Mr Eklund

2024 Washington DC Trip   

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Day One

 

The buses were a few minutes late, passing out the packets was a bit more chaotic than usual, loading bags took a little longer, and the safety spiel seemed a lot longer which means we are about 13 minutes late pulling out of the parking lot.  Even with this extra time and multiple calls we did have one traveler miss the bus.  Fortunately, someone finally answered their phone and they drove to SFO…and they beat the rest of us because both buses dropped us off at the wrong terminal.  Okay, a little extra walk and we will be there right? Not so fast.  There is construction between the terminals so our path is blocked.  Down a floor and the path is still blocked. On our third loop, now down two floors, we had to go out through the parking lot to get to the next terminal.  When we finally reach the American Airlines ticket counter, they were wondering what had happened to us. 

 

Fortunately, Ricardo knew I was coming and they had everything ready for us. Ricardo and I worked together at Pacific Southwest Airlines, which was bought by USAirways, which was bought by America West Airlines which was bought by American Airlines. (I left before we were bought by America West.)  In fact, I used to be Ricardo’s supervisor back in the early 80’s and now he is a Supervisor for American.  Not only did he make sure they had our boarding passes  all printed out and ready but they even checked our carry on sized suitcases at no charge, saving many of us $40. Thanks Ricardo.  

 

Now I’d like to think that Ricardo was just being nice for an old friend but I think the real reason they wanted to eliminate as many of our carry on’s as possible is because we have a tight connection in Charlotte and our flight out of SFO is going to be a little late.  It seems our flight crew got in to SFO late last night and they had to push our flight time back due to crew rest rules.  Checking most of the bags will actually make it faster to unload the people from the plane and the pilot said he thinks he will be able to make up the time en-route so hopefully we will make our connection in Charlotte. We have been in the air about 2 hours. It’s been a little bumpy.  More to come when we reach Charlotte.

 

Things were looking a bit grim with our flight running late and the connecting gate in Charlotte in the next terminal. But we had some good news.  Our flight made up some of the time we were delayed and they moved the connecting gate so our two flights were right next to each other.  No time to shop or get something to eat or even go to the bathroom but we were able to walk right off one plane and on to the next.  This second flight is only about 45 minutes long and all of our luggage arrived right on time.

 

Me meet our drivers, James and Tony, and the laughter begins.  I’ve been working with these two bus drivers and there simply isn’t anyone better.  We load the bags on the bus and we are off to dinner.  

 

Dinner tonight is at Rocco’s Smokehouse Grill.  It has been a few years since I have been to this restaurant.  The food is so good that they tend to be pretty busy and we didn’t get in the past couple of times in Williamsburg,  OMG! The food was even better than I remembered.  BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches, BBQ chicken, Baked Mac & Cheese, Green Beans, amazing Cole Slaw,  Sweet Cornbread Muffins and double chocolate brownies. YUMMY!!!!  And the service could not have been better.  Rocco himself catered to our every need.  What a fabulous dinner.

 

After dinner we go on our first tour of the trip. We meet our guides and take a tour of Colonial Williamsburg looking for ghosts.  I am not sure if anyone saw a ghost this evening but our three guides were amazing stop tellers. they were great at popping together a story and catching the kids off guard with a sudden twist to the story.  Lots of pictures were taken and I will be curious to hear if anyone captured shots of ghosts this evening.  We did have a few drops of rain this evening but over all the weather wasn’t too bad. Our guides were excellent. Thanks for contributing to our tip fund. We left tips and thank you notes to these three fine gentlemen. It will be interesting to see the same town tomorrow in the daylight.

That concludes a very long but fun day.  On tap for tomorrow, Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg.  Expected to be in the low 80’s with relatively low humidity   Its been a great start.  See you tomorrow.

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2024 Washington DC Trip Day Two

 

That wake up call seemed really early but when I exited my room forty five minutes early for breakfast I was surprised to see students already out in the hallway ready to start the day. What a great way to start the day! Breakfast is buffet style in the hotel. Today we had eggs, bacon, potatoes and pancakes, plus the usual extras like cereal, yogurt, fruit, etc.  Everyone was up and down for breakfast well before our official breakfast start time.  This is nice because it gives us a chance for a relatively leisurely time before starting a long, busy day.

 

Since we are only spending one night at this hotel we have to do room checks and bring our bags down to load them on the bus.  We did such a great job that we were at Jamestown a few minutes before the gates opened which means we were the first buses in the place.  Our first stop is the Glassblowing exhibit.  This was the first money making venture for the men at Jamestown (after they realized there was no gold to be found.) The site was great because they had all the supplies needed to make gas items but it was never really a money maker.  The biggest reason was they had to abandon the money making ideas to focus on the food problem…they were starving.  Watching how they make beautiful glass items out of sand was a pretty fascinating process.  They had some beautiful items for sale but getting items home was an issue, not to mention the items were very pricey, so I don’t think anyone purchased anything. Be sure to ask your student how they do it.  

 

On to the Jamestown Settlement. Here we have four separate guides. I bounced between the four groups so your child’s experience may be different from what I describe. The group I started with toured the museum first.  This museum traces the history of Virginia from the days of the Powhatan, long before the arrival of the Europeans, up through today.. One of my favorite parts is the section of street built to look like a section of London around the time they settled Jamestown. It really illustrates why people were willing to risk their lives to come to the New World and all the challenges that entailed.  They also had a special exhibit of movie costumes created by a local designer (sorry, I forget her name) that was fantastic.  There were costumes from Black Panther, Roots, Selma, I’m Gonna Get You Sucka to name a few.  The photo above is the costume worn by LaBron James in the Fortnite movie (which I don’t even think is out yet.)  Pretty cool.  There is a lot more to see here than the museum.

 

Down at the docks, they have exact replicas of the three ships the original settlers used to come to America.  It is scary to think about crossing the Atlantic on these three very small ships.  We were able to go on the middle sized ship, the Godspeed.  The largest of the three ships, the Susan Constant, is going to be sent to a shipyard in New England for a major, multi-million dollar overhaul that is going to take years to complete so it will not be here when we visit again next year. 

 

On the way to the docks we pass through a recreated Powhatan Village. Here you can see how the natives lived.  They are tanning deer hides and making arrowheads.  Apparently the Powhatan are incredibly talented with a bow and arrow.  They can fire very quickly and very accurately, even while shooting a flying bird out of the air.  I guess it makes sense because they start learning around the age of four and practice their entire lives.  

 

Returning from the docks, there is a reproduction of the fort the original settlers built.  Throughout the fort, as well as on the docks and in the native village, their are docents demonstrating practically ever aspect of daily life at the time. We watched a blacksmith shaping a metal vest, a woman knitting wool into a sweater, a man chopping wood into kindling, a clergyman explaining how much the church impacted their lives everyday, a demonstration of how to fire a musket with a boring fuse and many other facets of daily life.  

 

Next, it is time for lunch. Today we are trying a new restaurant called Retro Eats.  I was very impressed with how quickly they were able to take our orders and deliver the meals to such a large group.  The menu featured items such as burgers, chicken nuggets, Caesar salads, chicken sandwiches, etc.  The food was very tasty.  The buns practically melted in your mouth. When I asked at our meeting tonight everyone overwhelmingly agreed that I should keep this as a site for future trips.  As fast as the service was, I think the students ate even faster.  I assume it was because they had time after lunch to shop in downtown Williamsburg.  A lot of students went to check out the William & Mary University College Shop but the real hot ticket was the candy store.  The candy store features lots of choices of various hand made candy.  You almost expected Willy Wonka to appear behind the counter.  I saw lots of students walking out with some tasty treats.

 

After shopping we had guided tours of Colonial Williamsburg.  This area looks and operates like it is 1775, right before the American Revolution.  Imagine living in a very wealthy area in Colonial times and you get the idea.  We had four different guides and everyone had a different experience but some of the sites they visited included the Capitol where the king appointed governor and the House of Burgesses would meet, at least until the House of Burgesses was disbanded for not totally supporting the King when they were disbanded. Well, they were officially disbanded but they actually just moved to a restaurant a few hundred yards down the road where the met unofficially.  One of our guides had the students imagine they were going to become an apprentice and had to pick their trade as they visited the shops of the brick maker, the carpenter, the silversmith, the blacksmith, the wheelwright, the gunsmith, the wig maker, and…well you get the idea.  There were a lot of shops to choose from and all that were open had docents to explain what was happening in that shop.  It was very cool

 

After a very fun day it is time to eat again. Tonight dinner was Italian Food at Sal’s. It is Monday evening, a day when restaurants are usually not especially busy. While we took over the back room with our large group, the rest of the restaurant was packed with a number of people waiting to get in at the front door. That is a good sign and they are right to be waiting, the food was fantastic.  We had pizza, three different types of pasta dishes, salad, bread and brownies.  We thought Rocco’s was great last night but the students liked Sal’s even more. definitely a keeper for future trips. 

 

After dinner its time for the drive to Charlottesville so we are near Monticello in the morning.  On the drive, one bus was sleeping while the other watched Hamilton.  It is amazing how many students knew every single word of the entire musical.  They were singing the entire way.  There was a little rain on the drive but we still made great time getting to our hotel. We spent some time in the room we will eating breakfast in tomorrow going over today, what to expect tomorrow as well as a bit of a history lesson.  Just some things to keep us busy until bed check.  That’s it for today.  Tomorrow we get to sleep in a bit. Wake up call is 7:00am. See you tomorrow.

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2024 Washington DC Trip Day Three

 

Today started off a little bit later than usual which was good thing because the wake up calls didn’t go through for most of us.  Good thing we always recommend to set an alarm on your phone as well so everyone made it down to breakfast with plenty of time.  Once again it was your typical hotel buffet with scrambled eggs, sausage patties, potatoes and French Toast.  In my opinion the eggs were not as good as yesterday but the French Toast was better than yesterday’s pancakes. I think most students caught up on their sleep last night because I didn’t see anyone dragging this morning. The mood was pretty bubbly as we once again ran through room checks and loaded our bags on the bus.  

 

Our first stop today was at Monticello. This is Thomas Jefferson’s house and it is just a short drive from our hotel.  The house is located at the top of the hill so we have to take a series of shuttle buses to get our whole group up to the house.  We have some time before our scheduled tours so we have a bit of time to explore the grounds around the house.  One of the most interesting spots was the display about Sally Hemmings. Sally was one of the slaves owned by Jefferson who became much more than a slave.  Jefferson had taken his own daughter as well as Sally’s brother to Paris with him. He took Sally’s brother so he could be trained as a French Chef.  Jefferson later sent for another daughter who was accompanied by Sally to Paris. The laws in France had basically outlawed slavery and there was an opportunity for Sally to sue for their freedom but to avoid this, Jefferson planned to return to America with everyone but then Sally made a deal.  She would agree to come back into slavery in exchange for Jefferson setting her brother and any children she might have with Jefferson free.  Jefferson agreed. He set her brother free AFTER he had trained another slave to be the French Chef and promised to set their children free when they turned 21 or Jefferson died, whichever came first. Jefferson and Hemmings did have 5 children together but only two survived into adulthood.  He did set them free but never did offer Sally the same freedom.  She was eventually just let go by Jefferson’s heirs about a year after he had died.  By the way, it was not uncommon for slave owners to father children with their slaves.

 

Touring the house was fantastic.  Jefferson was a very interesting man who was interested in many, many this.  A lot of these interests were reflected throughout the house.  Some of the highlights: There is compass rose in the ceiling over the front porch so that Jefferson could see which way the weather vane was pointing without walking out halfway across the yard. There was a mechanical device that held a second pen connected to the pen Jefferson wrote with so he could make a copy of each document he wrote.  There were artifacts brought back by Lewis & Clark including a huge set of Elk Antlers. Every room had some cool things to see, from the wine dumbwaiter to the tassel by his bed which would allow him to unlock his bedroom door without getting out of bed.  Speaking of the bed, it is quite a bit shorter than Jefferson was because Thomas believed it was better for your lungs to sleep sitting up, and also because he had rather severe acid reflex which laying down makes it much worse. In addition there was quite a bit to see at the visitors center after taking the shuttle van back down the hill. There was a museum, a film as well as a pretty large gift shop.  The guide that led the group I joined was absolutely fantastic so it was a pretty good start to the day.

 

Time for lunch.  Today we are going to a new food court.  Usually a food court is in a mall or an office building but this one was just a stand alone food court called Dairy Market. This place looked promising.  We all got “Graze Cards” (which was basically a gift card) and each of the restaurants had a Graze Menu that listed what you could get for free with the card.  The choices were pretty varied and on the surface looked pretty good but it didn’t take long to figure out that many of the restaurants were severely understaffed.  A couple of the places only had one person working.  A couple of them had staff that didn’t know what they were doing or how to process the graze cards. The Thai place not only had just one person working but it was also her first day.  Everyone ended up getting something to eat but it was a bit frustrating figuring out what to get and where the order might be placed in a timely fashion.  I can see this place might have good potential down the road but for this visit we were not overly impressed. Oh well, you don’t know until you try right. 

 

After lunch we drive into DC to meet up with our guides for the rest of the trip.  We pick up Ella and Jane in front of the Old Post Office, which was a Trump hotel during the Trump administration and is now a Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Traffic is horrendous the  me meet the guides so we decide to bail out of the busses and walk the couple blocks to the National Archives.  We were lucky today as there was only a very small line.  We filed through and were able to check out the original Declaration of Independence, US Constitution and The Bill of Rights.  The three documents that really form the basis of ur government. 

 

From here it is back to the bus for the drive through heavy traffic to dinner.  Tonight we are at the Ivy City Smokehouse, another BBQ place.  Dinner featured Caesar Salad, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Mac n Cheese and brownies.  Pretty good dinner then we are on our way to our evening tours. 

 

Tonight we are visiting some of the many memorials, starting with the Dr. Martin Luther King. This monument features a large statue of Dr King that looks like it is emerging from a huge chunk of stone. On either side of the statue, granite walls spread out with number of quotes from various Dr King’s speeches carved into them.  Pretty inspiring. 

 

Next it is on the the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.  This one is very interesting, especially when you consider that FDR didn’t want anything larger than his desk as a memorial.  The one has four huge outdoor granite “rooms”, each one addressing a different term of his presidency. It walks us through the depression, the New Deal and into World War II.  It also features a couple of interesting tidbits. One is the statue of his wife Eleanor.  She is the only first lady to be featured in any memorial in Washington DC.  There is also the depiction of FDR in a wheelchair.  He had contracted polio as an adult and used a wheelchair but they kept this news away from the public.  For the most part Americans did not know he was in a wheelchair.  He definitely would not want to appear in a wheelchair which was pretty controversial when the memorial first opened.  

 

Next we walk over to the statue of George Mason.  He was probably our most under rated founding father.  Content to serve our country in the background this man did quite a lot to help guarantee our personal freedoms.  He also happens to be the great, great, great (I am not sure how many greats) grandfather of a student on our trip.  Anna Lane got the chance to pose for pictures with her ancestor, how cool is that!!

 

From here it is over the the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  The statue of Thomas in this memorial is WAY taller than the statue of him at Monticello.  This one is 18 feet tall and towers under the dome designed to look like his beloved Monticello. Like Dr King, the Jefferson Memorial has some of his extensive writings carved into the marble walls.  Quite a beautiful sight. 

 

We finished out our day at the 9-11 Memorial at the Pentagon.  Quite a moving memorial, especially in the dark with a number of stainless steel benches over a small pool of water.  The pools are lit with a water flow that simultaneously  provides the turmoil of rough water at one end and calm peaceful reflection at the other.  Quite a moving site.

 

That brings us to the end of a long but wonderful day.  We arrive at our hotel to find there are NINE buses with student tours spending the night.  Our buses will be the first ones out which means an early wake up call so I really need to go to bed.  More tomorrow. Thanks.

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2024 Washington DC Trip Day Four

 

Despite the early wake up call today most students were down to breakfast early.  I am impressed how everyone is up, excited and raring to go each day.  It sets a great example for the rest of the day.  Once again it was a buffet breakfast.  Similar to the other days but with bacon and waffles this time.  This hotel is huge and we are set up in a very large ballroom with dozens of tables for the multiple school groups. Ours was the first group up and out of the parking lot. 

 

Our first stop today is Arlington National Cemetery.  This cemetery started out as Robert E Lee’s front yard. During the Civil War, Robert E Lee left his home to lead the Southern Army so while he was away, they started burrying the dead during the war in his rose garden.  By the end of the war there were thousands of soldiers buried in their yard.  The Lee’s never lived there again.  We meet up with Ella and Jane and start the walk up the hill. 

 

Tonight we have a special blog - Various chaperones will be helping me…first up Ms Thompson

 

We walked up hill after hill. We saw thousands of marble head stones that were lined up meticulously. There are hundreds of lush mature trees that create serene spaces. The wetter weather here keeps the lawns green to the edges and the trees fuller. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The soldiers keep their uniforms pristine. Everything that could shine, sparkles! The exact strides are repeated in the exact same place each time they walk their patterns. Two schools laid wreaths in honor of the Unknown Soldiers. We saw Audie L. Murphy’s headstone. Mr. Eklund shared a story about Murphy. Nearby was the three memorials for the two Space Shuttles and the International Space Station. We visited the Use Thrusher Memorial for the 129 men lost in the submarine accident. We walked up to Lee’s home on the top of the hill. There is such a stunning view from the front porch. John F. Kennedy said, “that he could spend forever here.” Unfortunately, he was assassinated a few weeks later. He is buried a few yards away, just down the hill with the Eternal Flame. We saw the Kennedy Family headstones. We survived a very long set of stairs that require a long or short stride to navigate. We saw Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall headstones. Finally, we saw the memorial for the soldiers who died in the attempt to rescue the Iran-Contra hostages. The students were reverent and very respectful.

 

Now Ms. Woldemar

 

After Arlington we headed to lunch at a new place: the Department of Agriculture. This was a new place to us and it was ended up being a mixed bag. We were given 3 options of what to order. A hot food and salad buffet where they gave each person a bowl which you could use to get some hot Chinese food and/or salad. There was a long wait for the orange chicken, which was easily the best item from the hot food bar. The other items (chicken & broccoli, egg rolls, lo main) weren’t great. You could also choose from set selections at various restaurants. Most people who chose this option thought their food was…. okay. The third option was appreciated: you could just order whatever you wanted at any place, and use the voucher as $10 credit toward it, then pay any balance left. The best aspect of this place was that there was plenty of seating, and a place to refill water.

 

 Next is Miss Amanda.

 

After all this excitement, we made our next stop at the National History Museum. There were so many exhibits to choose from ,so we let the students explore themselves. Highlights included: The Dinosaur fossils, skeletons along with a working fossil lab, where scientists were active extracting fossils from stones. Another favorite for some of the adults include the cell phone exhibit. It describes the introduction of cellular phones in our society and the impact it has had on us. My personal favorite was the Butterfly exhibit. You had an opportunity to look at TONS of different butterflies, they were flying all around and landing on people. I even had two blue butterflies land on me at the same time. Another cool stop was the Gems and Crystals exhibit. Ms. Thompson saw the Thompson Diamond necklace and earrings. They would not let her sign them out. I’m not sure why. They have the Hope Diamond on display. This diamond is 49.52 carats and is one of the largest blue diamonds in the world. I know we could have spent all day in this museum. But that’s not where our day ends! 

 

Our next guest writers are Ms Woldermar and Mr Allen.

 

We enjoyed some amazing views of the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument as we journeyed to our next stop, the African American History Museum. This museum provided a comprehensive history of slavery in America. The kids learned about the role slavery played in the shaping of the United States. Fast-Forward to 20th Century and we saw some iconic pop culture items including Chuck Berry’s Cherry Red Cadillac, Prince’s Guitar, and the Mother Ship from Parliament Funkadelic - one the most iconic musical set pieces in the history of Rock N Roll. The young budding musicians also had the opportunity to create custom tracks on the virtual mixer that included rhythm, bass, and melody - so much fun!

 

Lighting fast meal at the Pentagon City Mall. Each kiddo received a voucher that allowed them to select a meal of their choosing. Options included Shake Shack, Japanese, Philly Cheese Steaks, and more. 

 

We headed back toward the Arlington Cemetery and entered an active military base, Fort Meyers.  We passed trough a military checkpoint complete with bomb sniffing dogs and found excellent seating right up front.  This was a truly amazing show! The Golden Knights parachuted in with laser precision and landed right in the center of the field.  We witnessed colonial soldiers march in and charge at the dignitaries at the front of the audience with their bayonets. Thirty five new recruits took the oath and were formally sworn into the Army. Following that ceremony there were several sing alongs where the students sang song passionately with the Army performers. Songs included Cool Summer by Taylor Swift and I Want it that Way by The Backstreet Boys. All the while howitzer Cannons were blasting away including a 21 guns salute. I even saw Mr Eklund shake hands (for the second year in a row) with the Secretary of the Army! There were quite a few changes to the show this year, with an emphasis on all the high tech and technical advances the army has created and is working on for the future. After the show we had a chance to meet all the army personnel who performed in the show. One particularly cool exchange was watching the bonding between the Drum & Fife Corp’s drum major and the Kenilworth Drum Major. 

 

We ended the evening with a flash visit to the United States Marine Corps Memorial.  The kids got to see the iconic statue based on the Rosenthal photo of the five marines raising the American Flag on the Island of Iwo Jima. This was during an important battle in the Pacific Theatre during World II. This was an important step toward an attack on the Japanese mainland that would ultimately lead to an American victory. 

 

Mr Eklund here again...

 

What an extraordinary day!  I want to thank my guest writers this evening. It was great to have some adult bonding time after the students went to bed.  I have a feeling our collective exhaustion may give us feelings of regret in the morning but it was worth it.  It is so fun when the adults have a chance to bond on this journey. Now, I really gotta get some sleep.  See you tomorrow.

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2024 DC Trip Blog Day Five

 

Happy , um, Thursday…Yeah, it’s Thursday…right.  We had a fabulous day. We started off with another buffet style breakfast of eggs, potatoes, sausage, fruit, cereal, and assorted pastries. It’s funny.  The fare is basically the same each day with a minor variation such as French Toast, Pancakes, Waffles, etc.  Today happened to be French Toast.  They do a good job ob the French Toast. They vary the meat choice each day as well between bacon, sausage patties and sausage links. Today it was the links and again, they do a pretty good job on the links.  

 

Today we headed to George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon.  What an amazing historical estate that sits on a ridge along the banks of the Potomac River. We toured the gardens, slave quarters, and the main house. We got to experience the differences between George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. What a difference 25 years makes. Each estate was the same square footage but so different when you looked at the details.  Monticello was designed by Thomas Jefferson who was very much influenced by greek architecture while George Washington’s home is much simpler country style while at the same time trying to show that he was wealthy. This could be seen on the exterior walls.  Stone was very expensive s rather than wild the walls of stone, Washington used wood beveled on the edges, painted and sanded so that it looked and felt like stone at a much lower price. George was…shall we say, frugal whereas Jefferson tended to spend far more than he made.  

 

As we toured the estate, it was so moving to see the bedroom and actual bed where the General passed away.  He had something called Quincy which was like Strep Throat. They didn’t have any medicine to treat it then so his throat kept swelling until eventually he couldn’t breath anymore. We also made our way down to the burial site, which is actually not buried in the ground but in two above ground  side by side mausoleums inside a marble cave located on the property. Many of us went down to the cave as well as to the slave burial site located closer to the Potomac River.  Inside the visitors center, many of us had a chance to view the film.  They had a new film this year which barely mentioned Valley Forge and it didn’t snow inside the theater this time.  I think it might have something to do with the upcoming refurbishment. While Mount Vernon will not be completely closed, we will be leaving it off our itinerary in 2025 because so much fo it will be unavailable to tour.  

 

Next up, it is time for lunch.  Today it is a new restaurant for us, Primo’s.  This is a family style Italian restaurant. The food and the service were both great.  We had Italian green salad, a cold pasta salad, excellent chicken nuggets, fries, as well as half pepperoni-half cheese pizzas. Everything was fresh and tasty plus for dessert, oversized homemade chocolate chip cookies. I have been looking for a restaurant to go to after Mt Vernon for years and this one is definitely a keeper.  Everyone loved lunch today. 

 

After lunch we head over to the National Museum of the Army.  Histo-pads. What a cool device.  It utilized an iPad  Accurate simulations of specific locations in France as the Allies landed at Normandy.  Very similar to the look of Call of Duty.  It was gamified in a way that you had to explore the 3-D maps looking for relics.  It also showed the church at Sainte-Mere-Eglise where the paratrooper got stuck on the church steeple over looking the German forces on the ground.  I highly recommend you find the movie, The Longest Day, starring every big movie star of the day which recounts the entire Allied invasion on D-Day.

 

The rest of the museum featured many vignettes and exhibits from the various wars through the history of our country.  There were also some pretty cool films that got into some little known details such as how George Washington made sure that our military has a civilian leader to this day.  There was another comparing General Grant’s leadership style to General Lee’s. As with all the museum’s we visited this week there is no way you can see more than a small part of each site.  You could easily spend an entire day per museum and still not see everything.

From here we head back into DC for the heavy experience of the Holocaust Museum. Personally I find this museum to be a rather rough experience.  My Master’s Project was about the Holocaust and sometimes it makes it more difficult to see really bad things that you already know way too much about. This museum is designed to make you uncomfortable.  It is designed to make you think. It is designed to make you angry.  It is designed to make you want to do something to make sure it never happens again.  At the start of the tour there is a quote on the wall from General Eisenhower.  He came to the camps  because “ I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely “propaganda” .  This was specifically done to fight future Holocaust deniers. Talk about forward thinking!   

 

It is hard to walk through this museum without being horrified …and getting angry. Just hoping it won’t happen again is not enough.  We need to have courage to stand up to it. One thing the Nazi’s did was to film and document everything so there was confirmation of all the atrocities. One thing that was really interesting was debate over whether or not the Allies should bomb Auschwitz.  Should they blow it up knowing they would be killing a lot of the inmates or not blow up the camp and knowing the killing of the inmates would continue.  Tough call with no good answer. Very difficult tour.

 

Our next stop is a quickie.  We motor over to the Capitol to take our group photo. I am not sure if they were motivated by getting out of the sun as quickly as possible or because we were going to dinner as soon as we were done.  What ever the reason, everyone listened well and we got the picture taken very quickly.  It would have been even faster but the sun came out from behind the clouds so we had to retake all the shots that were taken previously to make sure the light and color levels remained constant. 

 

Next, can you believe it is time to eat again? Tonight is the Bee Liner Diner.  Once again, good food and great service.  The choices include Chicken Parmesan, Burger & Fries, Chicken Finger & Fries or Chicken Salad. Plus a scoop of Ice Cream.  The chaperones even bought a couple slices of the huge multi-layer cake.  There was a chocolate and a rainbow sprinkle white cake.  Personally I loved the chocolate cake but the white rainbow cake not so much…plus at $20 a slice don’t think I would get it in the future. 

 

Lest you think we would let these kids go home without the requisite hooded sweatshirt tonight it is time for some souvenir shopping. This gift shop has all kinds of stuff imprinted with Washington DC. I was checking out the bobble head dolls, and statues of the various Washington DC sites.  I recently gave all mine away as I was packing up my classroom., reminiscing about the 

 

After Shopping, it’s time for the Big Three - The Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. 

 

The Vietnam Wall is impressive if only for the sheer number of names carved into this wall.  We fought in this war from 1959 to 1972 and there are roughly 47,000 names of killed and missing on the wall. It can be overwhelming. There are also two other tributes associated with this Memorial.  There is a statue depicting a tribute to the nurses who served in Vietnam as well as another of a group of soldiers looking towards the wall in full battle regalia. Lots of items are still being left by the wall by friends and family of those listed on the wall.  This has been going on since the wall was built so they have finally started adding a building to this exhibit to store and display the thousands of items that have been left at the wall over the years.

 

Next we head over to the Korean War Memorial.  This one features 16 full size soldiers walking through the rice patties (actually strips of black granite between the juniper bushes) on patrol.  Each on has the specific equipment each member of the team would carry in an actual war. They did a fantastic job of making the expressions on the soldiers faces look very realistic.  There is also a black granite wall with a number of photos of the participants etched in the wall, including at least one of a military police dog.  The memorial was very well done.

 

Our last stop of the day is the biggest and best memorial of all, the Abraham Lincoln Memorial.  Unfortunately, this monument is undergoing a massive refurbishment.  They are adding a museum under the memorial among other things.  Lincoln is still sitting in his chair at a full i8 feet stall (as tall as the Jefferson Memorial but Lincoln is sitting while Jefferson was standing). I can’t wait to see how this is going to look when it is done but I am sure it is going to be great.  Mr Holley was so excited when he fond the spot where Dr Martin Luther King delivered his famous I have a Dream Speech.

 

Actually, I am so tired that I reversed the Lincoln and the Korean. We ended at the Korean, did some singing on the way back to the hotel and I am going to bed.  See you Friday.

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2024 KJHS DC Trip - Day Six

 

Ready for your final day in Washington DC.  Everyone is up and ready to start our final day in our nation’s capitol.  One last buffet breakfast then it it time for room checks.  This is the third time we have checked out of a hotel and overall the students did pretty well.  Only found a few items that were going to be left behind the it’s down the stairs and out to the buses.  

 

Today, our first stop is the White House.  The busses park on the opposite side of Lafayette Park, by the church and the Black Lives Matter Street.  They have just replanted the flowers in the center of the park and it looks beautiful today.  The best part is the north side, commonly referred too as the front entrance, of the White House is right across Pennsylvania Avenue from the park.  No matter how many times I have been there it is still an awe inspiring sight! With a large lush green lawn, an abundance of blooming flowers and a beautiful fountain in the center, of the yard, the “People’s House” is looking good these days.  We gather for a couple group photos  (by bus since we kinda went in different directions through the park) in front of the house.  We make our way back through the park and it is time for the SPY Museum!

 

The SPY Museum out grew their old location and purchased a much larger building.  We enter the building where we are whisked to the top floor. We are all given a mission where we have to become an undercover spy given a mission card and a secret identity. We have to take the cards to numerous locations through out the building.  Each location requires us to learn some new information or spy technique and remember the all the details.  The id card remembers things for you in case you forget but a real spy has to learn to remember the details so they don’t get caught writing them down. Everyone has a different identity, mission, tasks and evaluation after they are done of how they did as a spy.  n addition the the mission, there are all kinds of displays and artifacts from the world of spy craft.  Everything from from a Get Smart Lunch Box to a simulation to help you decide if Osama Bin Laden is in that Pakistan compound.  Very cool location

 

Next it is off to lunch.  Today we go to a food court located on the bottom floor of one of the largest office buildings in the world…the Reagan International Trade Center.  We got here early, before it got crowded. There were many restaurants to choose from from Philly Cheesesteaks and subway sandwiches to sushi and chicken rice bowls.  There was definitely something to satisfy everyones taste buds.  

 

Our next stop is the World War II Memorial. Of all the memorials, this one features the most symbolism.  Everything you look at actually represents something in addition to looking cool. For example, the 400 gold stars hanging on the back wall each represents 100 American soldiers who passed away during the war. Going up the walkway towards the Washington Monument there are  series of brass etchings that, when you look at them in order, tell the entire story of the war as well as a lot of things related to preparing the fight, supplying the fight, as well as keeping the support going on the home front. There is so much more than meets the eye.  I urge you to do a little research on this one.  I am certain you will find something to peak your interest.  By the way, did you find where is said, Kilroy Was Here? Speaking of Kilroy Was Here, this was truly an iconic story.  Google it and find out why it was written on boxes and equipment all over Europe. 

 

It’s time for our tour of the Capitol.  We have a couple ladies with injuries so I made sure they got a ride in the golf cart up the hill since it is a bit of a long, uphill walk. Lucky me, the driver invited me to join them so the ladies would know where to go.  I felt bad as we passed everyone trudging up the hill in the heat but they were so far ahead of us when I  arranged the golf cart I would never have caught up…and I had all the tickets.  Sorry.  We start the tour with a film called E Pluribus Unum which is Latin for Out of Many, One.  This is a wonderful overview of how we go from 13 very independent states into one cohesive country.  The visuals are fantastic.  There is a lot to see across this country and this video hits many of the highlights. 

 After the film we have a guided tour of the building.  We are given headsets which allow us to hear our guide despite all the commotion going on all around us.  We see the round room above the crypt.  The crypt was where Congress had planned to bury George Washington after the passed. Unfortunately for Congress, George Washington had other plans.  In his will George requests he be place in a tomb at his beloved Mt Vernon.  As a result, no one is not will likely ever be buried in the crypt.  We make our way upstairs to the rotunda.  This room has a whole lot to see.  At the top of the dome (which is taller than the statue of liberty) there is a painting of George Washington  surrounded by 13 angels representing the 13 states..  It took the artist 11 and a half moths to paint it while eating on his back on scaffolding 180 feet off the ground. Little further down there is a series of paintings that look like they are in 3-D but they really are not.  The 3-D look is so effective.   The paintings trace history of our country all the way back to Columbus (I know he never actually set foot in America) to the Civil War. Very impressive.  Down closer to eye level are huge paintings depicting the beginnings of our country.  One of these that students already knew because it was in their pockets.  It is the signing of the Declaration of Independence a copy of which appears on the back of the the $2.00 bills I gave them. 

Finally, at ground level we see the statutes.  Throughout the building there are over 100 statues.  Each state is allowed to place two states.  The must be carved out of marble or bronze. One of California’s statues is here in the rotunda.  It is of Ronald Reagan and it has a special pedestal which features a section of the Berlin Wall. There are some other cool statues in the rotunda put the best one is the special women’s rights statue featuring the busts of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B Anthony.

 

On to statuary hall, which used to be the chamber for the House of Representatives until the House got too big and they built the current house chamber.  California’s other statue is here.  It is of Father Junipero Serra, who ran the Spanish missions in California but since he is no longer politically correct it is being considered for replacement.  There are also statues of Dwight D Eisenhower, Jefferson Davis, Daniel Webster and Rosa Parks, to name just a few. 

 

After touring the Capitol we make our way back to the buses as we take a walk past the Library of Congress as well as the United States Supreme Court.  We learned that this library is the largest one in the entire world but you cannot check anything out.  Well, let me rephrase that.  You can check the books and materials out but you cannot take them out of the building. As for the supreme court, once again there was a film crew out front but surprisingly there are no protestors out front.  This is kinda surprising since every year except the past two years there has been a protest going on.  Maybe it was just too hot for them.  

 

After a week of fantastic weather, today the heat and humidity got turned up to high with a heat wave in store for next week. Its time to say goodbye to Ella and Jane.  I think everyone will agree that these two ladies made our trip so much better.  They both were very grateful to receive the thank you cards as well as a portion of the tip money.After drooping the guides off it is time to head to Dulles Airport for our flight home. 

 

We have to say goodbye to James and Tony who, like Ella and Jane, were very grateful for the thank you’s and tips.  These four professionals are truly among the best in the business.  Thank you for treating them so well. They loved our week together and were very impressed with how great you all are, which your teachers already knew.  

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Dulles Airport.  We arrived plenty early and United Airlines had our boarding passes printed out already and yet they still took forever to check in our luggage. As a result we had to rush to get to the gate. Security was surprisingly quick but somewhere between getting dropped at the airport and getting on our flights our students seemed to lose focus.  I picked up five boarding passes off the floor, a bag that was left on the tram to the gates, a water bottle was left in a carry on bag, a student started talking to the check in agent about the hand grenade shaped bottle of BBQ sauce in his bag and finally about 25 students simply left their bags, completely unattended, in the middle of the concourse to go grab dinner. Despite these last minute issues we were still able to push out of the gate on time. 

 

The flight home has been pretty bumpy.  The seat belt light was turned off and on throughout the flight. As we are now about 30 minutes out from landing in San Francisco, I want to thank you for joining me on this trip (and parents thank you for sending your children!).  I had a wonderful time.  I hope you did as well.  Please use the blogs on my website to help you remember all the things you said and did along the way.  Hopefully they will bring back lots of wonderful memories. 

 

The pictures we took in front of the Capital will be her in a week or two.  Once they arrive I will set up a day/time when I will hang out in front of Kenilworth to pass them out. Please plan on stopping by to pick yours up if at all possible.  I will send an email out with more details once the pictures arrive.

 

I truly hope you enjoyed the trip. Have a fabulous rest of your summer and I wish yo the best in high school and beyond.

 

Yours truly,

Michael Eklund