Day 5

Well, we're starting getting close to home now. This morning we left around 8 and drove a couple hours to Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello. I thought it was absolutely beautiful! I didn't realize how large the land and house were. After that we got back on the road and have been heading home ever since! I'm so sad this trip is over, but I'm ready to be back in my bed and to get some real sleep. I can't express how much I love this grade. I cannot wait for them to be freshmen next year!

Day 4

This morning we woke up and went to Arlington. On the way there we drove down Embassy Row and saw all the Embassies from across the world. When we got to Arlington we got to see the grave on John F Kennedy and his brothers. My favorite part was getting to see the changing of the guard as well as a wreath ceremony. It was amazing how precise everything had to be and how perfect the soldiers were. After Arlington, we went to Iwo Jima. I got tears in my eyes when we read the story of the memorial and I realized the soldiers that fought in that war were my age. I couldn't picture any of my friends going off and dying at war today. Next we got to drive around the Pentagon and then go to Pentagon City Mall for lunch and shopping. Lauren, Meghna, Samantha, and I purchased a total of $35 worth of candy while there. We then departed for Mount Vernon. On the way there, Mr. Moore and Mr. Kunin came up with a game called "Where's Waeton?" which is a spin off of "Where's Waldo?" When we finally arrived at Mount Vernon, we toured George Washington's house and got to see his and Martha's tombs. We ended the night early and got to be back at the 4H center in time for dinner. After dinner a bunch of the girls came into the interns' room and we got to bond with them before heading downstairs for the History Bowl. All I have to say about the History Bowl is that this grade is extremely competitive. The rest of the night we just got to pack up and hang out in our rooms. I'm so sad our last night is over. I've come to love this grade so much.

Day 3

Today was such a long day. We started out with a trip to the Capitol where we met with Congressman Mo Brooks, who gave us a private tour where we had the opportunity to sit on the House floor. After our special tour, we went on an actual tour of the Capitol where we heard more about the history of it. We then walked underground to the Library of Congress and just got to explore on our own. Next, we walked to Union Station for lunch and shopping before we rose the buses to the White House to take a picture out front. Our last two stops were the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. I really liked the FDR Memorial because each section of it was different and described that presidency term in a unique way. I loved the quotes that were lined up for the MLK Memorial. We went back to the 4H Center quickly to change before driving all the way to Baltimore to go to Tony's Dinner Theater. We saw "The Wiz", which I thought was so cute and funny!

Day 2

We arrived last night and immediately started our tour of DC. We walked what felt like 37 miles visiting monuments and memorials like the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial, just to name a few. I thought they were beautiful, but the cold weather definitely took away from the experience. Today, we visited 5 different museums. I thought the Newseum was very interesting, and I loved the 9/11 section. After the Newseum we divided into groups and I assigned four girls, Avani, Victoria, Haley, and Julia. I was the only "adult" in the group so I felt like I had a huge responsibility to watch out for these girls and lead them around the many buildings of the Smithsonian. First, we went to the National Art Gallery, which other than the Leonardo da Vinci painting, we weren't huge fans of this portion. Next, we went the Museum of Natural History, and we all agreed that our favorite part of that building was the exhibit with all the gems. I have never seen so much color and sparkle! Lastly, we walked to Hirshhorn which was very interesting and different. It was a circular building filled with modern art. My favorite piece there was a giant cube made up of glass beads and lights. We met back up with the group and went to the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. What I thought was so cool was thinking about the movie National Treasure an how difficult it would be to actually steal that with the amount of security there. Finally after being on our feet all day, we got on the bus to go to Dave and Buster's for dinner and games. It was a fun way to end a very busy day!