Day 1

5 in the morning, everyone is dragging in their luggage and carry-on bags excited for the trip to Washington DC. When 6am came around, the excitement ended. After a couple of hours, students were falling asleep and asking “Are we there yet?”

When we entered Washington DC, kids excitedly leaned over to the window to see the Washington Monument as the tour guide gave us background information. As we pulled up to the White House, students ran off the bus like their lives depended on it. Everyone whipped out their cameras and started taking photos of the White House and their friends.

Then, we raced over to the Museum to be able to have enough time to complete our scavenger hunt. The first ones done won special prize. However, the first thing we did once we got there was watch a 4D movie. It was incredible with all of the special effects. It felt like we were really in World War II and in the Blackwell Mental Institution for Women.

Lastly, we walked through many famous memorials like the Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. They were elaborate and grand, but we were more worried about the answers in our educational packets. A group of kids were smart, one answer for twenty-five cents or four for a dollar. You would be surprised at how many customers they had.

Day 2

Students began the day with a tasteful breakfast in a nice ballroom. They had the options of having eggs, cereal and plate of juicy bacon and a drink of their choice for their beginning meal.

We took a nice “Class of 2016” photo by the President Garfield memorial. After that, we went to Capitol Hill and toured the building with a tour guide. Within each room we walked through, we saw statues of several congressmen and important figures in our U.S. history. In the room Rotunda, there were many interesting things to look at like the paintings during the 1700’s.

After a quick break for lunch in Union Station, we went to the Smithsonian of American History and of Natural History. The statues of prehistoric animals, old-fashioned uniforms and many more displays between the two Smithsonians fascinated us.

Next stop, the Pentagon City Mall. We settled down there to enjoy our dinner and explore the mall’s four-stories of stores.

Finally, we went to the Twilight Tattoo, a show run by the U.S. army. They started off the show with music and singing, as their audience got comfortable. The soldiers marched around, and skillfully did performances with their guns. We were amazed by the amount of skill that was shown.

To close off the night, we stopped at a small store called Souvenir City where many of us purchased snacks, souvenirs and sweatshirts.