When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Today was one of those days you go in with Plan A and come out with Plan C—and it was awesome! We knew going in to today that the weather wasn’t going to be in our favor, however when we woke up to see sideways rain we knew we needed to adjust our plans.
To begin our morning I am pleased to report we received a raving report from our overnight security guard! Everyone gathered for breakfast at Ihop in our hotel to enjoy eggs and pancakes while we came up with a plan with our tour director, Brad. The original plan was to be outside all day—Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon then Alexandria for the Capital Wheel and Ghost Tour. On a beautiful day it would be a dream, but on a rain/sleet/snow day it isn’t the best schedule.
We knew we needed to make our Wreath Laying at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 12:15 because there was no way to reschedule that. We decided to push our departure back by 30 minutes and we got on the bus the rain had turned to snow.
Hector, our bus driver, took us on a little tour of DC and through Embassy Row. Embassy Row houses 177 International Embassies to the United States. We then headed to the Marine Corps Memorial. This memorial depicts soldiers raising the flag in Iwo Jima. It was wet and cold, but the students all got out to pay their respects at this memorial. The memorial is an optical illusion; as you circle the memorial it appears as though the soldiers are raising the flag.
The Marine Corps Memorial is right next to Arlington National Cemetery so that was our next stop. Typically we walk all throughout Arlington, however, with he rain and snow Brad decided it would be best to get tickets on the trolley and get rides to some of the biggest sights. Our usual walking around Arlington is approximately 2 miles so this saved some energy for the students too. Personally I have never done the trolley tour before, but I would definitely recommend it. They have tour guides giving information as they drove and pointing our important gravesites.
Our first stop at Arlington was JFK’s gravesite; this has an eternal flame which always burns. It is just downhill of Arlington House. JFK’s gravesite is near his brothers and wife also. This sight is also near Ruth Bater Ginsburg’s resting place. The cemetery is always so peaceful, but it had a unique greater peace to it today- I’m not sure if it was the snow or the lack of visitors. We then got on the the trolley and rode to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Changing of the Guards happens on the hour, every hour. There are so many interesting facts about the guards who guard the tomb. They must be a certain height, waist size, and make commitments for the rest of their lives. The Changing of the Guards is so powerful; the tomb has been guarded 24/7/365 since 1930. There are 4 tombs with a soldier in each from the Vietnam War, WWI, WWII and Korean War. In 1998 the soldier in the Vietnam War tomb was identified and is now laid to rest in Missouri. The guards take 21 steps and wait 21 seconds on each side.
After the Changing of the Guards our group got to lay a wreath. Veronica, Jack, Montana and Thom laid the wreath with a soldier. Although it was windy and cold, they showed respect to the unknowns by removing their coats and presented the wreath professionally. It is an incredible honor to be selected for this and I am so proud of our group.
After a warm trolley ride we headed back to the visitor’s center. While students were checking out the gift shop we had a visitor come up to us and compliment our group on their good behavior and respectfulness. She said she had never seen a group as respectful as ours! We are so proud of these students and the way they are representing the school and community on our trip!
For lunch we headed back to the Pentagon Mall. In the original plan for the day we were to head to Mount Vernon, however, due to the weather we were able to reschedule so we decided to fill the afternoon with some Smithsonian Museums. Our first stop was the American History Museum followed by the Natural History Museum. The students enjoyed exploring the museums. They saw everything from fossils to gems to dinosaurs to Dorothy’s ruby red slippers to ships to Inaugural ball gowns.
Next we headed to Alexandria for dinner. We were a little early for dinner and had to wait a few minutes for another group to finish. Again, due to weather we rearranged and are doing the Capital Wheel and the Ghost Tour another night. It would have been way too cold to do it tonight.
It was a little earlier night back at the hotel and students enjoyed hanging out together. We have the entire floor to ourselves and they have claimed the fitness center as their new hang out location.
Yesterday we had over 16,000 steps and today over 14,000! Thank you Lauren for being our official counter!
Tomorrow will be an outside day as we head to Monticello and Mount Vernon!
Here are some student thoughts about our first few days:
So far I have absolutely loved the intricate designs of the buildings in D.C. and the surrounding areas.
Micah
So far I have absolutely loved the Natural History museum.
Cooper
My favorite has either been the library of congress or the natural history museum.
Sam C
My favorite part of the trip today was the American History museum. One certain part of the museum which was about transportation was my favorite especially the ships.
David K
So far the best part had to be the natural history museum, there were a lot of very interesting things! :)
Rili
My favorite thing I’ve seen so far was the library of congress. The artwork and architecture was beautiful.
Keira M
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