Washington D.C. (PB)

The reason my blog is a week late is because I was in Washington D.C. the day it was due.  Sure I could have finished it before I went on my trip, but did I?  Of course not!  But at least I'm writing it now.  Right? 

Washington D.C. was such a great experience.  There was no drama while on the trip, which made it extra enjoyable.  The first day was spent on a bus for six hours and we arrived around 1pm on Sunday.  Once we were finally off the bus, we at lunch at Subway and met up with our tour guide for the entire trip.  Her name was Barbara and she was a mix of Indiana Jones and Mary Poppins, hence our nickname for her, Indiana Poppins.  She was wonderful.  She was an older woman, but you wouldn't know it if you followed her around for the day.  She walked fast.  After we at lunch, we went to the National Archives where I saw the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.  I thought was so amazing.  I couldn't help but think of the movie "National Treasure" when I saw the Declaration of Independence.  After the National Archives, we visited Arlington National Cemetery.  It was humbling to see so many graves and tombstones and to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  After those two stops, we went to our hotel because the bus that was transporting the Criminal Justice kids broke down, so our bus had to go back and pick them up after it dropped us off.

 

Barbara, our tour guide

National Archives

Arlington National Cemetery



 

The second day was spent going to memorials and into the Museum of Natural History.  The Museum of Natural History is my favorite museum of all time.  It was so interactive and colorful and fun to be in.  The monuments in the National Mall were amazing to see.  I had seen pictures of them, but I had never seen them in person before and it was a great experience.  Each memorial has so much meaning behind it and so much thought and emotion put into it.  I also got to go up to the top of the Washington Monument and look out over all of Washington D.C.  It was an incredible view!  This was the day that we also went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Holocaust Museum.  I have never been so moved by something as much as I was by this museum.  Upon entering the museum, you are given a passport of a person that was put into a concentration camp during the Holocaust.  That made everything so much more real for me.  It was a museum that evoked many emotions.  Anger toward the people that stood back and watched people die.  Sadness for the millions of people that died.  And hope that our world will never allow something so awful to happen ever again. 

Lincoln Memorial

The National Mall

The view from the top of the Washington Monument

Museum of Natural History

Shoes of the Victims of a Concentration Camp in the Holocaust Museum

The third day, we were asked to dress up.  We visited the capitol building, which is ridiculously beautiful.  We went to the Library of Congress and were able to meet our state's congressman.  He was very nice and willing to answer any questions that any of us had for him.  That night was also went on a dinner cruise.  It was so much fun.  I wasn't expecting it to be as much fun as it actually was.  It was also beautiful to look out onto the water and see all of the lights from the city reflecting off of the water at night. 

The Capitol Building

Washington D.C. from the dinner cruise

Our last day was spent going to museums.  First we went to the Air and Space Museum.  It was very cool to be able to walk into a building and see pieces of the moon and see airplanes and rockets hanging over my head.  I very much enjoyed that museum.  The last museum that we went to was the American History Museum.  The museum was full of amazing pieces of our history.  I saw the carriage that brought Abraham Lincoln to Ford's Theater the night he was shot.  I saw the original flag that the Star Spangled Banner was written about.  I also saw Dorothy's ruby slippers from the movie, "The Wizard of Oz." 

The Air and Space Museum

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers

Overall, I had a wonderful time in D.C. and look forward to visiting the nation's capitol again!