Daily Journal

1:00 a.m. Up and at ‘em! Time to get ready.

2:00 a.m. We loaded bags and kids at the school.

2:30 a.m. Off we go! Along the way, we stopped at a gas station in Brookings.

5:00 a.m. We arrived at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport , checked in our bags, and waited for our flight.

6:50 a.m. We boarded our flight to Minneapolis . After our take off, we were barely in the air when we began to descend for our landing. We had a two hour lay over at the airport while we waited for our next flight. The kids were starting to get hungry, but they were surprised that everything was so expensive. One of them bought a cookie for $1.50 and another bought a sandwich for $8.00!

10:10 a.m. We boarded our plane for Washington D.C., Captain Dan was our pilot. I took a short nap, but it’s hard to sleep sitting up.

1:30 p.m. Eastern time. We landed at the Washington Dulles International Airport . After we got off the plane, we rode on a shuttle to a different area of this huge airport. We walked a long way to pick up our luggage. I think the whole town of Iroquois could neatly fit inside of this airport! A bus stopped to pick us up and drove us to the Hilton Hotel. Our bus driver was very good. He could drive through six lanes of traffic and talk on his cell phone at the same time! He told me there had been an accident on the freeway earlier in the day and the traffic was still backed up (2:30 p.m.) It took us over a half hour to get to our hotel. This is such a big, busy city!

3:00 p.m. We checked into our hotel. The “Close-Up” staff registered us and gave us some information and instructions.

3:30 p.m. I found my room. I have a room mate. Her name is Genevieve. She teaches school in a big city in Illinois. We had fun talking about our trip here, our schools and our students. I haven't eaten since 2:00 this morning, so Gen shared some goldfish crackers with me. She is very nice.  

Monday, March 23

We ate breakfast at our hotel and then we boarded our bus. Harold was our bus driver again today. He drove us through the city to our destinations. On our way, we past Arlington National Cemetery. From our bus window, we watched a funeral procession with an honor guard carrying the United States flag. A horse drawn carriage carried a flag draped casket. It made me sad to watch this.

9:00 a.m. We arrived at the National Archives. This is where they keep all the important documents, like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The archives is filled with exhibits of all kinds. There were even letters there that children had written to former Presidents! At the Boeing Educational Center, in the Archives, I looked through many files and on the internet, I found a site where I could sign the Declaration of Independence!

12:15 p.m. We took another bus ride to the National Press Club where we ate our dinner. We ate cream of asparagus soup, sandwiches, and potato salad. I had a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. After we finished eating, Ralph Nader spoke to us. He is a lawyer, an author, and a consumer advocate. He has also run for President of the United States!

2:45 We rode the bus to Arlington National Cemetery. In the Women in Military Service Memorial building, our speaker talked about our rights as U.S. citizens. When he was finished, we walked through the National Cemetery, up a hill, to the grave site of John F. Kennedy. From the top of the hill, we could look out upon the thousands of white grave markers of our brave soldiers that gave their lives for our freedom. In the distance, the Washington Memorial towers above all other buildings. I would like to come back here if we have more time.

5:00 p.m. Harold, the bus driver, drove us back to the hotel. We walked across the street and ate supper at Phillips Seafood. It was a fancy restaurant with live lobsters in a tank. I didn't eat any lobsters, I had shrimp and fries.

7:00 p.m. Time to rest. Tomorrow is another busy day.

Tuesday, March 24

5:30 a.m. Time to rise and shine! That's 4:30 back home!

7:00 a.m. We caught the bus to our breakfast destination. We ate breakfast at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Very fancy!

8:45 a.m. We rode a bus to Lincoln Park to see the statues there. Our guide told us all about the two statues. Then we went to see the Iwo Jima Memorial and talked with a WWII veteran that was there. He had fought at Iwo Jima and talked about the statue. Next we went to the Washington Mall. This is not a shopping mall. It's a place where many monuments and statues stand. I listened to a Vietnam veteran talk about the Vietnam Memorial Wall and I walked along the wall, looking at all the names. I walked up the many steps to the Lincoln Memorial. It was awesome.

12:30 p.m. We rode the bus to the Smithsonian Museum. We ate lunch there. I had a cheeseburger and banana. Then I looked through the museum. There was so much there, I couldn't have seen it all in one day.

5:00 p.m. We went back to our hotel. I was ready for a rest.

Wednesday, March 25

7:30 a.m. We ate breakfast at the hotel this morning.

8:00 a.m. The teachers and all the students were loaded onto three buses from our hotel. Today we headed to the Capitol building. It was bumper to bumper traffic. We were barely moving along. I asked how many miles it was from our hotel to the Capitol and the bus driver and our guide didn't know. They told me in Washington, distance is measured by time, not miles.

9:20 a.m. We arrived at the Capitol. We took a walk and some photos. Then we headed back to the Capitol to find the cafeteria. We were to eat our lunch on the Representatives' side on the complex.

11:00 a.m. We found the cafeteria. It wasn't too full yet. We picked up trays and looked around to find what we would like to eat. So many choices! I had a salad, banana, and carton of milk.

12:00 p.m. We looked for the place where we would meet Rep. Herseth-Sandlin. While we were waiting, Mr. Iaascson and Ben had their black dress shoes polished! They sat high up on chairs and a lady brushed off their shoes and put on polish and shined them up. It was fun to watch. We waited in this area a long time. We had even asked the person at the information desk if we were in the right area, and she said we were. The group from Hill City, South Dakota also got there, and we waited together. Then we got a phone call from one of the Close-Up staff saying we were in the wrong place.

2:10 p.m. The Close-Up staff person came downstairs and found us and took us up stairs where we needed to be. We made it in time! Rep. Herseth-Sandlin came in and greeted each one of us. She asked our names and shook our hands. She talked about her job, and asked the students questions. The students also asked her questions. At the end of our visit we had our photo taken with her.

Next, we headed to the steps of the Senate side of the Capitol building. We had heard that at the time we were suppose to meet Senator Thune, President Barak Obama would be leaving the Capitol there. As we approached to Senate, security guards stopped us. We watched as men came walking down the steps of the Capitol followed by camera men! We were a good distance away, but we were sure it was Pres. Obama! Then the Presidential motorcade left. There were many cars following the President, including an ambulance.  I tried to take a picture of the motorcade, but I don't know if it turned out.

After the President was gone, then the security guards let us go to the Capitol building. We were there only a few minutes before Senator Thune arrived. He visited with us and the students again asked questions. We had our photos taken with him.

Next, we walked to the Hart Senate Building where Senator Johnson has his office. We waited for him. He was in the Senate chambers voting on an issue. When he got back to his office, he explained his job and asked if any of the students were interested in politics and government. We had our picture taken with him too!

5:00 We went back to the area the buses had let us off in the morning and waited. It had been a cool, breezy day, and most of us were cold. It was good to see the buses arrive. The students went to supper and then saw the monuments at night. The teachers went out for supper then I rode the Metro back to the hotel. The Metro is a train. It sometimes travels underground and sometimes above ground. It goes really fast! I was glad to get back to the hotel and to bed. I was tired!

Thursday, March 26

7:30 a.m. We ate breakfast at the hotel. 

9:00 a.m. Our Iroquois group headed to the Metro station. It is only a half a block from our hotel. Some of the girls had umbrellas along. Good thing! It was misting this morning. We rode the metro to the Smithsonian Museum area. We had all day passes for the metro, so we could ride anywhere in Washington! 

10:00 a.m. We went to the Holocaust Museum. It was a sad and serious place. There were many things to read and look at. There was also short movies to watch. 

1:00 p.m. We walked to the Museum of Natural History. We had been given vouchers to eat there free. I had a cheeseburger, orange, and diet coke. I also bought a rice crispy bar and a bag of peanut M&Ms. This was such a crowded cafeteria that we were split into three groups while we ate.

2:00 p.m. We left the museum and started walking toward the White House. We walked past Ford's Theater. Across the street was the Johnson house, where President Lincoln was taken after he had been shot, and where he later died. We kept on going. The farther we walked, the wetter we got. The rain was coming down. We finally made it to the White House. Of course, we couldn't get close to it. A tall, iron fence surrounds the White House lawn. I looked for Michelle Obama's garden, and the girls' new swing set, but I couldn't see it. Maybe it was on the other side of the house. I did see a large water fountain, beehives, and flowering trees. We decided we were too wet and needed to go back to the hotel. We walked back toward the metro, but stopped in a couple of shops to buy some souvenirs.

4:30 p.m. Back on the metro, we rode the train for a half hour, back to the hotel. Time to relax and rest. The weatherman said Washington D.C. had 1/4 inch of rain today.

6:15 p.m. The teachers attended a reflection workshop. We discussed our week.

7:45 p.m. The teachers and students attend a banquet. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, salad, and brownies for dessert.

Friday, March 27

Today is our travel day. We got to sleep in this morning. I woke up and went for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. We will load onto the bus at 11:00 a.m. and travel to the airport. Our plane leaves at 1:30 p.m. We will be back in Sioux Falls at 6:00 p.m. and back in Iroquois by 9:00 p.m.