This is my daily journal notes from last year's trip to Washington D.C. If
you are considering joining us on the 2010 Trip, the places we visited will
be similiar to the trip you can expect next summer. Hopefully, we will not
experience the same weather challenges but we sure had fun. Check it
out......Mr. Eklund
Monday June 9 2008 11:59pm
Day One
We made it. Both groups are here and we just checked into the hotel. A long
day but very fun, in slightly different ways, for both groups. Group B had a
very early start but everything went very smoothly on Southwest. Not much in
the way of amenities but the flights were on time (actually a little early),
we were all able to sit together and the flight attendants couldn't have been
nicer. Very enjoyable. Once in DC we picked up Anne (Karen was stuck in a
subway mess due to an earlier derailment) and went to the Titanic Memorial.
Located next to the river it was an attractive statue reminisent of the movie
where they stand at the bow of the ship with arms outstretched. Simple but
very nice. Next we went back to pick up Karen, then it was off to the Air
Force Memorial. Three stainless steel spires sweeping into the sky with a
bronze color guard below. Next we were supposed to hook up with the group on
Virgin America but their flight was running a little late. Instead we went
and checked out the statue of Einstein at the Academy of Science (?)
building. Pretty cool. The statue is big enough all the kids can sit in his
lap for a photo. Since the other group has yet to arrive its off to dinner
hoping to hook up before dessert. Unfortunately the late group called the
restaurant to say they would be late and the restaurant understood that to
mean all of us would be late, so they weren't ready for us. That was fine, we
wanted to slow down to allow the second group to catch up anyway.
Dinner was in a restaurant called Harriets in an old hotel. The food was a
simple but very tasty buffet and the service was fabulous. We stalled as long
as we could but, with the kids ready to bounce off the walls, we headed off
for the Marine Corp Memorial just before the second group arrived for dinner.
While they ate we relived the raising of the American Flag on Mt. Sarbachi.
Really cool .....by the way, it is HOT! Both groups arrived at the hotel
around 11:30 and got checked in and settle by about midnight. Its 12:35am,
wake up call is 5:45am....I'm gonna hit the sack myself. More tomorrow.
Thanks.
MIke Eklund
Well, you can tell I was really tired last night..........as for group A (the
group that got to sleep in) they may have been delayed on the Virgin America
flight but they did not care one bit. They raved about the flight. With
movies in the seat backs and the ability to send text messages from seat to
seat they were in heaven. When we finally met up at the hotel there was not a
single complaint about the delay or missing anything. They had such fun on
the plane they could have been flying to Des Moines (not that there is
anything wrong with that) and they would have been fine. It is now 6:25am and
everyone is up and raring to go. Usually the first morning I have to go in
the room open the curtains flash the lights bang pots and pans to get some of
the kids out of bed but not today. Every room was raring to go.....off to
breakfast........and Mount Vernon
Day Two
Wednesday Morning June 10, 2008 12:45am
What a great day. Started off with an early wake up call. Out of bed at
5:45am and everyone on the bus after breakfast by 7:15am. Today started HOT,
HOT, HOT!!!! A drive into the city to pick up Anne and Karen then it is off
to Mount Vernon. The kids were pretty impressed with The General's House. The
view from the back lawn (scene of the nighttime party in National Treasure
II) of the Potomac River is awe inspiring. All of us loved the visitors
center, particularly the movie about the Revolutionary War and George's
Teeth. After looking at his teeth I can see why he always had such a grimice
on his face. Ouch! Next it was on to lunch at Roy Rogers. Pretty tasty for
fast food with burgers, roast beef sandwiches, salads, fries, brownies and
some truly great ice cream. Lunch was followed by a driving tour of
Alexandria, Virgina. Be sure to ask about the six and a half foot wide house.
Oh, and the fire pumper medallions on some of the houses. The bus ride was
most welcome because, did I mention, it was HOT!. Next it was on to Ford's
Theater, where President Lincoln was shot. The Theater is under going
renovations (I'll say, its been pretty much gutted. You can see the sky and
brick walls through the windows.) Obviously we couldn't tour the theater but
we did go through Peterson House. This is the boarding house across the
street from the theater where they took Lincoln for his last hours. The kids
were bummed that the park service has cleaned all the gum off the gum
tree...gross, I know. From here its just a couple of storefronts up the
street to shop at Joe's for souvenirs. ..and water. Did I mention it was hot?
Next up a stop by the White House. George wasn't home and we didn't get
invited in but we did stop for pictures. Well, most of us did, my battery
died. All the kids set their cameras on the curb, posed for pictures and
waited will the adults took picture after picture with camera after camera...
as the sweat poured off everyone. Did I remember to tell you it was hot today.
Next it was on to Arlington National Cemetary. After being in awe of the
changing of the guard, we all watched proudly as our kids placed a wreath at
the Tomb of The Unknowns. Next it was on to Armands, excellent East Coast
style pizza. After stuffing ourselves on great pizza its time to get back on
the bus. As we were waiting for the buses to pull up we began watching the
sky a bit more closely. The heat has dipped slightly but the wind has picked
up a bit and the sky is starting to darken a little. No worries, we should be
able to beat the weather, we said hopefully. We plan to visit five Memorials
this evening. First stop the Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which is a seires of
outdoor rooms that trace his life. We walk through the FDR and continue our
stroll around the tidal basin to the Jefferson Memorial, a huge statue of
Jefferson inside a beautiful dome. A short bus to the big three, Korea,
Lincoln, and Vietnam Memorials. We split the group, half going to Vietnam the
other half going to Korea with a plan to meet in the middle at the Lincoln
Memorial. As we start on our respective sites the weather takes a turn. About
halfway through it starts to rain, which is great because it is MUCH cooler.
About the time we finish the first of the three the thunder and lighting
begins. By the time we get to the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial the thunder
and lighting is getting intense. At the bottom of the steps, its getting
scary with thunder and lighting and everyone, and I mean everyone, 100's of
everyone runs up the stairs to the cover of the Abraham Lincoln. We are all
riding the storm out with Lincolns protection....for along time. I'm not
sure how long we were actually hanging with Mr. Lincoln but when their is a
lull in the weather we decide to make a break for the buses and call it a
day. For the A group this means the rain starts coming down fairly heavy
before they reach the bus but the get on and our on their way. For the B
group this means the rain starts and the bus isn't there. The heavy rain
comes and no bus. The sky opens up and no bus. The thunder and lighting is
booming louder and closer and no bus. The downpour drenches and no bus. The
hail starts to fall and no bus. It turns out that the bus is stuck in traffic
a mere two blocks away because a tree has fallen right in front of the
Einstein statue we visited yesterday and landed on two cars sitting at the
traffic light. Finally James (our bus driver) rounds the corner and the
cheers erupt as we race through the downpour to the bus. Wow! What an
impressive storm. Really humbles you to see the power of mother nature. We
call it a day as the drenched souls head back to the hotel laughing and
joking about the day, oh...and that "Dude! What's mine say?" "Sweet! What's
mine say?" scene from Dude, Where's My Car. It was a fantastic day ane the
weather just made it that much more interesting. A little scary but what an
experience! And just think, there's more fun on tap tomorrow, er today! Wake
up time 5:45am, talk to you tomorrow.
Day Three Thursday Morning June 11th 12:45am
We have had such fun today that I am actually experiencing neck pain from
laughing so hard/so much! What a great day. Started off catching up with some
of last nights missed stops with a visit to the Vietnam War Memorials. There
are three of them one for the soldiers, one for the nurses and of course, The
Wall. The feeling at this memorial is vastly different from the others. Even
the kids picked up[ on it. Such a difficult time in our country's history
left great wounds that still don't seem to be healed. Some of our group found
friends and family members on The Wall and had a chance to make a rubbing of
the name to take back home. Next it was on to a new stop, the Naval Museum.
We were running a bit late due to the stop at The Wall so we didn't have time
to tour the destroyer but this was a great little museum. There was a working
periscope that went out through the ceiling, anti aircraft guns that you
could sit on and move the handles to shoot down the Japanese Zeros, as well
as a replica of the atom bomb. Such a big punch in such a small package. Next
it was on to the memorial to Ulysses S Grant. This statue is located across
the street from the Capitol building and should be familiar to you since it
is also the location of all the DC group photos hangin on the wall in my
room. Everyone will get a copy of this photo a few weeks after we return
home. After posing for a number of shots we start the big walk up the hill.
We walked completely around the Captiol, stopping to check out the exterior
of the Supreme Court. It was here the kids got a civis lesson as we watched
three very dedicated gentlemen silently (but with some interesting
movements) protesting abortion. Next it was on to the Library on Congress.
Since the line at security was so long we didn't have time to go in but we
did get a chance to check out a beautiful fountain out front but not for long
since our appointment to tour the Capitol is almost here. This tour was very
different this year. Usually a congressman's interns would take us on the
tour but since they were having difficulty rounding up enough interns for the
big groups they now have a service that provides headsets for the big groups
with a professional tour guide. This worked out great although group B ended
up with a guide that was so through that we now know more than we ever really
wanted to ever know about the paintings in the rotunda. The tour was great
but ran a bit long. Time for a late lunch after the long walk back down the
hill (since you cannot park anywhere close to the Capitol building. Lunch
today was at Union Station. This is still an active train station but much of
the station has been turned into a mall with a large food court on the bottom
floor. After lunch we headed over to the Air and Space museum. Pretty cool
stuff. The part that was under construction last year has been completed with
an excellent display on the golden days of passenger airline travel (i.e. the
days before deregulation). Even though we ate a late lunch, due to the
appointment for the Twilight Tatoo we had to go to an early dinner. Most of
us were not very hungry but that didn't stop us! We headed over to the what
used to be the headquartes of the post office. It has since been converted to
office space on the upper floors and a small shopping mall with a food court
on the bottom two floors. Maybe its because we are so tired but the jokes
were flying this afternoon. On the way to the Twilight Tattoo Anne commented
that there was a great ice cream store (which we just happened to pass a few
minutes later)on the way. Good to note for future reference...Now it was time
to be amazed! Wow! Wow! and Wow! The twilight Tattoo was awe inspiring! What
a great display of what is right about America! You simply MUST ask your kids
about this event, although I think some of you might be able to ask private
Hobson yourself. I think ....actually, I can't think anymore...I am so tired.
I could talk for days about the tattoo but you really gotta hear about it
from your kids. THEY LOVED IT! And since we were so pumped up when we left
the show (after the meet and great with all of the soldiers that had
performed in ther show, well, everyone except the polits of the Blackhawk
helicoptor that dropped in as a part of the show, that we decided to make a
stop at the ice cream parlor pointed out on the way back to the hotel. I
could talk more but I gotta get some sleep. Tomorrow, off to Gettysburg and
Harper's Ferry! Nighty-Nite.
Day Four
Thursday June 11th, 11:30pm
Let's try this again. I must have been really tired last night, er this
morning when writing this. Tons of typos and other errors. I just went
through and fixed a bunch, wrote all about our first stop of the day when the
computer crashed and I lost it all. Since it is so late now I'm not gonna go
back and fix stuff again otherwise I may just fall asleep at the keyboard.
After breakfast we headed out to Gettysburg. Traffic was pretty heavy so we
arrive a little bit late for our appointed time. Fortunately they had room in
the theater for the next show but we only had 4 minutes to unload two buses
walk halfway across the new visitors center and get seated before the show
began. We made it with the last person sitting down as the film began. What a
great movie. Short and I'm not sure if I like it better than the electronic
map (which was definitely dated) but it did have an excellent overview of the
events occuring in Gettysburg. Following the film we had to quickly reboard
the bus (since we were a half hour late now) to tour the battlefield with our
local battlefield experts. Both guides were extremely knowledgeble although
one was definitely better at making his knowledge more relateable to the
kids.
For approxiamtely 2 hours we drove around the battlefield with a number of
stops getting on and off the bus to learn about various aspects of the battle
and the town. At the end of the tour we went back to the brand new visitor's
center (it still smells like a brand new building) to check out the gift shop
before heading off to lunch at Dobbin House. This was a great meal. The
service was fabulous, the seating arrangements were quite comfortable and the
food was the best we have had on the entire trip. Nothing complicated, just
darn good food. This will definitely be our request for lunch every time we
come back to Gettysburg.
Back on the bus its on to Harper's Ferry. The kids really enjoyed strolling
around this quaint little town. Operated by the parks department it still
appears very much like it did in 1860. Some of the kids even made the effort
to climb up to Jefferson's Rock, to admire the view of the river. Next was
supposed to be our visit to the Holocaust museum but we found out last night
that the hours of operation were not what we had believed them to be which
means the museum would be closed before we would arrive. Rather than lose out
completely we did some more juggling and visited the Natural History museum
(and the Hope Diamond) this evening, since this museum is open later and will
go the to Holocaust Museum on Friday. Unfortunately this means we will
probably not be visiting the larger section of the museum since we will not
be able to split the group as we had thought about doing this evening. After
checking out the Natural History museum, we made a quick stop at another
souvenior shop and then off to the Pentagon City Mall for dinner.
Day Five - Friday the 13th
Hard to believe it�s the last day already, with so much more to see and do.
Another early wake up call at 5:45am, breakfast then it was time for room
inspection. Nothing like working up a sweat crawling under beds and behind
stuff to make sure we didn�t leave anything behind. After picking up Anne and
Karen its off to the International Spy Museum, at least that was the plan. As
we made a right turn on to the street the SPY Museum is on we noticed the
signal was out. The sidewalks were packed with people all just standing
around. So were sidewalks for the next few blocks. The signals were out for
the next 8 blocks and, yup, you guessed it, the SPY Museum had no power
either. No worries, a little schedule juggling and we are off to the World War
II Memorial. Located between the Washington and Lincoln Monuments this is a
very pretty site with lots of symbolism everywhere you look. The kids were
especially impressed by the wall of 400 gold stars, each one representing
1,000 serviceman who had lost their lives. From here we walked over to the
Holocaust Museum. We entered the back door (all those people with tickets to
our left were in line that wrapped around to the front door) and went to see
Daniels Story. This section of the museum is designed to give kids an overview
of the transformation of a Jewish boy�s experience going from a typical
middle
class live to a hell no one should ever have to experience. Before they
entered the exhibit I explained to each group about what they were going to
see and reminded them to go through slowly, reading each diary entry and
listening to each recording along the way. This group really got it. I was
very impressed with the thoughtfulness expressed by the kids after seeing
this. Their questions were well thought out. They really reflected on the
events and more than a few tears were shed. It would have been a great
opportunity to see more of the main part of the museum however I between
Daniel�s Story and the special exhibit on the 1936 Olympics I think they got
enough.
Leaving the Holocaust Museum was interesting, I counted to make sure we had
everyone as we came up the stairs and then counted again as we exited the
building. Somehow within 100 ft or so we lost twelve people. It turns that
student number 13 wasn�t watching the people in front of him or her and
didn�t
see they had all continued walking out the door while he or she stopped at the
end of the railing. Just a brief panic since there was no other place they
could have gone but by the time we realized it they were at the end of the
block crossing the street heading to the Washington Monument. We hurry to
catch up. Well, some of us were hurrying. The rest didn�t decide to hurry up
until I said whoever didn�t beat me to the monument was going to have to walk
up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Once I said that the pace picked
up, dramatically!
Another new stop this year was a ride up to the top of the Washington
Monument. It was a little bit hazy but the view was still incredible, in every
direction. On the way down, the elevator slows to give you a look at some of
the state panels on the interior wall. (You can see all of them online at the
Washington monument website. Next stop was the site of the movie National
Treasure, the National Archives. Pretty cool to see originals of the
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Time for lunch in the second
biggest federal office building, the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.
This place is so big it has its own food court and real tight security. After
lunch its time to go back to the International SPY Museum which has its power
back on. This site is really cool. Lots of kids climbed through the heating
ducts to spy on those below and everybody loves their gift shop. From here our
groups split up again. The Southwest group heads for the airport while the
Virgin America group heads out to the Einstein Statue and the Iwo Jima
Memorials (two sites the Southwest groups visited the first day) before flying
home.
As you know by now, both groups were a little delayed coming home due to the
weather. To avoid some huge storms the airlines were looping south before
heading west. Both groups enjoyed quite a light show with giant electrical
storms a safe distance away out of each side of the aircraft. This was better
than the fourth of July. The clouds lit up and cracks of lighting flashed
nearly continuously. What a treat! What a great way to end the journey.
I hope you all enjoyed the trip as much as I did. I can�t remember the last
time I laughed so much or for so long. The pictures of us in front of the
Capitol should be her in a couple of weeks. I will send out an email when they
come in so I can meet you in front of Kenilworth some afternoon. Also, I have
couple books, disposable cameras and a cell phone which I picked up along the
way which belong to someone in our group. If you are missing something let me
know.
Thanks again for a wonderful trip. Next summer we will be going to Colonial
Williamsburg and Jamestown. You are welcome to join us again. Yours truly,
Michael Eklund
