Wednesday, January 21

Wednesday was by far the best touring day since we didn't have to deal with nearly as much road closures and such. After breakfast at another buffet place, we were off to explore memorials and museums for the day. Our first stop was the Korean Memorial. I have to say it is an eerie memorial, but very meaningful as well. The looks on the soldiers faces are so real and serious to a point where it is almost scary. I love you can look into the engraved wall and see the reflection of the soldiers.

After this we headed to the Lincoln Memorial. Our DM said this is her favorite memorial because she feels like when she goes to see Lincoln he can see into her soul. hmmmm.... don't think I've ever gotten that from a man built from rock. :) It is a memorial I love to see and walk around because of how massive it is and the message that is surrounding it. Delegates were amazed at how small it made them feel.

Before we headed off to our appointment at the Spy Museum, we walked the students through the Vietnam Memorial. I think they were overwhelmed and shocked to see all the different names on the wall. One student knew of a friend of her grandfather whose name was on the wall and was brought to tears. Memorials like these can be eye opening and fill your heart with sadness, but also appreciation for what our troops do for us and I send them a personal thank yous all the time.

The Spy Museum was a big hit with the delegates, as it always is. They love climbing through venting systems, seeing the James Bond car and all other kinds of fun spy gadgets. You can't take any pictures there so that is why you won't see anything of it on this blog.

We left the spy museum and headed off to the VERY busy Union Station for lunch. I was afraid to the let the kids go off on their own, but they did very well and everyone showed up at our meeting spot without getting lost!! (even my wanderer Ben!) About a half hour after leaving lunch and heading to the American History Museum, we got a phone call that Union Station had briefly been closed for a suspicious item in the station. Luckily we got in there when we did and out safe and sound.

At the American History Museum and the Newseum we let the kids explore these museums on their own. Both the museums were newly reopened either from renovations or relocations. For anyone looking to go explore the city of DC, I highly recommend these two museums to anyone. Of course, I particularly love the pop culture area of American History to see Kermit, Oscar, the actual top hat of President Lincoln and also love the room with the First Ladies dresses. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL. There were dresses in there from Martha Washington's to Laura Bush. The Newseum also has a wonderful exhibit on 9-11. It has a special place in my heart since I live so close to the city there are many people I know that were affected by this tragedy/attack.

I think by this point the students were pretty wiped out. We headed off to dinner in Chinatown. For many students this was a new experience and they LOVED it! Our Dm informed us that the Chinatown in DC used to be a lot bigger, but now it is sadly only 2 city blocks long.

To end the night, we drove by the Capitol and walked around the World War II Memorial. The students enjoyed getting the opportunity to see and stand by the part of the Memorial that represented their home state.

As a fun way to close our time with everyone on our bus and the amazing experience in the city of DC this week, our bus driver lead a karaoke session with the entire bus! WOW! What a great week!