SHS DC Trip 2008

Final Thoughts from Mrs. McReynolds:

A good night’s rest and a sunny day spent with family have helped tremendously in the recovery process!  This has been an amazing trip, an extremely successful one.  The young people that we traveled with back east were fine examples of what Sacred Heart stands for.  It was an honor to accompany them on this adventure.  Everywhere we went, we received compliments.  Some went out of their way to find a chaperone and let them know how well behaved and polite our students were.  The students were flexible, patient, and understanding throughout the whole trip.

From the beginning a year ago in April 2007 when I started planning this trip, things fell into place easily.  Even the students at their weekly meetings (74 crammed into my classroom during lunch, missing their recess) were attentive.  The trip itself went very well.  We waited in no line longer than 10 minutes (unheard of in all the other 14 student trips I’ve done – I attribute this to not going the week after Easter).  No behavior warranted a phone call home.  No one got lost.  Our bus drivers/tour guides took excellent care of us.  I guess by the time we got to Dulles on Friday afternoon, I began to relax a little.  After all, we just needed to board the plane and be on our way, right?  Wrong!  It took some effort to get us ALL on board.  Southwest Airlines won’t be getting anymore of my business.  Once we were all seated, little did I know we would be sitting on the tarmac for FOUR HOURS!  During that time, we were served a small glass of water. 

We are grateful that they held our connecting flight in Chicago for us (actually, that’s an understatement).  Since we took up half the plane, other passengers had to wait two hours for us.  Although I encountered some hostility when I found the last seat on board, two travelers told me they absolutely understood once they saw the group was made up of kids. 

Parents, you should be proud of your children.  They did so well on our trip.  They listened to the chaperones, docents, and historical interpreters and followed the guidelines.  This is the first student trip I’ve been on where I didn’t confiscate any electronics!

A trip to remember?  Absolutely, in so many ways!  Will I do it again?  You bet!

Thank you for sending your child with us.  I wish you could have seen their faces when we first drove into Washington DC and they caught site of the Washington Monument, or when they stepped inside George Washington’s mansion, or when they realized how small the ships that landed in Jamestown after a long journey across the Atlantic were, or at the Changing of the Guard at Arlington, or while walking through the Holocaust Museum, or as they traced a name on the Vietnam Wall.   What a gift and a blessing they are! 

Friday, April 11, the final day

The wake-up calls came early as we had to pack our things and be down to breakfast by 7:15.

The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was our first stop today.  You can see the preparations for the papal visit on Tuesday.  We had an informative and memorable tour, seeing the main church and many of the chapels, marveling in the mosaics, stained glass windows and statues.    Several students, along with Mr. Lester, planned a beautiful prayer service in a beautiful chapel on the lower level.  The gift shop here was a highlight with medals, rosaries, and Pope Benedict memorabilia, complete with a life-size cutout.

After driving around the Washington Monument for three days, we finally got our chance to go up inside.  As soon as we arrived at the appointed time, we went through security and went up to the top.  The views of the city from the tallest building were astounding and it was fun to see all the places we had visited this week.

We had a lovely lunch in a park on the Potomac, former site of the statue The Awakening, surrounded by cherry blossoms.  The warm weather and blue sky was a welcomed change from the recent wild Seattle weather.

The Pentagon tour was our last destination of the trip.  Lt. Colonel Rega met us at the bus and led us through the maze of security.   Inside was like an ant hill, a flurry of activity with people moving in all directions.  We enjoyed learning more about the workings of the Pentagon and spent time in the temporary 9/11 chapel at the site of the 2001 crash.

It has been a great day, a great trip.  We are tired, full of images, knowledge and an appreciation for all we have seen.  We’re ready to take these memories with us to share with those at home.

 

Thursday, April 10^th

Our day started out foggy.  The view of the Capitol building seen clearly last night from the hotel was lost in the heavy haze.   After our buffet breakfast in the hotel, we were off to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, skipped last night because of congestion.  It was a good thing as we were the only ones there, able to take pictures without unknown people in the way.  The cherry blossoms are still out and plentiful around the city.  From there, we visited the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.  Another large student group put a damper on things here by being rude and disrespectful while their chaperones did nothing.  Our students were appalled by their behavior.

The Holocaust Museum was an experience few will forget.  Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Lester did a wonderful job preparing the students this morning.  Somber was the mood as we made our way through, and as Mr. Cunningham said, “we are left with just words” that cannot really fully describe the atrocities of WWII.

Lunch was quick at the Reagan International Trade Center Food Court where we met Judy, our Student Tours of America travel coordinator before we were on our way to Arlington Cemetery.

Our tour guides/bus drivers, Mr. T and Dion, showed us the Kennedy gravesite for JFK, his wife Jackie and two infant children.  Not far was Robert Kennedy’s simple grave.  While checking in with the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns with the four wreath layers, Cara discovered she only had one dress shoe.  With strict dress regulations for wreath laying, they would  not allow her to wear her Converse tennis shoes.  Thankfully, Mackenzie U was happy to share her foot wear and although a tight fit, all was well.

The Changing of the Guard was awesome, but seeing Scott, Cara, Erin and Renee representing SHS was genuinely moving.  We went to the Challenger and Columbia Memorials before heading out of town to Woodbridge for the dinner theater.

The buffet had lots of choices, from chicken, roast beef, salads, mashed potatoes, to macaroni and cheese and a variety of salads.  The actors were out waiters.  The play Show Boat was entertaining, but couldn’t hold a candle to Mrs. Z’s Playmakers.  Many had the song “Old Man River” running through their head for the rest of the trip.  The evening went late and we got back to the hotel at 11:00.  Straight to bed for all.  No time for calls home.

We have just arrived back from a very long day with the Holocaust memorial museum and Arlington National Cemetery tour.  Your kiddos are really tired, so we sent them to bed.  Having a great time.  See you tomorrow night at Sea Tac at 10:30pm on Southwest 3155 from Midway, IL.  Pictures to be posted tomorrow morning sometime.  Till then.  Ta Ta! 

We began our day by getting our picture taken in front of the Capitol.  The photographer was very diligent in getting us lined up just so.  From there we went to the Navy Memorial where we walked on the largest map in the world.  Our tour of the Capitol was great.  Half of us saw Speaker Nancy Pelosi up close as she whisked by with her entourage.  While we were in the Senate Gallery, Maria Cantwell made a quick appearance to a near empty chamber and was obviously not pleased with today's vote.  We were disappointed to not to see more going on and were amazed that no one seemed to be paying attention to the senator from Oklahoma as he spoke about eliminating homelessness.  Lunch was at the Wright Place Cafe (McDonald's) at the Air and Space Museum and our small groups explored the Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Natural History Museum.  The day warmed up and the sun came out.  We had a nice buffet dinner at Via de France on an outside patio during a somewhat warm evening, before heading to the Monument Night Tour.  The Korean War Memorial was beautiful as the sun was setting and some of us saw the misspelled word on the wall at the Lincoln Memorial.  Lincoln was larger than many thought he would be.  From there we walked over to the Viet Nam Wall and we were in awe of all of the names, row after row, panel after panel.  There was a reverant hush as we walked the Wall, looking at the items left there.  We ended our night tour at the Einstein Memorial, a climb-on statue and a great photo op.  We got back to the hotel a little early and took advantage of getting to bed early.

 

We continue to get compliments from locals and observing travelers, and all the students are doing great.  What a nice group to travel with!

 

Pictures from our day will be posted in the morning so we can all get some rest.

 

Your magnificent 7 chaperones.

 

Quote from student: "Something I really love about being on this trip is enjoying everyday."  Jhensi