2009-10 Hailey Goes to Washington DC

During the MEA break (a couple of days off from school while the teachers have meetings), Hailey went on a trip to visit our nation's capital of Washington DC with about 90 kids from her middle school. Other schools in the district were also going to DC at this time too, so they ran across them at various stops.

They flew out early on Thursday morning and hit the ground running. From the airport they went right to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. The tour hit on both the military and athletic aspects of the academy. Before dinner, they went into DC to see the Lincoln, Washington, and Vietnam memorials. After dinner, they drove back through the memorials for a night time look.

Getting back to the hotel late in the evening was the norm, generally around 10PM or after, and breakfast was at 7:00 in the morning, making the nights in the hotel relatively short. Hailey roomed with 3 of her friends, so they had to figure out the best way to share the one bathroom each night and morning.

Friday included a trip down embassy row and then a stop at the National Zoo and the Panda exhibit. After the pandas, they went to the national cathedral and then on to Gettysburg for the afternoon. Although it was rainy and wet much of the trip, they still did all the planned activities. The evening was spent at the Pentagon Memorial and the Air Force memorial. The Pentagon Memorial had memorials for everyone killed in the 9/11 attacks, and differentiated the people who were killed inside the Pentagon from those on the outside in the direction the individual memorial faced.

Saturday morning included a stop at the White House. The highlight of the morning, though, was the stop at the Arlington National Cemetery and the changing of the guard a the Tomb of the Unknowns. It was unfortunate that it was very cold and wet that morning.




Saturday afternoon included a trip to the capital building and then time at the Smithsonian Institute. The kids had their choice of 3 museums to spend time in, and Hailey went through the National Air and Space Museum. Saturday evening the group went to the play "sheer Madness" at the Kennedy Center. They enjoyed the play and even got to help choose the ending. The actors had worked references in to the various schools that were in attendance, making it feel even more like a personal performance.

Even though Sunday was a travel day, they started out with a tour of George Washington's Mt Vernon estate. Before heading to the airport, they stopped at the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Archives. An afternoon flight and connection in Detroit got them into Minneapolis around 10:30. Although still excited from the trip, it was time to get to bed and get some rest because school started up again the next day.