January 22, 2009 11:23 PM

Another whirlwind day in DC

 It's hard to start out the day in a panicked mode. I set the alarm last night but for whatever reason (exhaustion maybe?) didn't turn it on! Thank goodness Mrs. Pearson had the hotel give everyone wake up calls. We made it down in plenty of time for breakfast but it took a while for me to relax. I was so glad we had showered at night!

Our day began at the Jefferson Memorial. This round memorial has a huge bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson right in the middle and also has a beautiful view overlooking the Potomac River. After a group photo here we immediately headed to the FDR Memorial.

There are four different areas representing each term he served in office. Our tour guide Carrie and of course Mrs. Pearson are ALWAYS great about sharing interesting facts about everything we see. Our group of course had to stop in the gift shop and I bought a great book that has awesome pictures of all the DC attractions.

It was on to the Smithsonian American History Museum. We only had a couple hours there so it was a whirlwind to try and see as much as we could. The museum had the original flag on display that inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star Spangled Banner. You would not think that this flag was 30 feet by 42 feet. The size of it and the way the museum had it displayed was amazing! 

Another neat thing was seeing Abraham Lincoln's famous top hat. We learned that Mrs. Pearson actually got to try his hat on! Her mom worked for the Smithsonian and the hat was being restored. They needed someone to measure the hat on and she got the honors.

Rachel and Madison loved seeing the display of dresses that the first ladies had worn to inaugural balls. This museum has three floors and we did manage to see quite a bit. We were so lucky that we were even able to tour this museum. It had been closed for two and a half years for renovations and just re-opened this past November. Of course the gift shop was beckoning and I bought us a commemorative gold coin with all the inauguration information stamped on it. Jason found a plastic sword and bought it since the $4.99 price tag was more to his liking.

Not wanting to let grass grow under our feet, we then headed to the Library of Congress. The inside of this building is breathtaking. There is such ornate and intricate work on statues, carvings and paintings. This library houses so many items besides books. When someone like a senator needs a book or document, we learned that there is a conveyer belt that runs underground. The item is placed on it and sent to the person who requested it! Pretty neat! This is another place where you could spend a lot of time looking at very interesting things.

We walked to our next destination, which was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It was faster to walk than take the bus because there was a peaceful protest going on due to the fact that it was the anniversary of Roe V. Wade. Again A LOT of people on the National Mall but not nearly what we encountered for the inauguration. It was exciting to see such a large-scale peaceful protest. The fact that Americans have the right to go out and stand up for our beliefs is such a privilege.

The Air and Space Museum was also interesting. My boys especially liked looking at all the planes and things used for space exploration.

We had an Italian dinner at a restaurant downtown and then bundled up for a night tour of more famous monuments. Thankfully it wasn't as cold as it has been. I had brought with me glow sticks for my kids and Madison. I figured it would be easy to spot them no matter where they were.

On this tour we saw the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Nurses Memorial, the Korean Memorial and of course the Lincoln Memorial. Although it was harder to get good pictures at night, the darkness brought a more peaceful and revered presence. It was amazing to think of the sheer numbers of men and women who have died for our country. These memorials were all amazing, beautiful and well deserved. We learned that it takes about ten years for a memorial to be approved by congress.

My favorite was the Lincoln Memorial. It was awesome to see it all lit up at night and was breathtaking as you walked up the marble steps. I did not expect it to be SOOOO big. The columns in the front are massive and Lincoln also sits atop a massive base. Truly a highlight of this trip. The kids were awed by it and it was hard to get them to leave.

We were back on the bus for a quick ride back to the hotel. What a memorable night! I know we will never forget it. Mrs. Dreher gave us the step count for today, which was approximately 17,700 steps! I'm so glad she had the great idea of bringing a pedometer. Even though I am tired, I would not change one thing on this trip. The history making inauguration coupled with all the AMAZING things we have seen has truly made this a trip to remember. We have a couple things planned in the morning and then we are heading to the airport. 

Comments by: Rachel Trujillo.

Today we got to see the Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean and Jefferson Memorials. The Jefferson Memorial was very tall and beautiful. The Vietnam and Korean Memorials made me sad but it was interesting to see how they laid out the statues and the names on the wall. The Lincoln Memorial was big and took my breath away! I've never seen the Lincoln Memorial before in person. On the wall beside Lincoln were some famous speeches he gave. There were a lot of steps up to the Lincoln Memorial. I was so tired but I could not wait to walk up all the steps to the top. We had already been walking a lot so that just added to my tiredness. We also got to go to the Smithsonian Museum. In there were some of the first ladies dresses and Judy Garland's original red slippers from the movie The Wizard of Oz. Also the first Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch were in this museum. Our group gave the museum owners some items from the Democratic National Convention. They loved them so much that they are keeping them for the museum. Everything we saw today was so amazing! I even made up a word to describe this trip: Fun-du-ca-tional. It means having fun while learning stuff! Today was a great day I will always remember!

Comments by Jason Trujillo.

Today we went to the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Korean Memorial. I was sad that so many people died. At the end of the day we found out that we walked about seven miles. After that we went to the Lincoln Memorial. It is a lot smaller in books but in the real world it is HUGE! After we were done looking at the memorial we went on the bus back to our hotel. I was sad that we were leaving Washington, DC tomorrow. I didn't like seeing the word Korean because it reminded me of my teacher Mrs. Carillo. This reminded me of all the homework I have to do when we get home.

Comments by Adam Trujillo.

Wow! It's already the end of the week and I have to leave tomorrow. I have had so much fun going to the museums and looking at the monuments. My favorite museum I went to was the Natural History Museum, and my favorite monument was the Lincoln Monument. Today I saw the Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam, Korean, and World War II monuments. Also, I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian American History Museum. That was a lot of fun too. I am still bummed that we are leaving tomorrow, but I had a lot of fun.

Posted by Darlene Trujillo at 11:23 PM | Comments (5)