Coming Home!

We are on our way home. It has been a great trip for all. Even Howard, our venerable bus driver, had to admit that it was fun. We did so much over the past 4 days: history of our country, history of early man, and so much more.
THANK YOU TO OUR STUDENTS!
The children were well behaved and actively engaged in so many of the activities we did, they showed great interest in museum exhibits, and they were flexible when needed. Although our schedule changed, our bus broke down, there was rain, there was sun, and they were asked to be quiet and respectful throughout many of the places we went, they held to our 5 core values: respect, honesty, open-mindedness, responsibility, and kindness.
Here are some others we would like to thank:

1. Howard. The best bus driver a D.C. trip could ask for.

2. The owner of Ben's Chili Bowl. An inspirational man who poured out his heart and spoke to our group with great passion about the origins of his family's establishment.

3. Southwest Airlines. Love the "cattle call" idea for lining up. Gonna use that at school some time.

4. Our security guard. Standing (or sitting) guard from 11:00p.m to 6:00 a.m. Monday-Thursday. Not sure what he did all night, but he was there. I checked.

5. Mr. Purcell. Overseeing the trip from beginning to end 2 years in a row. Great job! Is there a third year in you yet?

6, Ms. Graves, Medicine Woman. Band-Aids, aspirin, meds. What an inspiration.

7. Ms. Kunkel: An infectious laugh and a herder of human creatures big and small wearing hats and helmets.

8. Mr. Skelly. A 1st-timer with a knack for getting the boys in line and those rooms together on Day 4. Now we can see the military in his blood. He may very well be related to Corporal Jack Skelly of the 87th Pennsylvania. Check it out.

9. The ubiquitous gift shops throughout D.C. At least we always knew where the exits were. Find the gift shop, see an "Exit" sign.

10. Paul. Gettysburg tour guide. Hilarious, informative, graphic, and motivational. Awesome.

11. Any store selling hats or helmets. GDP of DC up 2,000%. The students only have one head each, right?

Thar' she blows! The old girl waiting to take us home. Yay!

Capitals vs. Rangers game

Due to a bus malfunction outside of the restaurant, we boarded another bus and caught a ride to the Verizon Center, to see the NY. Rangers take on the home team Capitals. Actually, we got an entire city bus all to ourselves! We made it to the arena safe and sound in one sweet ride.

Some of the group were so into the game they did not mind the screaming (sometimes rude) fans atop the arena. We held our own and behaved ourselves appropriately throughout. Nice manners, Brimmer and May! #corevalues.

Others took a bit of a more of a removed, one might say, less engaged approach to the game by doing laps around the concessions and gift shops surrounding the stadium with one or two of the chaperones. All of us took advantage of the free t-shirt night (no need to worry about a clean shirt for tomorrow's trip home), got our prizes, and left after the 2nd period. Mr. Skelly, a die-hard Rangers fan, was happy with a 2-1 lead when we left. Suffice it to say, he will not be wearing the free Capitals t-shirt.

Home to the Capitals and the Wizards.
Great cell phone service too!

Time to pack our suitcases and get some sleep. We are coming home tomorrow!

Man vs. Food..guess who won?

You know kids...they couldn't wait to get to some veggies, a big salad, and some fresh water. What better place than Ben's Chili Bowl, where none of that is on the menu? President Obama lists this as his favorite place for chili dogs called "Half-Smokes."
Actually, our Brimmer students did just fine as they ate to heart's content on thick, hearty chili, fries smothered in (what we heard was) Cheddar cheese, and a variety of milkshakes. They really loved it!

But will it love them back?

The panda (left) outside seems like she has had enough chili...

So Megan gave her a bear hug. Don't squeeze too hard!

The Newseum and the National Cathedral

Next, we drove a short distance back into D.C. proper, and stopped at our new favorite landmark, the Newseum. The museum, dedicated to news and journalism, includes a reading room of dozens of  archived newspaper front pages. Each front page (deemed to be of historical significance by the Newseum's curators) in this display can be pulled out and viewed in its entirety. You can also see pieces of one of the Twin Towers from 9/11 and riveting footage from the tragic day, a whole section dedicated to the natural disaster known as Hurricane Katrina, and so many other displays. Kids of all ages can even pretend to be a famous person in front of a green screen, and you can see a 4D movie!

If you find yourself in D.C., and you like current and past events, check it out! It is located right next to the Canadian Embassy, on Constitution Avenue.

The Newseum.

After a great lunch at the Newseum, we boarded the bus to the National Cathedral and a thorough tour of this historic landmark. Entombed here are Helen Keller, Admiral George Dewey, and President Woodrow Wilson. We saw the famed "grotesques" or gargoyles atop the arches, and we looked at the beautiful stained glass. Way at the top on the east side of the building of sits a gargoyle of one Mr. Darth Vader! No joke.

The National Cathedral: Gothic architectural elements abound. 

The gang (looking so angelic) in front of the main entrance of the Cathedral.

Arlington National Cemetery

It was a jam-packed Wednesday. This blogger must tell you we did not have great Internet access at a single location today. Thus, I had to wait until now to update the DC trip blog. So...here goes.

Our day began at Arlington National Cemetery. A light drizzle was nothing for this crew. We prepped the students with a brief history of the Cemetery, including a preview of one of the sites on the grounds: the Arlington House. Known better as Robert E. Lee's house (yep..that Robert E. Lee!), the home was a place for family gatherings of the Confederate general's family, and was also the site of Lee's formal resignation from active military service.

Arlington House, or Lee Mansion.
That structure in the foreground is a memorial to Pierre L'Enfant, city planner of D.C.

One of the highlights was also standing to watch the famous Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We stood in silence (and boy were our kids good!) to observe the highly choreographed procession, replete with a solemn speech by the Honor Guard on watch. Each guard must memorize 7 pages of Arlington National Cemetery history and pass a rigorous test in order to become part of the Honor Guard.

On guard and ready to defend.
Each guard's duty stands watch for one hour a few times a day, and serves this post for close to 1 year. 

Directly following the brief but meaningful ceremony, we spotted the laying of the wreath by an ROTC group from a high school in Illinois.

ROTC group from IL (left) salutes the memory of all fallen U.S. soldiers yet to be identified.
A member of the Honor Guard occupies the structure to the right during this ceremony, awaiting his return to duty.

Dinner at Hickory Bridge Farms

A great addition to this year's trip was Hickory Bridge Farms Restaurant, located about 20 minutes from the battlefields, in Ortanna, PA. This rustic farmhouse converted into a quaint eatery was a perfect place to come for a cozy, home-cooked meal made from scratch. The kids dined on fried chicken, maple ham, apple fritters, and some vegetables too. Everyone enjoyed each other's company.

Paola and Hannah just found out the waitresses were bringing more apple fritters!
Hannah (right) looks especially pleased.

Look, ma, no cell phones!
This is "Face Time" 1860's style.
Anja, Samil, Libby, Dessie, Catherine, Abbey, Kailey, and Samantha all smiles.

Gettysburg Military Park

It was an eventful Tuesday. On the first play from scrimmage, we had to call an audible and change our plans to suit our trip later in the day to Gettysburg, PA.
What was to be a trip to see a collection of historic aircraft at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum (next to Dulles Airport) turned into a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

However, due to a big accident on the highway leading to Chantilly, VA., we had to scrap our original plans and head to the Smithsonian. There, the students spotted (much older) aircraft and spacecraft from the 20th century and learned a good deal about our country's early aircraft, and the beginnings of its space program.

If you do get a chance to fly into Dulles Airport, it's a very quick trip to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. Known to many as "America's Hangar," the U-H is a dream come to life for anyone who loves to see more modern aircraft up close. Craft like the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and a retired Space Shuttle are within reach and seem like friendly giants.

From D.C., it was onto Gettysburg. Sure it was raining, but that did not dampen our spirits. Paul, our Gettysburg Military Park tour guide was awesome. He boarded our Eyre bus and led us on a very entertaining and informative tour of the battlefields. We saw a memorial to Abner Doubleday (of baseball fame), several monuments dedicated to a variety of Union and Confederate infantries, and we climbed Little Roundtop, to see where Chamberlain and the 20th Maine helped to defend the strategic hill. The more we learned from our guide, Paul, the more we found out there was to know.

Paul, our excellent tour guide

Here is one of 5 observation towers constructed in 1895. The one pictured here is known as Eisenhower Tower, named after "Ike" himself.

Eisenhower Tower. It's 120 years old. Shaky? Only on windy days. Notice some brave students climbing the 100 stairs to the top. Great vantage point from which to see so much of the famed battlefields.

Look lively, soldiers!
Some more brave students on the business end of a Civil War cannon.