got passes to go up to the top but unfortunately, that was not the case.  I didn’t notice that request was still pending. Sorry to say we did not get the passes but we did go check out the height of the monument from its base.  A lot of students took photo’s looking directly up the side after hearing the story of why the monument changes color about one third of the way up.  Be sure to ask your student why the color changed. 

 

Time for dinner.  Tonight we dined at the Bee Liner Diner. The food here is pretty good. The students had a choice of double cheeseburgers, chicken parmigiana, a chicken salad, chicken sandwich or even a vegetarian grilled Jackfruit sandwich with ic cream for dessert.  The adults tried out the chocolate cream pie which was quite tasty although a bit on the pricey side. 

 

After dinner we had a chance to do a little souvenir shopping.  Rest assured that most of the students will be coming home with a new Washington DC Hooded Sweatshirt.  They had a lot of other things with DC on it but the hot ticket truly was the hooded sweatshirts.   We figured that would be the case which is why we chose this shop.  His prices overall are fairly decent but his prices on sweatshirts definitely among the cheapest.

 

Next up the Dr.Martin Luther King Memorial.  This one is fairly new and features a giant statue  of Dr MLK carved out of stone.  The top half of the statue is an accurate likeness of the man but the bottom half remains unfinished to symbolize the unfinished life of the civil rights leader who was assassinated in the prime of his life.  There are also a number of his more famous quotes carved into the walls on either side of the statue. 

 

our last stop of the night is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.  This is actually the second memorial created for this great man.  The first we saw i a driveway.  It is a simple white desk which is what FDR actually wanted.  But that wasn’t enough so they built a large memorial with outdoor rooms depicting each term of his presidency. Much like the World War II Memorial, this one features more symbolism than you can imagine at every turn.   From the bronze men standing a bread line to the jumbled granite blocks depicting the turmoil of the war, this site covers all the high lights of FDR’s four terms in office 

 

You may have noticed that we have jostled our itinerary around quite a bit.  This is largely possible because it simply is not as crowded as usual.  Frankly, I am a bit surprised.  I expected it to be busier than usual because of the 250th birthday but it is not.  I think it might be due to the upcoming UFC fight but whatever the reason, it is working in our favor so far. 

The next two days will see a lot of shuffling around with the schedule which I think is going to make the trip even better. 

 

That’s it for today.  Time to get some sleep.  See you tomorrow.

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DC Trip Day Three - Tuesday, June 9, 2026

 

Once again we started the day with a tasty buffet breakfast in the hotel.  It was nice to see everyone up and ready to start their day. And, what a day it was.  The weather is some of the best I have ever seen on this trip.  It is only about 80 degrees and the humidity relatively low.  That being said, our kids are not used to even the low humidity we had today.  We had to seek medical treatment for three different students today. We have been reminding them throughout the day to drink water but quite a few are just not doing it.  Parents, if you can remember to remind your student to drink water throughout the day it would be very helpful. 

 

Now, let’s take a look at today’s happenings.  We made our way out of the parking lot only a couple minutes late on our way to the Capitol.  We planned to meet our Congressman’s representative (Maggie…an intern from Healdsburg!) as early as possible so we could go into the House of Representatives chambers before taking the tour.  Unfortunately, we got caught in some very heavy traffic due to an accident on a rather narrow section of the highway.  As we creeped along I was watching the clock click away.  I knew, as did Maggie, that our window of time was shrinking so much that we would not have time to go to the Gallery.  Here is where Maggie, our Congressman and his Chief of Staff came to the rescue. They knew we couldn’t go to the Gallery so instead they brought the Congressman to us.  The Honorable Congressman Jared Huffman came out to meet us on the Capitol Steps and tell us all about his job.  He is great with the kids.  He very calmly and clearly explained what is going on in our government. He was very polite but he didn’t pull any punches.  The kids hit him with some very tough questions and he gave very frank, honest and open responses.  All of the adults were extremely impressed!  He truly saved the day.

 

From there we now had to make our way through security into the Capitol itself.  The tour starts with a fantastic film all about E Pluribus Unum which means Out of Many, One.  This is such a great film that I tried to buy it years ago to show in my classroom but it was not for sale.  It has been edited over the years but it really does a great job of explaining how our government was set up and is supposed to work. After the movie, we get headsets to hear the guides that will lead our groups on the tour. The tour weaves its way through the capitol building.  There is the counterpoint where they had set aside space for George Washington to be buried. The space is still empty since Washington chose to be buried at his home in Mount Vernon.  There is also the Rotunda which is a round room that has a series of huge paintings depicting the birth of our republic.  Every student had a copy of one of these paintings in their pocket. The painting depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence is hanging on the wall but it also appears on the back of the $2.00 bill. (I gave all the students $2.00 bills as part of their lunch money.)  

 

Way up high in the rotunda there is a mural that tells the story of our country from Columbus to the Wright Brothers.  It looks 3-D but is really just a painting.  Very impressive. The tour also goes through statuary hall. Each state has the opportunity to display two statues of important people who came from their state. Be sure to ask your student who the two California statutes depict. 

 

Next we head out to the street to take a look at the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Buildings.  Then we head back down the hill to have our pictures taken on the steps of the Garfield Statue. The Capitol building is in the background so when we get the photos it looks like we are on the steps of the Capitol when in reality the building is really about a 1/4 mile away. 

 

Next it is time for lunch.  Today we dined at the Reagan International Trade Center. At one point, I belief this was the largest office building in the world. I am not sure if it is still number one but it is so big that it has a large food court on the bottom floor.  Each student was given a voucher listing fifteen different restaurants with a variety of choices the students could get from each restaurant. 

 

After lunch we made the short walk to the Holocaust Museum. I want to say right upfront, I was VERY impressed with how revert and respectful our students were in this museum. I was also impressed with how interested in the subject matter.  I was asked so many questions. I have done extensive research on the Holocaust as part of my Masters Project so I was more than happy to provide answers to all of students questions.  I urge you to continue the conversation with your student. It really is up to all of us to make sure something like this never happens again.

 

Next it is time to visit the Big Three (that’s what the tour guides call the Korean, Vietnam and Lincoln Memorials).  The Korean War Memorial features 19 bronze soldiers standing over seven feet tall on patrol in a field of low bushes with strips of black granite running between the rows.  The soldiers have very real facial expressions.  You can feel the apprehension as they make their way.  The memorial also has a large black granite wall running down one side. The wall has many very clear etchings of the people and animals involved in the war effort.

 

From here we pass the reflecting pool (I am happy to report the pool still reflects after its recent renovation) to make our way over to the Vietnam War Memorial. The memorial has two black granite walls spreading out from about 8 feet tall in the center to about two feet tall at each end.  On these walls the names of the over 58,000 American soldiers killed during the war. There are two other statues that are a part of this memorial that get largely forgotten.  One depicts a small group of soldiers dressed in the uniform of the day and carrying weapons as if they are out on patrol. The other honors the Nurses who cared for our wounded during the conflict.  We had couple students on this trip who were able to make some copies of the names of a couple of relatives who were lost in the conflict. 

 

Next up is situated in-between the Korean and Vietnam and that is the tribute tour greatest president ever - Abraham Lincoln. Visiting this monument was a bit of a challenge.  Work crews were setting up the sound system for the weigh in ceremony for Saturday’s UFC fight.  I am not sure how that is going to go but I have to admit it sounded pretty darn cool when Daft Punk was blasting through the immense speakers. You had to make your way around the fencing and construction equipment to be able to climb the stairs up to Mr Lincoln.  This immense statute depicts President Lincoln sitting in his chair looking out over the reflecting pool towards the Washington Monument.  

 

Can you believe it, it is time to eat again.  Tonight we go over to Arlington to a restaurant called Fire Works Pizza.  There were multiple pizzas with six different toppings to choose from.  There was also an excellent salad and interesting enough some very tasty chicken soup.  For dessert there was fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake squares. I am guessing the students liked it considering how many pizzas were consumed in a very short period of time.  

 

After dinner we head over to the Pentagon Memorial. Located just outside of the Pentagon this Memorial feature a small bench over a reflecting pool for each person killed at the Pentagon September eleventh.  The direction the benches face depends on if the person killed was on the plane or in the Pentagon.  Once again I was very impressed with the reverence displayed by our students.  Those Kolt Life Skills were really showing today.

 

That wraps up our day.  We had planned to visit the Marine Corps Memorial but it was closed for a show so we will have to fit that in tomorrow instead.  Back to the hotel for a meeting and off to bed.  We have an early wake up call so nighty night.  (Wow! I finished writing this before midnight!  That doesn’t happen very often.)

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DC Trip Day Four - Wednesday, June 10, 2026

 

Well, we were worried about it all week and sure enough it was raining this morning.  Not very heavy but definitely wet on outdrive to Mount Vernon.  This is George Washington’s home.  We have not visited the past two years because both the house and the visitors center have been undergoing extensive renovations.  We toured the house first.  What a beautiful home. George and Martha definitely had money plus they loved to entertain and it shows.  Every room had those special touches that you put into a home to make it yours while also impressing others.  Probably the most noticeable is the paint.  The colors on the wall are bright and in a variety of colors.  Back then most people couldn’t afford more than a basic white wash.  This house had rooms that were blue, yellow and a very right green! You also can’t help but notice the landscape oil paintings speed throughout the house.  While president, George traveled the country and purchased landscapes from talented local artists that showed the beauty throughout the nation.  Quite an impressive collection.  

 

Some of the groups went down to the tomb to see where George and Martha as well as to the slave cemetery a little further down the hill.  The contrast between the two burial sites could not be more blatant but that’s just how things were back then. 

 

The visitors center, which wasn’t really that old, has been completely remodeled. Wow! I was pleasantly surprised to see how much everything was updated.  All the displays are more vibrant and colorful. Even the restaurant and gift shops have been updated with a whole new look.  They still have the 4-D theater and those who returned to the visitors center early enough were able to see the film and have snow fall on them while they watch.  They have returned George’s teeth to a new display.  It is amazing how much the teeth fascinate the students.  Be sure to ask your student what the teeth are made out of.  It will probably surprise, and possible disgust, you!

 

While we were at Mount Vernon we got a text from the Twilight Tattoo.  Due to the weather they were moving the event indoors. We were afraid of this since the indoor venue seats about half the number they can accommodate out doors. Looking at the message it appeared that we were part of the group that got cancelled. We were bummed but we started making alternate plans for the rest of the day.  (Its always good to have a back up plan.) Then we got a second message from the Army.  This message listed those groups that were definitely cancelled and we were not on that list.  We looked back at the original message and realized we had not been cancelled, they had just entered Kenilworth’s name incorrectly.  We were listed at Kenneth Junior High!  Woo Hoo!  We get to go to the indoor version of the Twilight Tattoo tonight. 

 

On to lunch.  Today we went to Primo Family Restaurant. For a busy place running through a large number of groups they do a surprisingly good job.  The food and the service are both excellent.  We dined on a Mediterranean Salad, spiral pasta with pomodoro sauce, as much pizza as you wanted and chocolate chip cookies.  Personally, I  thought today’s pizza was WAAAAAAAAY better that last night’s!  What did you think?  Let me know.  I am truly curious to know which one the students liked the best.

 

Next stop is the United States Army Museum.  Covering the entire 251 year history of the United States Army there were two exhibits in particular that I really enjoyed.  One was the the special exhibition of the American Revolution to celebrate our 250th birthday.  As a former history teacher who taught about this war I really appreciated how accurate and entertaining the exhibit was.  Among other things, they had excellent animations of both the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Yorktown.  It was so clear that it was easy to understand why these two battles turned out the way they did. 

 

There was also a display on Charles M Schulz.  He served in the Army during World War II and was part of the group that liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp.  (Side Note: I have traveled quite a bit and the creepiest place I have ever visited was the Dachau Concentration Camp!) A couple students and I had an excellent conversation with the docent working in that area about Mr Schulz.  Not only did he teach us about part of Mr Schulz’s life but we were also able to teach him about Mr Schulz’s connection to Sonoma County including the Museum, Snoopy’s Home Ice and the Santa Rosa Charles M Schulz Airport. 

 

Our next stop was the Iwo Jima / Marnie Corps Memorial.  Once again, we had perfect timing on a visit.  We happened to pull in right after two buses carrying Honor Flights of Marine Veterans. Many of our students had the opportunity to converse with these American Heroes about their experiences in the military.  Most of these vets are in wheelchairs and it was hard for some of them to talk but it was heartwarming to watch the interactions between the young and old.  It kinda restored your faith that the youth will appreciate what these brave men and women have done for us and our country. 

 

Dinner this afternoon was at the Pentagon City Mall.  This is a regular mall with a large food court on the bottom floor.  The students had about 15 restaurants to choose from with everything from McDonalds burgers and Subway sandwiches to Popeye’s chicken or Panda Express Chinese food.  

 

Next we head over to Ft Myers and the Twilight Tattoo!  We had been hearing horror stories all week about the troubles of getting checked in but since all of our adults had already registered we cruised through the check in process  and were able to drive onto the base pretty quickly.  Every year the show is different and we have not been to the indoor show for quite a while but they did quite an amazing job at bringing the outdoors inside.  The shooting off of the howitzers wasn’t as loud. To be honest, it couldn’t tell if they were just showing a video of the blasts or if they were actually shooting them off.  Last time we were at an indoor show , there was no doubt. They were definitely shooting them live because they had the big back doors open and it was LOUD.  Tonight the doors were closed and it definitely wasn’t as loud.  On the other hand, the guns inside were probably louder that when outdoors!

 

The evening started off with a Trivia game that we played on our phones interacting with the questions on the big screens.  The pressure was on Mr Eklund. I felt it.  Everyone around me was watching my scores intently.  After round one, I was in second place.  At the end of round two, I had slipped to sixth place.  Unfortunately, I missed a couple in the last round and finished in 10th place but we had fun anyway.

 

They started with the big army jazz band with three singers.  The song selection was great and everyone was singing along. They did songs by Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, the Backstreet Boys as well as had us all sing happy birthday to the Army (they were celebrating number 251 today.) They had the place rocking.  Next they introducing all the schools in attendance and I am proud to say that Kenilworth had easily the biggest response in the place!  Well Done.This was followed up with 20 new recruits being sworn into the army. A pretty big step and to do it infant of such a large crowd had to be intimidating.  

 

The show itself was a little different that in past years.  They made extensive use of the video screens and I am not sure if this was because we were inside or if this was just how they were doing the show this year. They had a drum and fife corp marching and playing music. The Army Drill team was there tossing their bayonets around like they were batons.  Very impressive.  Soldiers were telling their story on the screens, coming in and shooting weapons and they even opened the back door and brought in a HumVee!  Quite a show.  Best of all, afterwards all of the performers were available for pictures and chats with the students.  It was a great night.

 

Before we left the arena, we said our goodbyes to Ella, Brad and James.  It is amazing how tight we have become in just four days.  We dropped them off at the Metro Station with your tips and the you cards.  Thanks again for your donations.  It really makes a difference to have fantastic guides to lead us on this journey!

 

Back at the hotel we had a short meeting to go over logistics for the morning since we will be checking out of this hotel and driving to Harper’s Ferry bright and early.  The weather for the rest of the week is supposed to be hot and humid. If you could, please send reminders to your student’s to drink water or gatorade…lots of it.  Goodnight.  Talk to you tomorrow.

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DC Trip Day Five - Thursday, June 11, 2026

 

It’s always chaos on a day where we have to check out of the hotel but we actually did a pretty good job at being packed up and ready to go on time.  That was much appreciated. Today we started off with a drive to Harper’s Ferry. Fortunately the accident slowing traffic today was on the other side of the freeway instead of our like yesterday.  We made great time and actually arrived a little bit early.

 

The rangers let us drive on down before the park actually opened. What a treat! Harper’s Ferry is the site of a failed slave insurrection lead by the abolitionist John Brown.  He chose Harper’s Ferry because it was the location of a gun manufacturing factory as well as an arsenal which stored over 100,000 United States Army rifles.  John planned to take these rifles to arm his followers who intended to end slavery by any means necessary, including murder. I have not been to this National Park in about 15-20 years.  I had heard they did a lot of work to improve the site and boy did they.  Every building had new signage and displays.  There were not as many docents inside as I remember but the exhibits had been greatly expanded and included more films and animations. 

 

I made my way down to the Firehouse which was where John Brown and some of his followers were trapped by the locals until the United States Marines arrived to capture Brown and his gang. I got to return to teacher mode as I explained what happened and why. I had a wonderful conversation with some of the students about the time period and how it related to other events as well as today.  It felt good to lead such a great intellectual discussion.  I was so impressed with the insightful questions as well as the thoughtful responses.  Thank you.  You made this old teacher quite happy!

 

Today lunch was at a new place for us, the Outlet Shoppes in Gettysburg.  This was a small food court connected to an Outlet Mall. As with a couple of our other meals, the students could choose from a limited menu for each restaurant in the mall.  There was Chinese, Mexican, Subway, Pretzels or Pizza restaurants.  Not a he selection but for a quick bite on the road it was pretty good.

 

Next we went to Gettysburg.  We were early enough that the students had time to shop before the show (they also had time after the show if they had not finished their shopping.)  The show started with a fantastic film about the battle narrated by Morgan Freeman.. I love this film so much a while back I tried to purchase a copy of it to show in my classroom. Unfortunately, they don’t sell copies so you have to come here to see it.  After the film, we went upstairs to the Cyclorama. This is  40 foot high painting that circles completely around us that blends into an actual diorama in the foreground.  Through lights, sound and music this painting comes alive as a sensory explanation of the battle.  

 

One thing that was really cool in the shop was an author was there signing copies of his new book.  It is called Generals in Bronze by William B. Styple.  It features very candid interviews of all the commanders during the Civil War. The interviews were conducted by an artist who was creating bronze statues of these men and they really opened up to him while he was sculpting them. He had intended to publish them but then he passed away and they have been stashed away for close to a hundred years.  For a history nerd, it sounds like a great read. 

 

Next, we get back on the buses but this time a genuine Gettysburg expert joined us to take a drive through tour of the battlefield. Each bus had different experience but the best part was these guys were great story tellers.  They brought the battle alive for the students and, despite the heat (Yes, it was a hot one today) kept the kids engaged throughout their presentations. They didn’t just explain what was happening but made the stories relatable  I think the team I was with could actually fire a cannon based on the vivid explanation from the guide.  We went up to the top Little Round Top where it was easy to visualize the difficulty the South would have trying to attack the union position.  We also took a lot at Pickett’s Charge from both the Northern and Southern perspectives. This charge was really the beginning of the end for the South.  All in all it was an extremely interesting and informative tour.

 

After the tour it is time for dinner.  Tonight we dined at the Dobbin House.  What a wonderful meal.  A old school home cooked style meal. There was a salad bar, cole slaw, green beans, roasted carrots, pasta, baked slices of potato, Bar-B-Que chicken, honey ham, fresh baked rolls, and so much more.  For desert, there was an excellent BlueberryTrifle as well as chocolate brownies. Personally, I thought it was the best meal we have had all week. 

 

After dinner we went on a ghost touring downtown Gettysburg.  Now, we didn’t see any ghosts but as soon as we started the tour the sky got dark, the wind picked up and it got really ominous looking outside. The stories the guides told were very interesting, especially when we learned about Jennie Wade and her boyfriend in the Culp family.  Lots of interesting twists and the story says that both of them now haunt Gettysburg.  While the stories were great fun, I am not sure they really got the spooky ghost feeling going for us.  Oh well, it was something new to try and at least we got to cool off with a short rain shower which brought the temperature down a bit.

 

That’s it for today.  Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.  I will most likely write the blog on the flight home but chances are it will not get posted until I wake up sometime Saturday morning.

Good night.

​

DC Trip Day Six - Friday, June 12, 2026

 

It always seems to be a bit crazy on days when we have to pack up our rooms and put our bags on the bus but I must say this group has handled it pretty well. The chaperones appreciated that all week long our students have got up on time, been down to breakfast wearing their name tags, got ready and loaded the buses relatively on-time each day. Today we had a bit of panic over a lost cell phone but it was eventually found in the student’s room and we were on the buses headed to Philadelphia.  It was a very early start today but the students handled it well and were able to sleep on the bus.  An educational opportunity arose when we drove past the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island.  I started to make an announcement about it but realized they would appreciate the sleep more than hearing about a power plant that they most assuredly never heard of before so I let them sleep.

 

I was worried about hitting heavy traffic going into Philly but we had bus driver James leading our motor coaches today.  He grew up in Philadelphia and he knows all the back roads and side streets that kept us off the freeways with the bumper to bumper traffic and got us to our first appointment on time!

 

Before I describe the day, I want to sing the praises of our drivers and guides a little bit.  Year after year we have been fortunate to have the same great people helping on our trip.  There are a few reasons the best always want to work with us.  While I have been told they appreciate my organization as well as flexibility when it comes to the logistics of this trip, I know they really like working with us because we have such a great group of students.  For the most part they are consistently polite and considerate of others.  They display those Kolt Life Skills that we don’t see in some of the other groups we encounter on our trips. I am writing this as we are flying the last leg of our trip home and the flight attendant just came up to me to compliment me on how well behaved our group is acting on this flight.  I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the job our parents and teachers are doing to help these students become productive members of our society.  So, Thank you.

 

Now back to our trip.  We have three new guides today. Marianne, Annie and Terry. It is our first time working with all three of them although I did run into Terry at the Army Museum the other day while he was leading another group.  Each of the guides will be taking a group and checking out Philly on their own so I can’t tell you exactly what each group was doing but this should give you a pretty good Idea.  Our first site is Independence Hall. This is where our founding fathers debated whether or not they should declare their independence from Great Britain. We have heard about this story all our lives but have you ever stopped to think about the risk these gentlemen were taking?  Most of the founding fathers were doing pretty well financially.  They could have easily paid the tax on tea (or any other taxes for that matter.)  Why were they so adamant about not paying?  Why risk everything and possibly be hung as a traitor over a few pennies? Their bold move brought us the rights and freedoms we treasure today.  Think about that when you celebrate our 250th birthday in a couple weeks. Would you be willing to risk your money, your home, possibly even your life for future generations?  

 

Some of the other sights to visit in Philadelphia included 

:

The famed Liberty Bell, complete with the repaired crack in the bell. 

 

The steps up to the Fine Arts Museum that were featured in the film Rocky.  Most of the students ran up the steps just like Sylvester Stallone did in that wonderful film.

 

The United States Mint.  It was the first time I have ever visited this place where they stamp out the nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar coins that we use everyday to keep our economy running, The tour featured an overhead gallery that allowed us to look down upon the factory floor. Unfortunately it was Friday afternoon when we went through so there was not much action going on down below but there must have been 50 Pallets of coins boxed up and ready to ship out.  According to the plaques on the wall, each pallet of coins weighed about 6,000 pounds or three tons).  That would fill a lot of parking meters.  

 

Ben Franklin’s grave site -  Ben Franklin is everywhere in this town. Terry’s group would yell out “Yo Ben!” every time they saw a reference to Ben as they were going about their tour. This included when a guy who look like Ben Franklin just happened to be standing next to us waiting to cross the street. I wonder what that groups Ben sighting total ended up being.  If your student was in Terry’s group be sure to ask how many “Yo Ben’s” they found during the day. I’ll bet the number turned out to be quite high.  One easy sighting was Ben Franklin’s grave site.  Located on the corner, directly across the street from the mint, it is easy to take a look at the tomb of Ben and his wife.  

 

You could also visit the Ben Franklin Interactive Children’s Museum, The recreated version of Ben Franklins Print Shop. Or even check out the archeological dig of Ben Franklin’s privy (out house). Back in the day they used the outhouse to throw out all kinds things that archeologists drool over today.  There are a lot of other things to see in Philly but only so much time left in our busy schedule.

 

At some point everyone made it over to the Reading Terminal for lunch.  OMG! What a selection….and what a zoo! The choices seemed limitless.  I was still stuffed from the Dobbin House last night so I didn’t want the full huge Philly Cheese Steak. I opted instead for a pretzel version.  It had the same beef mixed with Cheese Whiz but instead of a huge roll it was incased inside soft pretzel dough! My Goodness. This was excellent.  I am not sure what your student chose for lunch but I am pretty sure they had a chance to find something great to eat. 

 

Unfortunately, it is time to say goodbye to our new guides and head for the airport. We do some people and luggage shuffling outside the National Constitution Center then head off to the airport.  It is great to see how the students bond with Tony, James and Terri over the course of the week. That bonding make is hard to say good byte however we have one tired group who are definitely ready to head for home.

 

Thank you again for your tip donations.  It is nice to be able to show our bus drivers (James, Tony and Terri) , our DC Guides (Ella, Brad and James), our Philly guides (Marianne, Annie and Terry), the on-site Coordinators at the hotels (John and Lisa) and our Gettysburg Battlefield Guides (Fran and the other two whose names I have forgotten) how much we appreciated their help.  I gave each of these people thank you cards with cash inside as a small token of our appreciation.  Thank you for making this possible.

 

One  last thing, something else that I do to kind of grease the wheels so to speak.  On every flight I always give the flight attendants a box of See’s Candy and let them know where I will be sitting in case there is any kind problem with any of the students. On our Southwest flight from Chicago to San Francisco, the lead flight attendant not only gave Kenilworth a big shout out over the PA system but all of the flight attendants stopped by at some point during the flight to say how impressed they were with the students behavior.  Once again those Kolt Life Skills are shining through!

 

That about wraps things up for this year’s trip.  The pictures we took on the steps near the Capitol should arrive soon.  I will send out a mail chimp message to let you know when they arrive. I plan to hang out in front of school one morning and pass the photos out.  Please try to stop by and pick your up.   Thanks again for joining me on this year’s adventure. I hope you had a wonderful trip and made some memories to last your lifetime. 

 

Michael Eklund

3293 Amoruso Way

Roseville, CA 95747

mreklund@gmx.com