Mr Eklund

DC Trip Day Six June 8, 2012

We are on our flight headed home as I write this. The Captain just turned off the fasten seat belt sign, and it looks like the old “Chinese Fire Drills” (probably not the politically correct name anymore but that’s what we called them) we used to pull in high school where we would pull up to a red light and everyone bails out of the full car, runs around the car and piles back into the car. Kids are filling the aisles, switching seats, talking the regular passengers into trading. It is pretty darn funny. Not sure I would appreciate it if I was a regular passenger but the kids are trying to be polite. Oh well.

I guess our final day on the East Coast wouldn’t be complete without some complications, and sure enough we started off with loads of difficulty. First we were a little late getting out of the hotel because two of the three elevators were not working. Then we had a bit of a learning curve getting the bags in the right bus and the right bin for the people leaving on the earlier flight. Finally we are ready to go and the hotel will not unlock the gate. They make Thomas and Floyd go around the building to pull out the front with these two big busses. Unfortunately it is impossible for them to make the turn until we track down a rental car guy to get the keys and move a van that is parked on the corner of the turn. I just laughed and called our tour company to let the guides that we were supposed to be meeting five minutes before we got out of the parking lot that we were really on our way. Woo Hoo! No better way to raise the blood pressure than to start off the day running late.

Finally in Philadelphia we hook up with our tour guides for the day. They are fabulous! Having never been to Philly before, we had no idea what to expect. I had misread our agenda and thought we were going in to the Constitution Center but it turns out that’s just the place we were to meet our guides. We are taking a walking tour of historic Philadelphia. We went to so many places it is gonna be hard to remember all of them. Although I will do the best I can and remember, every group had a different guide and as a result, saw slightly different things throughout the day. First stop was the gravesite of Benjamin Franklin. It is located at the back corner of the Christ Church cemetery. The cemetery is surrounded by a brick wall but so many people wanted to visit his grave that they have knocked out a section of the wall and replaced it with wrought iron so you can visit Dr. Franklin’s grave from the sidewalk. Smart idea. We also noticed a lot of change on top the crypt which the guide explained was supposed to bring good luck. Considering how our day started I figured we could use some luck so I emptied the change from my pockets!

Next it is over to the coolest stop…Independence Hall. The birthplace of our country! We strode in the footsteps of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and all those other Founding Fathers. We stood in the room where these great men tried to work out our differences with the King which turned into plotting a revolution and ultimately to forming our new government and running our new country. This is the place where they wrote the Declaration of Independence, wrote the Articles of Confederation, wrote the Constitution and wrote the Bill of Rights. This is also where our first Senate and House of Representatives served. It also holds originals of these major documents. This gave us a chance to see these items even though we never made it to the National Archives in DC. In short, this was one of those spine-tingling places we visited this week. Simply awesome!

Next up, another cool must see. The Liberty Bell! As you might expect the line to see this was quite long. Of course, today is the hottest day of our trip so far and the line is out in the sun. Good thing we have our guide Murray to explain the bell and the reason for the crack. Boy is Murray a great guide. He taught 8^thgrade US History for over 30 years in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (yes, THAT Valley Forge where George Washington and his troops spent the winter.) It’s a rather long wait for a short view of the bell but one you wouldn’t want to miss.,

After waiting in the hot sun so long it was time for a little shopping where we could get some water and some souvenirs. It was a fairly small shop that Murray knew, kind of off the main square that had good prices. They were extremely grateful we camein, and It sure was nice to be appreciated as a customer (especially after the crappy service at TGIFridays last night.) They thanked us profusely for coming in, for making purchases, and even followed us outside to say thanks again and to enjoy the rest of our trip, have fun, glad we came by, etc. Customer service like it used to be, like they cared about you as well as your money. I’m not sure if the kids noticed but the adults were sure impressed.

After leaving the store, we continued our walking tour. I have only been writing about the highlights but Murray has been stopping and teaching us about smaller things all along the way. For example, he pointed out where the Declaration of Independence was read out loud for the very first time. We also walked past Carpenters Hall, which is where the Founding Fathers made their last ditch effort to avoid war with the Olive Branch Petition.

Next up is lunch where we enjoyed a genuine Philly Cheesesteak sandwich complete with TastyCakes for dessert. What a yummy treat. A real Philly cheesesteak comes with grilled meat, onions, peppers, mushrooms and cheese whiz. I know what you are thinking….CheeseWhiz…yuk! But it was actually pretty good with the onions and peppers combination. I liked it so much I had another for dinner in the airport. If you would like one you are in luck. There is a Philly Cheesesteak Shop in Santa Rosa on Stony Point near Highway 12. They import their buns and Tasty Cakes from Philly so it’s the real deal, and they let you order with a different kind of cheese if you like. (No I don’t know them I just had one once and it’s the same as the sandwiches I had today.)

Time to go back in time with Benjamin Franklin. We walked through the same brick tunnel that Dr. Franklin travelled daily between his home and his print shop. They are building a Benjamin Franklin Museum right at the end of this tunnel which is supposed to be open in Spring 2013. Somehow I think that is an optimistic estimate since so far all that has been erected is a steel frame, painted white already showing signs of rust. After walking over the top of Dr. Franklin’s sealed up Privy Pit we entered a print shop designed to be just like the print shop he ran here many years ago. This site was run by the park service and the ranger did an excellent job of walking the kids through the process of printing and even printed up a copy of the Declaration of Independence just like was done in 1776. Pretty cool. Back outside, next to the print shop is the nation’s first post office (or at least the one run by Franklin which I think was the first one.) This one is so old that it opened before we had a flag. As a result it did not fly a flag and is the only flag in the country that still does not fly a flag in honor of Dr. Franklin.

Further only our tour we stop in for a tour of Christ Church. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the colonies. This is still an active church that was the church attended by George Washington while he was President (Remember, Philadelphia was the Capitol when Washington was president). It was also the church attended by almost all the Founding Fathers. Back in the day, attendees of this church had to pay for their seats, sort of like a seat license fee as charged by football teams today. As a result we know for a fact that some of our group sat in the same seats occupied by Dr. Franklin and his family.

As we continued our tour we turned onto Elfreth’s Alley. This was a really cool, narrow city street lined with narrow houses on each side. It is the oldest continually occupied city block in the United States. Really cute but all I could think about was would I really want to live on a street that was a tourist attraction and have people stand outside my front door looking at my boot scraper everyday?

From here it is on to Betsy’s Ross’ home. Actually, she was just renting but it is where she lived. This was a small house with quite a nice museum depicting the life of a typical seamstress of the day. She was definitely not wealthy. (We actually learned this back at Christ Church when we saw she had a seat with an obstructed view.) She had to work in secret because if the British found out what she was doing when making the flag she could be charged with treason. Despite the danger she played a pivotal role in creating the identity of our new nation. I guess she was appreciated for her service because she is buried in the yard, even though it was just a rental.

Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers. Quakers are pacifists who believe that everyone is equal and this really shows in their churches. Actually they don’t even call them churches , they call them meetinghouses. We went into the Quaker Meetinghouse and it was very different from most churches. They are very plain with simple benches and no ornate displays. No organ or piano. It is just a quiet room to contemplate their religion where everyone has an equal opportunity to speak and to be heard. And this brings us to the end of our time together as we meet back at the buses where we have to say goodbye to a part of our group. We met up at the busses to say goodbye and the plan was for the first group to stop at the Rocky statue and race up the steps that we saw from the bus last night. Unfortunately, traffic is pretty bad this Friday afternoon so we decide to skip the steps to make sure we don’t miss our flight. (As I write this, group one should be arriving at SFO in about an hour.)

The rest of us have to wait for the first bus to return from the airport so we decide to stroll back across the square to visit the Declaration House. This is where Thomas Jefferson was staying while writing the Declaration of Independence (well, a rebuilt version of it anyway.)There was actually a group of five assigned the task of writing this document but Jefferson is picked because for this revolution to be accepted by all they have to get Virginia and the rest of the south to buy in to the process. This is a big deal because the South isn’t as upset as the North. They rely on England for trade and think most of the issues relate to New England and not them. Fortunately for us today, the south joined in the revolution and Jefferson is hailed for writing such an exquisite document. The revolution is on!

We also stop at the site of the Presidents House. This is a house that George Washington rented that essentially served as the White House while Washington was president. The house has long since been torn down but they did go back and conduct an archeological dig at the site and learned that the house did have quarters for up to nine slaves. Since Vice-President Adams never owned slaves these quarters must have been occupied by Washington’s slaves. We all know Washington owned slaves but slavery has been outlawed in Pennsylvania since it became a state. There is an exception to this rule. If a slave owner brought slaves to Pennsylvania they remained slaves as long as they returned to slave territory within six months. To get around this rule, Washington and other slave owners would simply rotate their slaves, send some back and bringing in replacements always doing so before the sixth month period is over. There is no house here now but there is a shell of a frame with a video presentation and an excellent presentation from one of our guides, Ginny.

Just like the first group, the plan for group two is to stop at the Rocky steps on the way to the airport but now not only is traffic still horrible but I got a call from the Worldstrides rep saying there is a problem with our reservation and we should come to the airport early. So, just like the first group we decide it’s not worth missing our flight to run up some steps so we too head for the airport. As it turns out, whatever problem there was with our reservation has been fixed by the time we arrive so we check our luggage (sorry couldn’t talk them out of charging) and head for the gate. I give everyone some more of the portraits we saw in the rotunda of the Capitol building (as seen on the back of the $2.00 bill and they branch out in search of food. Our flight leaves the gate essentially on time and we should be home in a few hours.

Before I sign off I just want to thank you again for sending your student on this trip. I am pretty sure they had a good time while they learned a whole lot about this great country of ours. They are exhausted but when they recover I urge you to use my notes to help tell them tell you about all the great things they did and saw. We will be heading East again next summer so please tell your friends that will be in eighth grade in the Fall. I still have plenty of room and if you sign up before June 15^ththere is a discount.

I passed out our tips and thank you notes. If you would like to send a personal note to Karen or Dale, or Thomas or Floyd, or Murray, Ginny or Susan, or anyone else who helped along the way let me know and I will send you the address. I will send you a Newsflash and come down to Kenilworth to pass out the photos we took in front of the Capitol when they arrive in a couple of weeks. I will also be setting up a photo sharing page so we can all share the pictures we took along the way. I will send out a notice as soon as that is up and running.

Thanks again for joining me on this journey. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I wish you the best for the rest of your summer and hope your high school experience is fantastic. As they said at promotion, get involved. Remember, High School can be the greatest time of your life but not if you sit back and do nothing. You have to get involved. Join a club, go to the sports events, attend the dances, volunteer, listen to your teachers, do your homework, put your name on your papers and most important of all…..have fun! I will miss you immensely.  

Your friend always,       

Michael Eklund

DC Trip Day Five June 7, 2012

The adventure continues….I usually get up pretty early but that 5:15am wake up call was painful this morning, for me anyway. The kids must have listened when I said to pack most of their stuff and go to bed early last night because everyone was up and ready to go early. But….I am getting ahead of myself, let me finish with last night because you are not gonna believe it.

We arrive at the Tattoo late. Usually we are the first group there but last night we were just about to the parade grounds when the music started. Fortunately most of us were able to find seats in the grandstands. What a great show! All of the performers are army personnel in uniform. Under the big screen they have a big band/rock band playing and a quartet of singers trading off singing lead on a variety of pop songs. Next is a demonstration of soldiering by a group of soldiers dressed in the style of a dress colonial army uniform. They are followed by a simililary dressed drum and fife corps. They are followed by the Army precision drill team, tossing around rifles with bayonets like they are drumsticks. Quite impressive. Interspersed with all of these groups the rock band played, the singers sang, a 40’s singer sang, they shot off cannons, soldiers road up on horses, army men and women came out and stirred up the group with patriotic comments about themselves and their duty, and the audience joining in singing patriotic songs. What an inspiring evening!!!! And, if you think I was impressed, just wait until you hear about this evening from your kids. They were in awe!!! After the show you could go and meet all the performers. I lost count of how many girls wanted me to take pictures of them with “the cute one” or “Mr. Buff Arms”. Sgt. Jordan Fulton from Seattle, Washington……what a gentleman! He was great with the kids. Must have posed for a 100 photos with the kids. Made me proud to be an American just watching the interactions between our kids and these impressive men and women! No one wanted to leave. We actually hung out until they started turning off the lights, pretty much the last group to leave.

Back on the buses, we had said goodbye to Dale at the Mall and dropped off Karen as we left the Tattoo. As always, Karen was just great and we really got lucky with Dale coming in as a last minute addition to our team. Ready to call it a day we head back to the hotel, only to discover the day isn’t quite over. When we come in, exhausted, ready to shower, pack and get some rest when we discover NONE of the room keys work. Awwwwwwwwww, just another challenge to top a day filled with challenges. The hotel rekeys all the rooms, bed checks at ten and we call it a day.  Which brings us to Thursday……………

This morning was the fastest, easiest, best check out I have ever had doing this trip. The kids were all up packed, ready to go and down by the bus (notice I said bus) earlier than they were even asked to be ready but you may recall I began today’s column with the adventure continues……we are in the parking lot with all our kids, all our bags and only one bus! Dude, Where’s my bus? Turns out Floyd was doing something with the bathroom before we head out on the long drive today but hadn’t got back yet. Fortunately is just a short delay and as I write this we are on our way to Gettysburg. It’s a nice drive today with No Traffic (Thank goodness we are not going the opposite direction, it is stopped.) We should be in Gettysburg in about a half hour so I’m gonna shut down and enjoy the view. Yak at cha later.

4:35pm….Our first stop today was the Gettysburg Visitors Center. Since we had no traffic we arrived into town early which is a good thing since we missed the turn and took the scenic tour to try and turn around…in two great big buses. Once we make it to the visitor’s center we still have plenty of time to shop before the presentation. The show starts with a fantastic movie called Birth of Freedom narrated by Morgan Freedman. Unfortunately, they don’t sell the film so I can’t get it to show in class but it’s a good excuse to come visit Gettysburg. When the movie is over we take a two story escalator up to the Cyclorama. Boy is this ever impressive. It is a painting in the round that depicts the battle. What makes it special is the use of lights and sound that makes it look and feel like things are moving. The painting blends into a 3-D diorama in the foreground and the whole experience makes it feel like you are really in the center of the action. After the Cyclorama we have plenty of time to explore the museum. This place is just a few years old and quite well done. With such a large battlefield there are tons of artifacts to fill in the displays. Pretty cool.

Can you believe, its time to eat again. Lunch at the Dobbin House. It was once home to Mr and Mrs Dobbin and their 19 children (nine with one wife then ten with the other). It also served as a stop on the underground railroad. Some of us even went on a tour where you could see the hiding place of the escaping slaves. Pretty impressive and I didn’t even mention the food. Very simple fare but really good. Soup, salad, make your own sandwiches with the softest bread ever, fabulous dill pickle, old fashioned hard pretzels, cake, brownies and lemonade. A good old fashion all-American meal. There was another group of 8^thgraders here from New Jersey. It was quite funny to watch our boys reactions when the Jersey boys came over to socialize with the Petaluma girls. Don’t worry, I believe all the phone numbers the Jersey boys left behind “accidentally fell” into glass of lemonade. I don’t know how that happened.

**** 5:20pm…..its raining……HARD!.....no thunder or lightening yet. *****

Next, its time to pick up our guides for our Gettysburg Battlefield tour. This is a two hour tour where the guide gets on the bus and rides with us around the battlefield, stopping to get off from time to time, to explain what happened in this key battle. This year we got really lucky with two fabulous guards. They were amazing. I wish I knew the story (about anything) as well as they knew this story. You could tell they loved doing this tour and really relished in reliving the story with us. You really had a clear picture of the events of the battle once they were finished. We saw some houses with bullet holes and even one that still has a cannonball stuck in the wall. We learned about the civilians living in Gettysburg including the gentleman who refuse to come inside while the battle raged around him until he picked all the green beans in his garden. He wasn’t going to let those Southern soldiers steal his food!

5:37pm….stopped raining…We are now on the Pennsylvania Turnpike headed to dinner at TGIFridays and a new hotel in Philadelphia. I’ve been trying to submit an update but have not been able to get the WiFi working on the bus all week. Talk to you again from the hotel………….

Pulling into Philadelphia, out the side of the bus we have a beautiful view of the boat house row alog the river. Beautiful! Everyone enjoyed the views of the Rocky statue and Independence Hall but everyone is pretty tired and hungry. Dinner tonight was the meal we preordered at TGIFridays. The food was good but for the first time all trip the service was terrible. I don’t think the kids even noticed but the adults were none to impressed. The fabulous service at lunch really highlighted their lack of attention. Well, this is the first time we have come here so we will definitely change to a different restaurant next time. Hopefully lunch tomorrow will be better.

Finally, after a very long day, we reach our hotel in Philadelphia. Bed time 10:00pm…..and I am whooped. Talk to you tomorrow. Nighty nite.  Mike Eklund

DC Summer Day Four June 6, 2012

“Mr. Eklund, I have never been so tired in my WHOLE life! And I went to bed early.” Oh, and what time was early? “1:30am.” Bed check was at 10:30pm…what were you doing? “Couldn’t you hear us? Your room is right next door. We were talking about what sounds a ladybug makes.” Boy, are we having fun.

Most of the kids went to sleep rather early last night and nobody slept through their alarm today. The excitement level was pretty high at breakfast because there was BACON! They could have been filming one of those Beggin’ Strips commercials where the dog is going nuts for bacon. It was pretty cute. We are back on the bus heading in to DC. First stop is shopping before heading over to Ford’s Theater. We have an appointment for the ranger talk where the ranger will tell us all about the night Abraham Lincoln was shot. ….and we are still on the bus……and still…..and still. For the first time this trip (unless you count New York) we got into some really serious traffic. Thomas took every short cut and still we ended up too late to shop before the ranger talk. Instead we went into Ford’s Theater and listened to the ranger describe the night Lincoln was shot. Since this is our last day in DC the kids really wanted to get in some serious shopping (cuz’ what teenage wardrobe is complete without a DC hooded sweatshirt.)

Next its over the Daniels Story at the Holocaust museum. This is an excellent depiction of the Holocaust and the events leading up to it as told from the perspective of a ten year old boy who lived through it. As the kids walk through this exhibit they experience the growing horror of life for Jews in Nazi controlled Germany. This is not the main Holocaust museum but a section dedicated especially for children. While some of our students are ready for the main museum, after going through it myself I think this is something to leave for the next time they visit DC when they are older.

Time to eat again but our schedule is really tight due to the earlier shopping. This time we are going to the Reagan International Trade Center. It is one of the largest office buildings in the country and has its own food court. Its also one of those places you have to go through security to enter. For the first bus this isn’t a big deal. When they arrive there is no line at all. The second bus, on the other hand, had a little bit of a delay leaving the Holocaust Museum and pull up to Reagan right after three other busses. It takes them so long to get into the building that they need to order food to go and eat it on the bus as they head to Arlington National Cemetery.

As the first bus pulls into the parking lot, the entrance gate is malfunctioning and does not issue a ticket when it raises the gate (more on this later.) It was a perfect day for Arlington, nice and cool. The long walk up the hill was without a doubt the most comfortable I have ever experienced. Along the way, Karen and Dale are explaining what the kids are seeing. We stop at a few special places, including JFK’s eternal flame and Bobby Kennedy’s plain white cross. Today was the 44^thanniversary of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination as well as the anniversary of D-Day. Just sayin’. We also go up to the Tomb of the Unknowns and watch the changing of the guard. This is always awe inspiring and today was no exception. As we are leaving the Tomb we happen upon three bus loads of WWII Veterans being dropped off for the next changing of the guard ceremony. We were all so impressed with the reference and gratitude displayed by Karen and Dale to each of these wheelchair bound veterans. I am so glad many of the kids had a chance to witness this! Next I gave a talk to each group about America’s most decorated military hero, Audie L. Murphy. Someday I might make it through this talk without crying but it wasn’t today. (I’m even tearing up now as I write this.) Please ask your children about this great American. Watch his life story (To Hell and Back, I think they have it on Netflix) and the next time they start talking up someone who really isn’t that great of role model remind them of Audie Murphy. Now its time to head down the hill for our next appointment at the National Cathedral. The first bus loads up and starts to pull out. When we reach the toll gate, we have been here almost two hours. Parking should be $14.00 but remember, the machine was malfunctioning and did not give Thomas a ticket. Even though he had talked to them when we first arrived about the missing thicket they insist that he has to pay the fee for a lost ticket which is a full days parking….$91.00. Now mind you we are sitting what is essentially the only toll booth exit for busses to leave this parking lot at Arlington National Cemetery which is run by the United States Army (although the parking is run by a contractor). Let the games begin! Since its really late already lets just say it was starting to get ugly, the military police were called, busses are backing up behind ours, the parking guy is insisting we pay the $91.00 dollars and Thomas insisting he will not. Eventually I had a conversation with the Supervising MP and mentioned we had two buses. I gave him the ticket for the second bus which had pulled in about ten minutes after the first bus and apparently the machine was working properly by then. Finally the MP convinced the parking guy to just charge us double based on the second ticket and we were on our way. Looking back the whole thing was so comical it was downright funny but now we are really late for our appointment at the National Cathedral.

 Both busses head through Georgetown on what should be the quickest route possible. Wouldn’t you know it, road construction! Argh! When we finally arrive we are REALLY late but they take great care of us anyway. What an incredible building. This is first time we have gone in this beautiful site. It is immense and so incredibly detailed. There are carvings in stone and wood, 500 year old tapestries hanging on the walls and probably the greatest collection of stained glass windows in the world. Sooooo beautiful, you could spend months in here and still not see it all. Incredible sight!

Now it is time to get dinner then head over to the Twilight Tattoo but now we have some trouble. We are REALLY late and if you don’t get there on time you have to sit on the grass at the Twilight Tattoo. It is now rush hour traffic going through Georgetown and DC plus the weather is looking ominous. Every street seems to be backed up and it starts to rain! Noooooooooooo! We are panicked that they will cancel the Tattoo but instead we hear they are going to move it indoors. As we finally make it to the Pentagon City Mall we decide to get our meals to go and will come back to the mall to shop if the Tattoo is rained out. When we arrive at the Tattoo, the show begins right as we are walking towards the field where the show is to be held. Yippee, it didn’t get rained out and most of us got seats in the grandstands instead of sitting on the wet grass. ………..and I can’t keep my eyes open anymore, we have a 5:15am wake up call, have to pack our bags, check out of our hotel and be on the bus by 7:00am…..I’m going to have to finish telling you about the rest of the evening tomorrow.  Nighty Nite.

 

DC Day Three June 5, 2012

Nice cool start to the day. The TV anchors were whining how cold it was at 59 degrees. There is a small chance of rain with a high of 70, perfect for a day at Mount Vernon. Only two rooms slept through their wake up calls today so we got off a little late but now we are on the bus on the way into town. I purchased the introductory video from the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. This allows us to watch the film,We Fight to Be Free, on the bus and give us more time for the rest of Mount Vernon. The movie is a great introduction to a great man, plus its short so all we miss is looking at the traffic before we get close enough to see the sights.

Mount Vernon changed the way they do things a bit which worked out better than we thought it would. Instead of waking up super early, rushing to Mount Vernon, rushing through the building to get in line to go through the mansion. Now you have a timed appointment for the Mansion and they won’t even let you get in line until your time. Worked out well. We were able to sleep in til 6:00(although one room slept in til 7:50…bus was supposed to leave at 7:45am…good thing for them the rules had changed.) When we got to Mount Vernon we were politely waiting for a bus ahead of us to move (as we were asked by the Mount Vernon staff) when two buses from two other companies cut in front of us. Neener, neener, neener, the Mount Vernon staff made them wait until after we had parked both of our buses, unloaed and let us in ahead of those place cuttersJ. Once inside we head straight for the theater that tells the story of George Washington and the Revolutionary War, complete with rumbling seats, fog and snow inside the theater. Dang cool. Next we toured the Educational center, the grounds, the tomb, slave quarters, etc. until time to go through the house. Painted and decorated with original colors, furniture, paintings, etc. its quite the house. ..especially the BRIGHT green dining room. A little shopping in the fabulous gift shops and then its on to lunch.

Today it was another buffet. There’s not a whole lot of options for lunch near Mount Vernon so we weren’t to surprised to see at least six other buses in the parking lot when we got there and six new ones in the parking lot when we left. …but they finally fixed the ice cream machine!! It used to freeze up if you serve yourself to quickly after the person ahead of you so we almost never had ice cream unless you got it before lunch.

Next its on the National Mall and the Smithsonian Museums. We set the kids up in small groups with an adult and dropped everyone off at the Air and Space Museum with three and a half hours to make their way down the Mall through the Air & Space, Natural History, maybe the Smithsonian Castle, two art museums (although I don’t think anyone choose to go to an art Museum) to finish up at the American History Museum. The kids, parents and chaperones are working so well together! It was nice to set them off on their own like this and not be stressed out the whole time like I usually am. It is truly a fantastic group this year. Makes the challenges so much easier to deal with…be sure to thank your kids again for me when they get home.

We didn’t make it over to the National Archives today, because for some reason every time we have checked the line has been at least a couple hours long. I’m not sure why but rather than wait we have been moving on to other stops instead. Dinner tonight was at a new spot for us. It was a food court in a four story mall in Alexandria, Virginia. It was so nice and quiet and relaxing with some good choices, including a Chick-Fil-A (they are opening one in Santa Rosa). I chatted with the franchise owner who already knew about the Santa Rosa locations and she went in back an baked us some absolutely fantastic chocolate chip cookies. I can’t wait for the Chick-Fil-A to come to town! “Eat more chikin”

After dinner we when over to the White House. Unfortunately we never did get chance to go inside but we did take tons of pictures in front of the mansion. Didn't’t see any snipers on the roof but there was a really big gun up on the roof. We also learned about the protest that has been camped out front since the early 1980’s. Quite a history lesson.

Back to bus its time for the big three, The Vietnam, Korean and Lincoln Memorials. The Vietnam Memorial is actually three memorials in one. There’s the Wall with the names of those killed and missing in the conflict. There is also a statue that is a tribute to the nurses as well as a third that features statues of three soldiers. This last one was under renovation last year so it was all bright and shiny this evening.

Next we crossed over to the Korean War Memorial. By now it was dark which makes the sixteen full-size soldiers look very realistic as the make their way across the symbolic rice patties. Not only is this a really cool memorial but its here that we are met by a blast from the kids past. A teacher that many of them had shared at Meadow, who moved to the DC area a few years ago, came to visit with her former students. The looks on the kids faces when they saw her was priceless. What a treat, for the teacher and the kids.

We finished the day with the Lincoln Memorial. Oh, I almost forgot, when we first got to the big three a number of kids needed a potty break. The only bathroom is halfway up the steps of the Lincoln so we took those kids there where we treated to a group of local teenagers who were at the Lincoln Memorial to take their Prom pictures. About sixteen dressed up teenagers on the stairs getting their pictures taken. How cool is that! Anyway, when we come back to Lincoln it is good and dark which makes the vie even more impressed. The imposing 19 foot tall statue of Lincoln sitting in a chair is an impressive sight indeed. Then, if you turn around and it’s the Washington monument and the Capitol building across the way. All I can say is it is a sight that the kids will never forget.

Well, that was our day. Quite a busy one and tomorrow is packed with even more but since it is already 1:00am and I have only got about 8 hours sleep in the last three night combined you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear about our day. ....Reveille oh six hundred!  Nighty Nite

Monday June 4th Day Two

5:45am wake up calls…couldn’t believe how many kids were downstairs at breakfast fifteen minutes early. Great start for the day. We are now loaded on the buses and headed in to DC (from Tysons Corner, VA). Just found out the group on Virgin America didn’t have to pay for their luggage. Gee, non-stop flight, seat back entertainment, on-time, and free bags. Fine, but they didn’t get to experience New York drivers. Oh well, today off to a fresh start for everyone.

First stop today, pick up our tour guides. As usual Karen was awesome yesterday but Anne was very sick so we had to get a replacement. I was worried because Anne has been on every tour we have done for the past thirtysomething years but Dale turned out to be pretty good. I heard she has had really great reviews from past groups and so far good reports from our group. Once we get Dale and Karen its on to the Capitol. We are meeting a rep from Lynn Woolsey’s office who will take us into the House of Representatives Gallery and hopefully hook us into a tour of the entire Capitol. Not sure what we are gonna do in the future, Ms. Woolsey’s office has been great to us over the years and she is retiring. Hopefully the new reps staff will be just as helpful.  One major bummer. I brought a box of See's Candy to give to the rep but the Capitol police made us throw it out.....Argh!!!! A brand new, full pound box of See's to the garbage. I almost cried!!! That was so wrong.

I am not sure what we are going to do next year when Lynn Woolsey retires because her staff has always taken such good care of us. Despite not having an “official” group reservation for the entire group Karen was able to get us all into two back to back tours and Ms. Woolsey’s staffer brought us gallery passes to get us all in to the House of Representatives chambers. We got lucky with two fantastic tour guides, including one from Novato who had relatives in Petaluma so she knew all about us. The tours start off on the lower level where we were able to step on the actual center stone of the Capitol (both the city and the building!) The exact same spot that millions and millions of visitors have stepped on for years and years. Next its up to the Rotunda. What a magnificent building. The dome is immense and really, really high. Huge beautiful paintings of the discovery of our country and the Revolutionary War periods. Plus an incredibly impressive painting around the building that looks 3-D like statues, that tells the story of the history of our country from Columbus to the Wright Brothers. Next its over to statuary hall. If you watch Obama’s Inauguration, this is the room where they had the luncheon after the swearing in ceremony. We also had a chance to see both of California’s statues, Ronald Reagan and Father Junipero Serra. Reagan’s statue is pretty cool with a layer of the Berlin Wall between the statue and the pedestal. Did you know that the original Capitol building was only 100ft x 100ft and housed the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court AND the Library of Congress? We started off small.

Next, on to the House Chambers. They were not in session so we had a chance for a long detailed lesson about what we were seeing from yours truly, as well as the guard, Dale and Karen. Its interesting how you cannot even see the scoreboard when its not lit up, hidden behind what looks like wallpaper. The kids learned how votes are placed, who sits where, what happened during a regular session, a joint session and the State of the Union address. Best of all, we got stay as long as we wanted with someone to answer all of our questions. Pretty cool.  From the Capitol building we walked through the tunnel into the Library of Congress. The inside of this building is one of the prettiest in town. Murals everywhere with lots of great quotes on the walls. There was also in exhibit of Thomas Jefferson’s original book collection that made up the rebuilt library, replacement s for the books burned by the British in the War of 1812. From here we walked back down to the Grant Memorial which overlooks the reflecting pool behind the Capitol building. This is where we had our group photo taken. The photos are including in the price of your trip. I should have them in a couple of weeks. I will send out an e-mail when they arrive an meet you at KJHS one day to pass them out.

Since everyone was simply starving to death it was time for lunch. Today it was a food court at a place called Shops at National Place. There was a number of choices, but I decided on the chicken place for a chicken sandwich. I placed my order then turned around and noticed a number of the adults in our group in line behind me. They said that they followed me because since I have been here a number of times before I must know which place has the best food. I laughed cuz I had never eaten at this choice before and only went to this one because there was no line. That being said, the chicken sandwich was pretty good. A lot of the kids got pizza which I was told was good. I didn’t see any of the kids try the Indian food though.

Next stop was the National Museum of Crime and Punishment. There was lots to see in this museum. They had Ted Bundy’s car, John Watne Gacy’s art kit and clown suit, a simulator where you could drive a police car in hot pursuit and try not to crash, another simulator where you went on a bust of a meth lab and even Bonnie and Clyde’s shot up car. We also had a chance to put ourselves into an Episode of America’s Most Wanted. Who knew that Mrs. Blake was on the FBI’s most Wanted list?

Next we all climbed into Einstein’s lap for another group photo. Quite a large statue with the adults taking pictures with pretty much every kid’s camera. Makes for fun keeping everyone smiling and not moving while clicking through about 100 cameras. From here we went for a nice stroll past the State Department building. We asked if Ms. Clinton was in but they wouldn’t tell us. Those Capitol cops can be so much fun. The stroll continued to another new restaurant, the Sizzling Express. Once again the service was fantastic and the food was pretty good too. A nice buffet with lots of choices, including some Asian pork ribs that were quite tasty.

From here, it was on to a brand new monument, the Dr. martin Luther King J. Memorial. This statue is made to look like he is carved into a mountain, ala Mt. Rushmore. There are two more chunks behind him meant to symbolize Stone mountain with walls (sort of like the Vietnam Wall) extending out from either side of the Stone Mountains. There are a number of quotes carved into the wall. Quite impressive actually. Simple and elegant. It is located on the edge of the tidal basin, as are the FDR, George Mason and Jefferson Memorials, so we took a walk around the tidal basin.

Next stop, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This one really tells a story. As you walk through this you are really traveling through a series of outdoor “rooms” depicting the Roosevelt presidency. Carved out of huge chunks of red granite, we see scenes showing fireside chats, bread lines, World War II, the depression, the handicapped and even the one and only memorial with a section dedicated to the first ladies, a statue of his wife Eleanor. I heard from a number of adults on return visits that this is one of their favorites…mine too.

We continue along the tidal basin to a statute of one of the least remembered of the founding fathers, George Mason. While he didn’t have the impressive titles that others like Washington, Adams and Jefferson he was responsible for many of the ideas our country was founded on. We took a few group photos here before heading to the last memorial on the Tidal Basin, the Thomas Jefferson memorial. Inside a domed building with Roman columns, the 19 foot tall statue of Thomas Jefferson is an imposing sight indeed. There are a number of carving in the walls highlighting some of his accomplishments. To name just a few, the first Secretary of State, the third President, primary author of the Declaration of Independence, founder of the University of Virginia, and considered by many to be one of the smartest men ever to serve in the United States government. All this and he made the Louisiana Purchase. Quite a guy. What a day, and we have barely been here twenty four hours. Can’t wait until tomorrow, get to sleep in until six! Nighty Night.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Hi Everyone! Our journey has begun and what a ride it has been so far. Fortunately I discovered the alarm on my phone wasn’t working Saturday afternoon so all I did was overflow the pool instead of missing my wake up call. Good thing to since I wasn’t even the first one to the bus at KJHS at 1:45 in the morning. Everyone gets loaded up and we are on our way. We arrive at the Delta ticket counter at 4:00am, just as they requested. Sorry I couldn’t sweet talk them out of the luggage fee (although I will try for a refund later…explanation to come). We were down to the last three passengers checking in when someone noticed our flight said it was delayed on the screen. When I asked the ticket agent about the delay it was” Ohhhhh, it is delayed” followed by an under the breath “you will miss your connection.” And so the adventure begins.

The first proposal was to split us up into five different flights, all making connections in various places, and arriving at various times. Hmmmmm, Mr Eklund’s response “I don’t think so. What’s behind door number two?” Well, we are working on it, go to your original gate and we will come to you. Eventual plan…the whole group flies from SFO to New York’s JFK, take a bus to New York’s La Guardia then fly to Washington National. This will get us here 2 ½ hours late but all together. Let’s go with this plan….ooops, our luggage can’t do this so the luggage will go SFO to Atlanta to DC. Great plan….on paper anyway. The problem we discovered was with the bags checked in the reservation it will not let the agent issue the new destination boarding passes…..not to mention the new flight is now oversold. Okay…but now its near flight time, no boarding passes for this flight or the connection. “That’s okay, go onboard, take any open seat and we will bring you the connecting boarding passes.” Right! Except onboard, there are more passengers than seats. I got to reach back to my airline career experience and I recruited a volunteer to get off, they hand me the connecting boarding passes (or so I thought) and away we go.

Nice long flight to JFK, met by a Delta rep who escorts us out to a bus, a mini-van and a car for the ride to LaGuardia. Oh my, was that ever an interesting ride. I will never complain about California drivers again! I was in the car and we flew in, out, over, under, around heavy traffic with horns honking and brakes slamming and unbelievably didn’t hit anything and the mini-van got to LaGuardia first! Amazing. Unfortunately, the bus wasn’t as fast nor did it go to the right place. He dropped everyone off at the other side of the airport and took off. Whoops! While trying to get them to our side of the airport we decided to check everyone in for the flight. Turns out they only gave us 29 of the 45 boarding passes and none of them would work when scanned by the check in. Long stressful hour later, the last six of us are running through the concourse carrying our shoes, belts, ipad, laptop, carry-ons, etc. as they are about to close the door. Just another day in modern group travel. That was all the early group. 

Sounds like the later group had a smooth start to their journey. Non-stop on Virgin America to Dulles with the cool seatback movie screens. Since the other group was running late they had a chance to add a stop at the Udvar-Hazy extension of the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. They got to see the recently retired space shuttle, the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the atom bomb on Japan) and a concorde. We got to see New York, and from the air Central Park, the Empire State building, the new World Trade Center. Pretty even trade, both groups were happy and we met up for dinner at Hamburger Hamlet.

This was a new restaurant for us. The service was great and the food pretty good too. Ceasar salad, pasta, steak fries, mini burgers, BBQ chicken and chocolate chip cookies. I think everyone enjoyed dinner then it was on to our first stop together, the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. Very impressive site with LOTS of symbolism. This memorial features a lot of cantilevered benchs with reflecting pools underneath each one. Each bench has the name of someone who lost their life in the attack on the Pentagon and are arranged to show whether the person being honored perished in the airplane or in the Pentagon. Very touching.

Next stop, the Air Force Memorial. Stainless steel spires heading skyward to look like the thunderbirds taking off for the heavens. A beautiful memorial with a breathtaking view of the city. Lots of beautiful pictures were being taken here with the sky turning shades of red in the clouds as it got dark. 

One last stop for the evening, the Marine Memorial. This memorial depicts the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima during World War II. A lot of the kids saw the optical illusion of the flag actually raising as the bus slowly pulls up to drop us off. Like the Air Force Memorial, this site has a breathtaking view of the city as well. After a bit of a hectic start, it was a beautiful end to a very memorable day. We drop of our guides (more on this tomorrow) and its off to our hotel. Time to call it a day. More tomorrow.   Mike Eklund