12:30 travel update

Good Afternoon! We had a fabulous time at The Newseum this morning. We arrived at 9:00 (opening time) and students had two hours to explore. Highlights included the 9/11 exhibit, 50 years of Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Photos (and their stories), Make-Your-Own Newscast (complete with a green screen), a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a 4-D (yes, 4-D) movie. For sure, a highlight of the trip for many!

Currently, Bus A is near Fallston, MD; Bus B is near Abington, MD; buses C and D are near Laurel, MD.

We plan to stop soon at a rest area for lunch soon. We will you posted of our driving progress through this blog.

National Cathedral, Capitol and Smithsonians

The National Cathedral

Seats for The President and senators

After our morning excursion to The National Zoo (part of the Smithsonian complex - see below), we made a visit to the beautiful and impressive National Cathedral in Northwest DC.  Built in "only" 83 years (many medieval cathedral took hundreds of years to build), the building is formally an Episcopalian Cathedral, and has an extensive network of mini chapels, ranging from a military chapel to seats reserved for The President and members of The Senate.

The National Mall - Capitol Building

Next, we headed downtown to The National Mall (the green grassy area shown, not a commercial center).  If you know DC, you will recognize the area, and may remember that various Smithsonians line The National Mall.  Our photo opp as a group was much closer than this - and man, was it cooking out there during the photo - at least the low to mid 90s.

Next, we hit up some Smithsonian museums.  We headed to the Air and Space, then Natural History, then The National Sculpture Garden and finally The American History Smithsonian.  Based on the pictures below, can you guess who was an American History  teacher?

Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Museum of American History

A picture of "Old Glory" - the original that flew at Fort McHenry in Baltimore

The counter from Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers

Kermit The Frog

After our trek down The Mall, we headed to the mall (specifically, the Capitol City Mall) for dinner.

Dinner at the Capitol City Mall

 















Next up, we plan to head back downtown (we are currently eating dinner in Northern Virginia) to see the World War II Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Korean War Memorial.

Zoo and Embassy Row

Orangutangs climbing their tight rope

Veiled Chameleon

Pandas, orangutangs and lizards, oh my!  After having a lovely, hearty breakfast at the Dulles Marriott of all-you-can-eat eggs, homefries, bacon, waffles, fruit, OJ and cereal, we loaded the bus and headed for downtown DC.  We picked up our WorldStrides DC-certified tourguides (one per bus), who are our go-to people as we traverse the city during the day.  Tour guides provided us with some information about the zoo, and then students were permitted to explore the zoo.  Many students immediately headed to see the pandas - and were we in for a treat. 

One of two pandas eating bamboo

Frequently, the pandas are asleep, but because we arrived around 9:30am, the pandas were up, awake and eating bamboo.  Just a heads up: many comments went something like this: "Awwwwww!  He is so adorable!  I want one for home!"  I wish you the best of luck.  Other highlights included the ape house, the elephant colony, the lion den and the lizard lounge.

Embassy of Paraguay

Students had a wonderful time for approximately an hour, seeing a range of animals.  A great time truly was had by all.

Next, we head went on a driving tour of Embassy Row, en route to the National Cathedral.  As we drove down Embassy Row, students were interested to hear about nations purchasing property that serves as a mini "satellite" of their home country, right here in Washington, DC.  Above, you can see a picture of the Embassy of Paraguay.

Ball Game

What a great time we had on Tuesday evening! The game was delayed due to thunderstorms, for 90 minutes. As a result, we headed to the Pentagon City Mall to eat dinner...we headed to Nationals Park for an 8:25 start time. While there, students had a great time, with outstanding seats and a great view. We saw about an hour of the game, and then made the trek west to Dulles Airport Marriott. There, WorldStrides reps met us and got students easily into their room for a good (albeit short) night's sleep. A good, but long, first day!

Vince Lombardi

Unfortunately, we hit a big snag - huge traffic jam in the the Bronx due to an accident on the George Washington Bridge.  We are wrapping up a very late lunch at the Vince Lombardi Rest Stop in Ridgewood, NJ...and are hitting the road once again.  We will likely go directly to Nationals Park...revised ETA of 7:30.  All are in good spirits, albeit a bit soggy from the rain between the bus and the rest area.

Milford

We made it, safe and sound, to Milford, CT for a quick restroom and stretch break.  Students are excited and so well behaved.  We ran into a group from Stoneham Middle School, who are also going to the Nationals game tonight.  We plan to stop again in New Jersey for lunch sometime after Noon.  Off we go!

Parent/Student Meeting: Wednesday, May 22, 2013

We will hold a mandatory parent/student meeting for any 8th grader attending the Washington DC trip on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 from 7-8pm.  At this meeting, we will share a finalized itinerary, an overview of the trip, and share packing do's and don'ts. 

If you cannot attend this meeting, please contact Mr. Guditus prior to the meeting at sguditus@westfordk12.us or 978-692-2708 x5014.