Mr Eklund

2009 Washington D.C. Trip

This log was modified with the new day above the previous day. To get a true 
sense of the entire trip start with the bottom entry then work your way up 
the page.


Friday June 12, 2009
Its hard to believe that this is our last day. We have seen so much but there 
is still so much yet to experience. It is so hard to choose what to include 
and how long to spend at each location so we can make the most of our time. 
This morning was a busy one since we had to pack our bags, eat breakfast, 
double check to make sure we got everything out of our rooms, as well as load 
all of our luggage on the bus. Once again John and Tony avoided the traffic 
and got us to Anne and Karen to start our day. Fist up is a new stop for our 
group, the Newseum. This is a museum dedicated to the News on radio, 
television, film, newspaper and magazines. Since we had never been here 
before I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In fact, I wasn't sure if the kids 
would find it interesting. Boy, was I wrong. We easily could have spent an 
entire day in this museum! We start off with awhat they called a 4-D movie. 
It was an excellent 3-D film in a theatre where the seats moved and shook, 
the items coming at you from the screen wizzed past you with bursts of air 
and sprinkles of water. It was quite amazing. From there we took an elevator 
up to the sixth floor, fifty of us at once in one glass enclosed car. The 
view from the 6th floor balcony of the Capitol was breathtaking. Inside, they 
had one wall with the front page of almost every major newspaper from around 
the world as well as one from every state....They were all TODAYS paper! 
Pretty darn cool. From this floor we worked our way down past exhibits such 
as the top section of the World Trade Center Towers, news footage of the 
landing on the moon, the shootings of John F Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, 
oh...the list goes on and on. Virtually every major news event of the past 
two hundred plus years had some type of coverage in this museum. As I 
mentioned above one could easily spend an entire day in this museum and still 
not come close to seeing everything. 

Unfortunately we had to leave this museum earlier than we would have liked 
because its time for one of the highlights of our trip, the changing of the 
guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns and a wreath laying at Arlington National 
Cemetary. Luckily it was not too hot today but it was definitely very humid 
so the walk up the hill wasn't too bad. We stopped along the way to learned 
about a number of honored Americans who are buried here including President 
William Howard Taft, boxer Joe Louis, and the most highly decorated American 
soldier ever Audie L. Murphy. We also visited the memorials to the astronauts 
who lost their lives in the attempts to journey in space as well as the final 
resting spaces for the Kennedys. Finally, we had the honor to be a part of 
the changing of the guard. What a sight to behold. Our four students really 
made Kenilworth proud as the assisted with placing a wreath in front of the 
tomb. Many a tear was shed as Taps was played to complete the ceremony.

We had such much packed into the day that John and Tony went and picked up 
box lunches for us to eat on the drive. A simple but tasty sandwich, chips, 
pasta salad, and cookie to enjoy during the drive to our next new stop, the 
Marine Corp Museum. It is a very good thing we ate as we drove because for 
really the first time all week we got stuck in heavy, heavy traffic. As a 
result our visit to the museum had to be cut short but we did make the most 
of the time we had. This muesum traces the history of the Marines by having 
the guests walk their way through a series of scenes depicting the various 
aspects of Marine life as well as the events and battles where they were 
involved. In one section we entered a simulated troop transport ship then 
transferred to a landing craft before finally setting foot on Iwo Jima. In 
another we found ourselves exiting a helicoptor into a battle in the rice 
patties of Vietnam. This was a great new addition to our trip.

Back on the buses, its time for us to split up. Both buses are headed towards 
Dulles Airport. One group is headed straight for the flight home while the 
other has time for one more museum, the extension of the Air and Space Museum 
at Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Museum. This museum is basically a huge 
aircraft hanger filled with various aircraft. Some of the highlights include 
the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the Atomic Bombs on Japan), a 
supersonic Concorde, the first mock up of the Space Shuttle, a 707-, two SR-
71's, including one where you can climb into the cockpit, and the original 
model of that great big round space ship from the movie Star Wars. Lots to 
see here.

For the flights home both groups are on Virgin America this time. What a 
great airline. As many of you know, I worked for PSA (Pacific Southwest 
Airlines) and USAirways (After they bought PSA) for almost ten years before 
becoming a teacher. I have flown more flights than I care to count and I have 
to say, the two flights we had on Virgin had the best in-cabin service of any 
flight I have had since the early days of my time at PSA. The flight crews 
were wonderful and the kids loved the in-seat entertainment, including text 
message capabilites from seat to seat. 

Back in San Francisco, its time for one last bus ride and a group of 
extremely tired but happy travelers. I hope everyone had as good of time as I 
did. We did and saw a lot but to be honest we barely scratched the surface. I 
hope I have instilled enough interest that your student will want to return 
again...and maybe next time bring you along as well. I promise you will find 
a journey to our nations capitol one of the most inspiring events you will 
experience in your life. Thanks again for sending your child!!!!!

Thursday June 11, 2009
An early start today with a 5:15am wakeup call turned out to be a fantastic 
idea. We ended up being first to tour through George Washington's home at 
Mount Vernon. When we exited the house the line was a good 200 yards long (I 
heard later that they expected 60 busloads of school groups this morning.) 
The tour was great. The docents on this tour really know their stuff and 
there is a different docent for each section of the house as you walk 
through. Being first through the house aslo meant there was nobody else in 
the way when we toured the museum or watched the  films in the visitors 
center. The kids really got a kick out of the theater that was an 
interactive event with snow falling inside the theater. It was great to have 
the place pretty much to ourselves for at least the first half of our visit. 
It was also great to see our buses parked near the front of the 60 bus long 
line awaiting to pick students up.

On to lunch at Fuddruckers. Once again, the service was fantastic as was the 
food. Fabulous burgers with great buns cooked right on the premises. Since 
we were done early at Mount Vernon we were also early for lunch which worked 
out great since we were joined by another busload shortly after we had sat 
down. If you would like to check out Fuddruckers for yourself, there is a 
Fuddruckers in Emeryville near IKEA. 

After lunch we posed for pictures next to the U.S. Grant statue in back of 
the Capitol building. Unfortunately is was a bright overcast so you will 
probably see a bunch of us squinting in the pictures. After we finished 
posing we hiked up the hill to the new visitors center in the Capitol. LOTS 
has changed at the Capitol, especially concerning the tours. There is a new 
theater where the show a wonderful show about our government. Then we had 
two personal guides to lead us through the building. It was pretty neat that 
we got to see the new statue of Ronald Reagan which was just placed in the 
rotunda about 10 days ago. 

........................ Sorry, but I keep nodding off....its 12:30am with a 
5:30am wake up......I'll finish this up on Saturday when I get up back 
home...........Thanks for your understanding. 

PART TWO - Thursday June 11, 2009 
Sorry about last night but I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. 
Losing that first night's sleep caught up with me. Anyway, here is the rest 
of Thursday's re-cap...

The Capitol continued...
We didn't have the opportutnity to sit in the gallery and observe the 
representatives in action but we did have a pretty complete tour of the rest 
of the building. Did you know they had saved a spot in the center of the 
floor below the rotunda to bury George Washington but the General preferred 
to be laid to rest at his home in Mount Vernon? 

When the tour was completed we started the walk around the Capitol to where 
the buses are allowed to pick us up. As we approached the side driveway to 
the Capitol police suddenly appeared from everywhere. Everyone on the 
sidewalks was told to turn around and go the other way. After the events of 
yesterday everone was a bit edgy. I asked the officer blocking the street if 
there was something going on that was going to cause a lot of parent phone 
calls and found out that a truck attempting to enter the Capitol grounds had 
triggered the sensors that monitor for explosives. He didn't come out and say 
it but I got the impression that this was not all that unusual but they were 
being cautious. So we walked a few blocks from the Capitol to Union Station 
where the bus picked us up.

Next it was on to the National Archives. You may remember this site from the 
movie National Treasure (although the movie was NOT filmed here.) In this 
building we were able to see originals of the Magna Carta, Declaration of 
Independence, Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation, and George Bush's 
Report Card among other items. From here it was off to three memorials before 
dinner, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the George Mason, and the Thomas 
Jefferson. These three memorials are so different. The FDR is a series of 
outdoor "rooms" that trace the various events that occurred during his 
presidency. Some of the kids stood in a breadline, pretended to listen to the 
Fireside Chats and saw the jumbled landscape during World War II. From the 
FDR we walked to the George Mason (extra credit if you know why he was 
important - look him up, he did some pretty cool stuff.) This a kind of a 
laid back memorial. A statue of Mr.Mason relaxing on a bench in front of a 
fountain. Very refreshing.
Next it was on to Jefferson. Considered by many to be one of 
our best presidents he also has one of the most impressive memorials. A large 
domed building with a huge statue of the man overlooking a reflecting pool 
and the White House beyond.

Dinner tonight was at the Pentagon City Mall, a big four story high shopping 
mall with a large food court on the bottom floor. The kids had time to eat, 
shop, relax and enjoy each others company before our last stop of the 
evening, one of the most impressive sights you will ever see...the Lincoln 
Memorial after dark!  What an amazing sight. Before heading up the steps we 
took the time to recite Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. 
Anne and Karen passed out sections of the speech to 20 of our students who 
took turns reliving that momentous event for us all. Once up the steps, Ms. 
Miranda got a park ranger to give us a detailed explanation. What a great way 
to end a long but fabulous day in D.C.

Wednesday June 10, 2009
Well, today was a different experience. It started off great. The kids were 
up early, everyone was raring to go. We got out of the hotel early, hit 
almost no traffic going to pick up Anne and Karen and it was off to the 
Korean War Memorial. What an amazing group of sculptures. Designed to look 
like a platoon of soldiers working their way across a rice paddy, the faces 
of the sixteen soldiers each told its own story. The terrors of war etched 
in the faces. Speaking of etchings, be sure to ask your student about the 
etched wall that ran the length of the memorial. 

From here it was across to the three Vietnam Memorials (The Wall, the Nurses 
and the Soldiers). The Wall was quite an impressive sight in the early 
morning with only one person in front of it before our group arrived. By the 
time we completed the length of the Wall we were joined by a couple hundred 
other travelers, all in awe of the number of soldiers who gave their lives 
for our country. The students learned a lot today about the state of our 
nation in the sixties, things such as the war, the protests, draft cards and 
draft dodgers. I hope we stirred their interest to learn more. 

From here we went across the street to the Einstein Statue where we had ALL 
of the students climb in his lap for story time, er, I mean for a 
photograph. Of course this meant we had to get all the adults in his lap for 
a photo as well. Obviously he has a pretty big lap. Back on the bus we hit 
some heavy traffic but we did have time to visit the Holocaust Museum before 
our next appointment. I was very impressed with the caring attitude and the 
attention to the details that our students displayed. They were so 
respectful and showed great compassion. I was quite impressed with our 
group. Mom's and Dad's, you are doing a great job!

Next is a quite jaunt over to Ford's Theater. We were worried about running 
late but made it to the line in plenty of time. The Ford's Theater was being 
remodeled last summer and boy did they ever do a great job. They tried to 
keep a lot of the original decor but they upgraded the seating areas and 
created a whole new entryway and gift shop. I just realized as I am typing 
this that the museum which used to be in the basement below the theater is 
no longer there and the exhibts were no where to be seen. I guess I'll have 
to do a little research on that topic. The ranger did a great job of 
describing the night Lincoln was shot. We then went across the street to 
tour thorugh the Peterson House, the private residence across the street 
from the theater where Lincoln spent his last hours. 

The next stop was right up the street at our secret shopping destination, 
Joe's International. Unfortunately, its not just our secret anymore. 
Everybody and their brother was in this shop. The bargains were great though 
so most of us did buy stuff however it seemed to take forever. Next stop, 
lunch at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. This is an office 
building that is so big they have their own mall style food court on the 
ground floor. Lots of good choices but this too was really crowded today. It 
was as we were leaving lunch and walking to the American History Museum that 
we heard about the shootings at the Holocaust Museum. Everyone was a bit 
concerned that we had been so close to the event but we didn't have too many 
details concerning the incident. I want to thank the mom who called everyone 
(I believe it was Mrs. Nicholson...sorry I didn't hear to well with the 
helicoptors circling overhead....Hmmm, I didn't hear to well at Williamsburg 
during the thunder yesterday either. Maybe its just I don't hear to well 
anymore.) I also walked my wife through the process of sending a Newsflash 
because we knew everyone would be concerned at home. Let me assure you all 
that we were never in any danger, just concerned was all.

The afternoon was spent touring the major Smithsonian Museums, including the 
American History Museum, The Natural History Museum, The Air and Space 
Museum and some of use even whent into the original Smithsonian Castle. 
Everybody loved these museums for many different reasons. Some of the 
highlights I heard kids mentioning the most were: an original flying Dumbo 
for the Disney ride which opened in 1955, the original Kermit the Frog, the 
flag which was flown over Fort McHenry and became the inspiration for the 
national anthem, the Hope Diamond, the space toilets and the Wright Brothers 
flyer. Quite a lot to see in an afternoon.

Next it was on to Phillips for dinner. A nice buffet with chicken, shrimp, 
and trout. While we were at dinner the sky began to darken, and not because 
it was getting late. Big storm clouds were moving through the area. We went 
to Fort McNair, walked all the way out to the parade grounds, got seats and 
all situaited, heard the announcement that the show was about to begin and 
then a new announcement, due to the approcahing weather the show was 
cancelled. What a bummer...but its too early to call it a day so we head off 
to the Iwo Jima Memorial. I lost count of the number of adults who commented 
about how big the statue was! Quite an impressive spot. From here we went 
for ice cream and a bit more shopping. This time at the ESPN Zone, the Hard 
Rock Cafe, and a couple of other shops......well, I keep nodding off....its 
12:03am and wake up calls are at 5:15am...........yak at cha tomorrow.



Tuesday June 9, 2009
It is amazing how quickly everyone went to sleep last night. Not too many 
taildraggers this morning but a number of complaints that "I didn't get a 
wake up call." Seems I didn't explain a wake up call was just a ring with no 
one talking to you and that it didn't have a snooze alarm. Oh well, we still 
made it out of the hotel to arrive at Jamestown's Glassblowing as they were 
opening the gates. It was a beautiful, although humid, morning along the 
James River. The kids got a great demonstration of glass blowing. On the 
short ride around the corner to the Recreation of the Jamestown settlement 
we played a few more trivia games and gave out some fun prizes. (Be sure to 
ask about the patriotic ducks and flamingos.)

At the settlement we split into three groups to tour the indian village, the 
three replica ships (the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery) the 
rebuit fort/settlement as well as the museum. This was quite a nice tour 
that really illustrated just how difficult life was in Jamestown. They have 
a number of people portraying the roles of the people who would actually 
have lived in the village. A couple students even got to try their hand at 
scrapping the fur off the deer skin and more than a few got quesy to learn 
that the hides were tanned with the cooked brains of the animal (sort of the 
consistency of a strawberry milk shake...are you grossed out yet?)

Next up was lunch at the school cafeteria of the College of William and 
Mary. Actually we had a bit of a scre before lunch because when the buses 
pulled up to the place the drivers had dropped kids before we found the 
doors locked and restaurant (like a food court) was closed and dark. Turns 
out we were just at the wrong location on campus and the lunch was on the 
other side of the football field. Once we found the right place, the lunch 
was quite good. Everyone who had been to college in our group commented that 
the food wasn't this good where they went to college. It was also a good 
experience for the kids to see the college campus. Overall it was a pretty 
good lunch.  

Next it was on to a tour of Colonial Willamsburg by daylight, a much 
different experience that last nights ghost tour. This town is set up like 
it is 1775 and we had not declared our independence yet. First stop was the 
Capitol building, which was basically the courthouse. One of the parents was 
put on trial for horse theivery. Alas, she was found guilty by a jury of her 
peers (the kids) and she was sentenced to a branding on her hand. I think 
she got off light. Last time I was put on trial for the same offense and I 
was sent to the gallows to be hung. While we were in the trial, the weather 
took a turn for the worse outside. Most of the rest of our day at 
Williamsburg was in the rain. For the most part we were inside buildings 
during the thunder and lightening but we definitely got wet. Nothing like 
last year's drenching but it was a pretty good rain. Some of the places we 
explored were the Blacksmith, the Book Bindery and the Cabinet Maker. Some 
of use even toured inside Mr. Randolph's haunted home we had checked out in 
the dark from out front last night. After the tour we had a little time to 
explore on our own before hitting the bus and heading for dinner. 

Dinner tonight was at Pizza UNO. I can't think of a time where I have 
received better service in a restaurant, especially with the large group we 
have. They were soooooooo nice and they even got every waiter in the place 
to since happy birthday to Rachel (Boy was she ever surprised!). Oh, and the 
pizza and salad were pretty good too!

Back on the bus for the drive back to Washington D.C. Its about a 3 hour 
drive and of course, with all that soda from dinner we needed to make a pit 
stop at a rest area. Wouldn't you know it. Right when we stopped, the skies 
opened up. No thunder and lighting but boy, did those running to the 
bathroom ever get wet. Pretty closed to the downpour of last year but at 
least they were only out in it for a couple of minutes. 

That about does it for today. Tomorrow its off to Ford's Theater, the 
Smithsonians and hopefully the Twilight Tattoo. The weather is looking iffy 
but we are praying for good weather. Well, its approaching 12:15am and the 
wake up calls are at 5:30am so until tomorrow, Good night.   Mike Eklund





Sunday/Monday June 7/8, 2009

What a day, what a day, what a day!
So far, so good. Its s been a great start. Absolutely no traffic to the 
airport left us plenty of time to play on the moving sidewalks prior to 
departure. Both flights were relatively smooth with arrivals pretty close to 
on-time considering the late start since SFO was down a runway or two. 

In Dulles we were meet by Tony and John (Alas, James has moved on to another 
company). It was great to see Tony again and John turned out to be a pretty 
good sport as well. First stop was Phillips Restaurant. Known for their 
seafood, neither driver had ever taken a group here for breakfast. Turns out 
the breakfast buffet was pretty good. As we were getting up to leave, in 
walks Anne! She looked great and the kids welcomed her with open arms. From 
here it was off to the White House and meeting up with our other tour guide, 
Karen. We got some great photos of the White House, the Treasury building 
and 
the Victory garden but I guess I have already taken a whole lot of pictures 
because my battery went dead before we could snap some shots of the 
protestors.

Next it was on to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for one group and the 
World War II Memorial for the other. The BEP was really neat. We saw 
millions 
and millions and millions of dollars. One of the workers on the plant floor 
held up a sign saying the tour guides were giving out free samples today but 
she said it was the other tour guide. Bummer. In the gift shop we were able 
to buy some money. Sounds funny doesn't it but actually some of us bought 
large uncot sheets of 16 or 32 bills. This is gonna look real cool once I 
spend some more money to frame this money that I already spent money on....I 
think. After the first group toured the BEP they groups switched and went to 
the World War II Memorial. Unfortunately the 2nd group to go through the BEP 
had a problem with their bus but, and this is why I use Worldstrides, they 
had a replacement bus in place by the time they came out of the BEP, with 
the 
bags already transfered. I never made it over to the WWII but it is a 
beautiful, circular monument located between the Washington monument and the 
Lincoln Memorial. The two halves of the circle represent the two theatres of 
combat, the Atlantic and the Pacific. It truly is a moving memorial with 
lots 
and lots of detail. Be sure to ask your student about it when the come home. 

Next it was on to another new place for luncg which was an upstairs food 
court. I never did see what was below it but for a crowded noontime place 
the 
service was pretty good, a decent selection and at the least the Chinese 
food 
was pretty good.  Back on the bus its was over to the Washington Monument. 
Even with reservations it still took us over an hour to get everyone up and 
through the tour at the top. It was great fun helping each group figure out 
what they were looking at from 500 feet up. Be sure to check their website 
to 
see the complete state blocks that are located on the inside of the 
monument. 

Already its time to say goodbye to Anne and Karen to start our drive to 
Williamsburg. Traffice was very heavy but they have these incredible car 
pool 
lanes that make for a real smooth trip. We stop for dinner at the Golden 
Corral (I'm not a big buffet person but this one is really good!) and then 
on 
to Williamsburg. We stop at our hotel long enough to have a bathroom break 
and pick up our guides for the ghost tour. Unfortunately its not dark yet at 
the start of our tour but as it gets darker the stories get spookier and 
scarier, We had three great guides this year and for a really tired group I 
was impressed with their attentiveness.  Finally, back to the hotel room 
check in bed check and it is now 11:45pm....I'm beat but what a great day. 
Wake up call for the kids is 6:00am. Another great day is coming up in the 
morning. Yak at cha tomorrow. Thanks   Mike Eklund