Trip follow up

When we pulled out of DC and headed for home Monday night, the adults on the trip, especially those who had been before, agreed the trip was a complete success. As the evening progressed into the next day, however, we encountered our fair share of drama. At first it was a narrow band of snow that a 20 minute rest stop avoided. After that, the roads were wet which slowed our travel but it was when we were just outside of Cleveland at 3:00 AM when things got a little more tense. The snowstorm that hit Lake Orion seemed to be particularly strong around Cleveland. The bus driver and I looked at the weather map and concluded that the snow would pass in about an hour but due to lake effect conditions it wasn't until after 6:00 that she felt comfortable to head back out. That proved to be a good decision because we didn't have to go much further west before the roads looked much better.

Here we are with an ETA of noon instead of 7:00. It's a little frustrating considering we will have been on the bus for 17+ hours. I think once legs are stretched and everyone is back in the comfort of their homes that everyone will agree that the even the winter that wouldn't end couldn't take away the great memories the kids had on this trip.

Monday

Another whirlwind day! We started by seeing both sides of the White House. From there we drove up Embassy Row and saw the National Cathedral. For lunch we ate at the fish market which really seemed to be popular. After lunch we had our picture in front of the Capitol and then toured the Capitol Building. The last thing we saw was the Jefferson Memorial.

We're currently at Pentagon City Mall for dinner getting ready to head for home.

Dinner Theater

Tonight we are seeing the musical Spamalot at Toby's Dinner Theater. The kids really seem to enjoy it as of intermission.

Sunday

We had another busy day in the Nation's Capitol. We started by going to Ford's Theater to learn about President Lincoln's assassination. From there we went to the Holocaust Memorial museum. After that, each group had three hours to see whatever Smithsonian museums they and their chaperone wanted to see. Everyone was given money for lunch so each group went to a different place. We finished the afternoon at the National Archives.

Dinner cruise

Student submitted pictures

One of the benefits of doing this trip now versus 1998, which was the first year I did this trip, is the ability to share pictures in real time. Perhaps there was something to be said about the anticipation of waiting for film to be developed but really don't miss those days. Here are some pictures from Oakview students.