Special thanks to Lynn Wright, our tour guide and Danny our bus driver.

We flew to Portland and drove home on Thursday.  What a great trip!!

The day was beautiful as we crossed the Northbridge and walked up to the visitor’s center that has one of the brass cannon’s that the Yankees stole from the British.

We also passed many homes that from the Revolutionary time period and the Minute Man Monument at Lexington Green.

We saw Plymouth rock (which we believe is just urban legend-they would have to have really long legs).

I wouldn’t have wanted to come over on the Mayflower.  The Mayflower II is a replica of the original Mayflower and they sailed it across the Atlantic.  The only modern convenience on it is a Coast Guard required generator to pump out water in case of emergency.

The DeBells visited family in Jersey City then went to the Knicks game.  Taylor and Bob were at the Knicks game also.  They said it was great fun as the enterntainment was outstanding during half time and timeouts.  It was also exciting that they won the game 117-111.  Go Knicks!!!!

The Laney’s watched the USS New York parade into the harbor.

Some went to the Mary Poppins play while some went to Momma Mia!  Reviews of the group concluded that Wicked was better than Mary Poppins, but Momma Mia was equally fantastic as Wicked, you just can’t compare them.  A few also went to The Phanton of the Opera.

Some went to the Natural History Museum

and walked through Central Park.

Some took a tour of Central Park in a horse drawn carriage.

Times Square was another popular destination.

The Hershey Factory and M&M stores were popular.  ToysRUs attracted some, some had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and TGI Friday’s.  Some girls found a fun make up store.

The conclusion of all was that it was another day of walking.  At times the streets were packed with people, at other times the streets were relatively empty.

The group headed out this morning to Boston.  The day is clear and beautiful.  The drive is beautiful.  Boston, here we come!!

After a quick breakfast in McDonald’s-New York style, we walked down to Battery Park and boarded the ferry for the Statue of Liberty.  After spending 30 minutes in line for security checking that rivaled airport security, we rushed up the stairs to the base viewing level. 

Several of the students had fun photo ops with this great backdrop!

Then we hurried out to the ferry and barely made it.

We rode the ferry to Ellis Island and searched for family names.  Natalie and Steven found their family names, but some missed the ferry back to Battery Park.

The rest of us shopped for soveigners while Sean and Morgan had Characiature’s done. Then we trooped on uptown past Ground Zero to our Mexican restaurant.

After lunch we hoofed  it over to the Trinity church which is now a tribute to Ground Zero.  After that we looked at Ground Zero from atop the steps of Brooks Brother building.  The bus picked us up and dropped us at Pier 88 to tour the USS Intrepid.  From there we had a beautiful view of the city while the sun was going down.

After that, Soren and Dylan weren’t feeling well, so a couple of us were dropped at the Hotel with them.  The rest of the group went to Applebee’s for dinner.  Then they had a quick sprint around Times Square with a group photo, which Soren and Dylan are feeling real bad they aren’t in.  The day was beautiful and the night is proving to be even better.  The group is going to end the evening with a view of the Big Apple from atop the Empire State Building. The night was chilly but the view was worth it!

Then we toured the Independence Hall (the original building) that they held court in and debated the form of government.  All thirteen colonies were represented and John Hancock was the President of the Assembly.  They still have the original chair in the room.  Then we stopped next door to see the Liberty Bell, what a wonderful piece of history.

For lunch, many of ordered Philadelphia Cheese Steak sandwich then toured the Constitution Museum.  We swore in a new President of the United States!  The most interesting thing we saw was a room full of life-size bronze statues of the original signers of the Constitution.  The room also had a large book with the constitution on one side and a place for you to sign on the right.

We then attended the production “We The People” with one narrator and video telling the story of how the Constitution was created including the “great compromise”.  The presentation was powerful and compelling as it portrayed the history of the first government ever created, that gave the power to the people and succeeded.

On the way to the Big Apple, we drove on the Jersey Turnpike and went through the Lincoln Tunnel.  We went to dinner out of this world – really!!  We ate at Mars 2112 which included a spaceship ride to another planet and the restaurant looked like a set out of the Stars Wars Movie with a couple of alien creatures wondering around.

Then we walked a block to the Gershwin Theatre which holds about 2,000 people.  The set design was fascinating (much of it resembled the internal workings of a clock).  The costumes were incredible.  The dancing was fabulous and the vocals were “wickedly” good!  The play was spell-binding with monkeys flying out of the ceiling, revolving set designs and comedy and irony woven throughout the script.  I give it a 10!

Across the way on the same property is the Marine Corp Memorial or Iwo Jima Statue. 

When we arrived we met Thomas Miller, who is a survivor of Iwo Jima and saw the raising of the flag that was captured on film and inspired this memorial.  He told us that 2 of the 6 men died 2 days later and another died 3 weeks later just before the battle ended.  It only lasted 36 days and this flag was raised on day 5.  He told us about the rumor of a 13th hand or missing leg in the statue and it was all fable.  I hoped that this trip would make history come alive.  Talking to him, while we were at the memorial did just that.  Here is a link to a Washington Post interview with him (he shared the same information with us).

Then we headed to the Newseum for lunch at the Wolf Gang Puck restaurant.  This was a real treat and we were in for a real surprise.  As it turns out, Mr. Evans went to school with the Paul, one of the cooks, and he welcomed us with a personalized cake!  Awesome!! 

Following that, we saw the Newseum, and divided up so everyone could see what they wanted.  Some went to the National Archives to see the Magna Carta from 1297 (only 1 of 4 in existance), the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  Others went to the Holocause Museum, Natural History Museum and Washington Monument. 

Then we went to the Vietnam Memorial and Dylan found his grandfathers name on the wall.  Several others found names on the wall and copied them.

Then we went to the Lincoln Memorial.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  Looking out from the Lincoln Memorial we could see the Washington Monument.

We then walked over to the Korean War Memorial which I found very compelling.  There are 19 soldiers (that reflect off the wall making 38 which is the parallel the war was fought on) and a wall with faces etched in it and the statement that “Freedom is not Free”.

Starting the day with Arlington Cemetery and finishing at the War Memorials that recognizes the lives that have been sacrificed to protect our freedom brought home the fact that Freedom is not Free.  We often take our freedom for granted and today was a visual reminder of that we have a lot to be grateful for.

Due to a delay at the White House, we missed our appointment with Peter Defazio at 9:00am.  He was in committee from 9:30-11:30.  We toured the Capital building and visited Congress and listened to a Senator give his speech to an empty room.  Then we toured the capital building with a fantastic tour guide.  We got to see the original corner stone George Washington laid, the original Supreme Court Room, beautiful paintings, unbelievable bronz and marble statues and busts.

Peter Defazio was a trooper and chased us down at the end of our tour of the House of Representatives.  We met with him on the steps of the Capitol for 30-45 minutes while he answered questions for the students and even took some questions from the parents and leaders.  It was a really good visit although he wouldn’t comment on if he was going to run for governor!

We then headed over to the Old Post Office which had a food court and a few shops.

Then we headed out to Mount Vernon for the afternoon.  What a beautiful setting overlooking the Potomac River!  The Museum and Education center were fantastic.  Then we headed over to dinner at the Country Buffet and Sean Pargeter celebrated his birthday!

The last stop was at the Pentagon Memorial.  It was very thought provoking and really touching.  The impact was profound.  Each of these things are a bench that is lit with a small pool beneath it.  On the edge of the seat is the name of someone that died in the 9/11 plane crash into the Pentagon.  If the bench is facing the Pentagon, then that person was in the pentagon, if it is facing away from the Pentagon, then that person was in the airplane.  The bench’s are arranged from youngest to oldest. The youngest person to die was 2 years old and the oldest was in their 70’s.  As our tour guide commented, it is good to reflect on how quickly our lives can change at the hand of another.

After pizza we went down to the monuments on the mall. The weather was balmy and smelled of fall in the air. The leaves made the whole scene picturesque.

We also saw the World War II Memorial, it was very somber. I noticed on one of the state pillars that someone had placed a photograph of a loved one. The symbolism of the memorial and the debt we owe that dying generation for our freedom is overwhelming.

The FDR Memorial was also interesting in a completely different way. FDR faced so many challenges both personally and as president for 3 terms.

The highlight of the evening though was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The architecture resembled Monticello and the building and statue was huge!

We are up early tomorrow for our White House tour…