Today was one of the best days i've had in a long time. I'm with my friends and have almost no responsibility here in DC. My favorite part was the WWII Memorial and the view from the very top of the Washington Monument Obelisk. I felt like a little kid as I was goofing around with friends. I also loved taking a ton of pictures because I have a knack for it and it is really fun. I loved the chicken at the restaurant we ate at and it had awesome spicy sauce to dip it in. I also ended up loving to fly on an airplane as I have never been on one until today. I liked watching the sunrise this morning and it felt like i was floating in the clouds.
The view was gorgeous and I can't really describe it other than the scene in the Croods, where they thought they could ride the sun to tomorrow. I needed this vacation with friends, as they needed it as well. We've learned so much here already from the different places we have been. This was so much fun, so I wonder what tomorrow will bring since we aren't trapped on a plane forever. What Fun!
From,
Skyler Fluckey
Monday July 11
Jenna will takeover now. wonder what she will have to say about today.
Well today was my first time riding on a plane. Turns out i don't like planes. Now lets go to Landi.
My favorite part of today was the World War II Memorial and we sat in the water. It was very somber and breath taking.
Landi Helgevold
WOW!! What a day!! Everyone did a great job making it through the airport and through the plane rides. Many people faced their fears as they braved flying for the first time. Once we arrived in Baltimore we met with a Worldstrides representative who got us on our bus with Eddie. He will be our bus driver for the week. We then headed toward Pentagon City where we met George, our tour guide. George is a young (20s) tour guide who is in his fourth season of guiding. He is a wealth of knowledge. I appreciate how he speaks at the students' levels and uses humor to make everything very interesting. They are learning so much already!
Our first stop was at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. There are benches representing each of the people who passed on the plane or in the Pentagon on 9/11. If the bench is looking into the horizon, it is someone who was on the plane. If the bench is looking toward the Pentagon, it is someone who was in the Pentagon. The benches are organized by birth year of the people who passed. The youngest was three years old. There are beautiful trees that George says will continue to grow and make a beautiful canopy over all the benches. The benches are linked together by water that runs underneath each bench. It was beautiful and peaceful there.
Next we headed to the Air and Space Museum before going to Ford's Theater. Much of the original Ford's Theater is not the same, however it was still very interesting to listen to the park ranger explain the history of Abraham Lincoln, the story of his assassination, and the tales of the building.....for those of us that could stay awake. Ford's Theater also provided a little catnap to those of us who were beyond exhausted. We then headed over to the house where Lincoln was taken after he was shot. The kids were very impressed with the tower of books that showed just a sample of each book written about Abraham Lincoln.
After Ford's Theater we headed to Nando's Peri-Peri. We ate delicious mashed potatoes, chicken, corn on the cob (not as good as Iowa's!), salad, and a brownie for dessert. It was a wonderful meal! I think the kids enjoyed trying the different peri-peri spicy sauces.
Next we went to the WWII Memorial. George talked about all the symbolism and meaning behind the memorial. When standing at the WWII Memorial you can look one direction to get a great view of the Washington Monument, and the other direction is the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial.
Then we headed over the the Washington Monument. We learned why the Washington Monument is two colors and what an obelisk symbolizes. The kids enjoyed taking pictures from various perspectives. They put their feet on the monument to make it look like they were walking up it. Or laying on the benches to make it look like the monument was falling on them. One great excitement was being able to go up to the top of the Washington Monument. The views were spectacular. Shout out to Taylor Henry who faced his big fear of heights and went to the top of the Washington Monument!
Finally we were off to the hotel for some rest. They were exhausted by the end of the day, but did a great job sticking with it.
More to come tomorrow.
-Becca
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