Headed for home

Today we took our final tour in D.C. at the Holocaust Memorial. I was truly touched by the things I saw inside, all the artifacts, pictures and videos. The museum took you on a chronological trip through the years of death and appalling actions inflicted. There were many times I wanted to cry. When you walk in you are told to choose an identification card. I chose the card of a young Jewish girl named Nesse Galperin. I followed her story throughout the museum and in the card. There were videos showing the brutality of the German soldiers; the killing, the disposal and treatment of the bodies, and many other terrible things. There was a rail car that you could walk through that carried people from the ghettos to the concentration camps. They also had a collection of shoes taken from the prisoners at the camps. After our tour ended, there was a Holocaust survivor there to talk with people who had gone through the exhibits. I was astonished to find that the woman sitting there in front of me was the very person in my card. This girl, who I had followed and became connected with, was there in front of me. We spoke briefly with her and she signed her ID card. If anyone ever gets a chance to visit D.C., I highly suggest spending a few hours in this museum.

We then had to leave D.C. and return to Sacramento. After waiting in horrendous lines to check in at Dulles Airport, we found, to our dismay, we had been randomly chosen for a more thorough search. We found it to be kind of entertaining, but still it was really inconvenient. We had to fly to Norfolk, VA., and then to Chicago. I am writing this on the last flight home. We are expected to get home around midnight. This trip was amazing. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything and I am so thankful for the opportunity. Thank you for following along with my experiences.

Today was a day that will forever inspire me

Wow! Today was a day that will forever inspire me. We woke very early and were in the city by 5:30 a.m. Everywhere we looked there were military and police, every corner, every rooftop. Most roads were blocked off, and most civilians were not seen outside of their busses. It was so surreal. It reminded me of the scenes in the movie “I am Legend” where the city is being evacuated, only relatively little people on the streets. And then we hit a solid wall of people. There were so many of them. During this amazing scene, another miracle blessed our group. One of the other groups on our bus had been given four extra tickets into the gated areas in the mall, and my group won them. The only bad thing was we had five people in our group. In the end, one of the teachers that went with us had to go with another group while the rest of us went to our ticketed areas. The line for security extended 14 blocks! As we were walking through the streets, I was overcome with this feeling of inspiration and hope. Everyone was in such high spirits, so happy and patriotic. Everyone talked to one another, we were all as one.

We got in the ticketed area and discovered we were really close to the Capitol. We were in the area right behind the reflective pool. I didn’t even have to zoom in all the way with my camera to see the stage. We decided to stand by the closest jumbo-tron (the huge TV screens stationed around the mall) to the stage. The people that stood by us were very entertaining—a man from Alabama provided hilarious commentary the entire time, making comments on the politicians and celebrities. We were packed in like sardines; I don’t think I ever want to be that close to people ever again. Interestingly, I never felt threatened, everyone was just so happy. We stood for 6 hours in the freezing cold; all of our feet hurt. Not from standing, but from the biting cold. Finally we broke away from the crowds and reunited with our other group member and headed over to see the war memorials. We saw the WWII memorial first, and then we walked over to the Lincoln Memorial. The long pool in front was frozen solid! Some brave people dared to walk on it; I was too afraid of falling through so I stood back and took pictures. After Lincoln we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. I was very humbled to see all the names. I looked up a name for my grandmother, Angelo Albert Lonzo. He was her big brother figure in her younger years. He sadly lost his life in the war. We then visited the Korean War Memorial where we got chased by a crazy squirrel! By then our faces were wind-chapped and our fingers frozen so we quickly made our way back to the warmth of the waiting bus. Dinner was at Chevys where they had a great taco bar set up. But since we arrived so early we had to walk around the Fashion Mall across the street which I was told is the largest mall in D.C. After dinner we attempted to find the Iwo Jima Memorial but we got lost and decided to go back to the hotel.

Sights and sounds

The days here are very long and exciting! We usually wake up at around 6 a.m. and don’t get back to the hotel until 10 p.m. Today when we walked out of our hotel it was snowing! There were just little snow flakes floating around in the air. None of it stuck to the ground but it was just beautiful. We went on our way to Arlington National Cemetery, which I was much honored to experience. It was very humbling to see head stones and crosses as far as my eyes could see. The grounds were incredibly breathtaking. Everyone took a very somber mood after passing the first couple hundred graves. We got the chance to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown which was amazing. The guards are so precise that is seemed unreal. I felt myself wanting to cry when I heard Taps played. Chills just ran down my spine thinking of how many times that same tune has been played on these grounds. We then saw JFK’s area with the Eternal Flame.

After Arlington, we went to Mount Vernon to see Washington’s house. The inside of the residence was very grand and in considerably great condition. We also got to visit his tomb, and roam around the area. You could just see open land and the Potomac River for as long as the eye could see. We paid homage to our Rio Linda roots by taking a few pictures with some “not-so-happy” cows from Virginia! We then went to our Smithsonian Inaugural Ball, which was not greatly enjoyed by my group because we had to get up at 4 a.m. for the festivities the next day. Nevertheless, we still got a hot dinner and some entertainment watching the junior high school group that slept two floors above us dance. Now I must sleep, I am very exhausted! I can’t wait to experience tomorrow!

We made it!

Hello from Alexandria, Va. We got in late last night and finally got checked into our room around 2 a.m. We had breakfast at 8 a.m. and were on the road by 8:30. We were dropped off at the Smithsonian with six hours to walk around the area and visit some amazing museums. My group went to the American History Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the National Air and Space Museum. All three were awesome. We saw the Hope Diamond, which was breathtaking with its endless sparkle. All us girls were looking at the beautiful gems with glee! I was surprised at how Barack and Michelle Obama were already included in the museums as the current President and First Lady. It made me very proud to see the Obamas on the walls of our monuments. We also saw many artifacts of Abraham Lincoln—his famous top hat, coat, and a blood stained collar of an actress at his death bed. Many of the things we saw were just amazing, things I never thought I would see in person.

After our visit to the museums, we walked to where the concert was being held, watched for a few minutes and waited for others from our tour to gather. We then ate dinner, and went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, which was oddly creepy. They look so life-like. It’s easily convincing if you don’t look closely. After many laughs and goofy pictures we went on a nighttime sightseeing tour of Washington, D.C., which mainly consisted of being rerouted through the maze of blocked streets and traffic. But it was still interesting. The tour ended at the Jefferson Monument which is unbelievably beautiful. By then my camera battery was near death so I did not get many pictures. We are all very exhausted and ready to start the day bright and early tomorrow. I’m so glad I have the people that I do in my group. Starla, Rachel, Mrs. Wilderman, and Mrs. Jimenez have made this day a blast. We keep ourselves entertained with jokes and random conversations. Well, time for bed!

I am so excited to go on this amazing trip to witness the inauguration

I have been busy gathering every warm piece of clothing I have so I don’t completely freeze while I’m there. I recently bought long john thermals, mittens, earmuffs, and most importantly - hand warmers. I think those little hand warmers are going to be the items that save me from frost bite!

I recently reviewed our itinerary and I am very excited to be visiting the places we have planed. I am most excited to see all of the war memorials in the area. I have only seen these beautiful monuments in movies, and now I will have the opportunity to be in the presence of the symbols of all the brave men and women who gave their lives for our country. I hope we are able to see everything we have planned through the masses of people; I hear there will be millions packed in to the Washington D.C. area.

I still can’t believe that I am leaving so soon. Everything just seems so surreal to me. I am one person in a small group of people in this country who are going to be able to witness history. I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I will definitely pass my experience on to my children.