Today was all about national concepts - our nation's first president, our nation's capitol, national museums, and Nationals Baseball. But before we began the quest down various avenues of our nation, we needed some morning nourishment! Our breakfast mirrored yesterday's, substituting bacon for sausages, and pancakes for waffles. Cups of coffee were more highly valued this morning, as our late arrival last night, and early breakfast/wakeup time necessitated an bit of an extra jolt for the chaperones! We hit the coach buses for the relatively quick ride to Mount Vernon, the home of
George Washington, leaving the hotel in Maryland right at 7:15am.
The ride to Mount Vernon was beautiful; we were greeted with weather that was more humid and warmer than yesterday, and some gorgeous grounds along the Potomac River. We entered Mount Vernon, and waited on a (unfortunately long) line to enter George and Martha's mansion on the river. While waiting, some groups took a tour of the Upper Gardens, known to the Mount Vernon grounds as the place where Washington's slaves/workers would grow vegetables and flowers for testings before landscaping the full scale of grounds. All students did take a tour of the Mount Vernon mansion. An interesting tour style, students walked single file into rooms within the mansion, examining secondary rooms, and listened to docents speak about individual rooms' functions and the lives of George and Martha Washington. Afterwards, students headed to the new education center, which includes very interesting and interactive exhibits for students to examine.
We left Mount Vernon for Alexandria, Virginia, where we ate at the Old Country Buffet. This is an interesting place for meals, because students have to choose very closely what they are eating for their meal. The food is of relatively good quality, but it is all-you-can-eat, so students did need to think about nutrition and balance. The majority of students were successful at this, although the poor soft-ice-cream machine was in overdrive utilized by many (myself included). Options included an extensive salad bar, pizza, grilled cheese, taco bar, soup, and many other stations.
We next headed back downtown to the center of the city of Washington, D.C.: the U.S. Capitol Building situated at the east end of the National Mall. We entered tight security, and were treated to a brand new $600 million U.S. Capitol Building Visitors Center. Students were given the option of viewing various exhibits, including the geographic growth of Washington,
D.C. the Library of Congress, and other choices. All students then entered the
"Orientation Theater," where they viewed a short film on the history of America and Congress. We split into several groups for a guided tour of the Capitol Building, focused mostly on the artwork in the Rotunda, such as George Washington, Ladies Liberty and Freedom and the 13 maidens on the ceiling, the Freeze on the walls, and the large paintings celebrating important events in America's history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Finally, we viewed the crypt (originally intended for George and Martha Washington, but currently empty) and exited for quick photo-ops at the Library of Congress and Supreme Court.
At this point, most buses headed to a souvenir shop of some point, for the opportunity to purchase some goods - and by this I mean "stuff" to remind them of Washington. Many students just opted for a piece of candy instead! At this point, we headed to the newly-
renovated Smithsonian Museum of American History, although some buses headed to the Museum of Natural History. Both museum are a wonderful part of the Smithsonian system of museums, but the American History was very exciting to see. It included the actual flag about which Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" on display, which was incredibly neat to see! In addition, there was a sense of "American Culture," not just American History that ran throughout the museum. Two of my favorite parts included the movie exhibit and the Julia Child exhibit.
We soon found it was (already) time for dinner - so our drivers drove the buses 1 and 2 to
Harriet's for dinner and 3, 4 and 5 to Vie la France for dinner. Both meals were similar - buffet style, with a moderate amount of variety, but mostly no-frills, healthy food.
We all rendez-voused together in Southeast at RFK National Stadium for a baseball game: Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates. The stadium was absolutely beautiful! Many kids seemed to be floored by how much space there was for walking around, activities and concessions; it was totally unlike Fenway, being so small and cramped, yet historic. RFK Nationals Stadium had your typical baseball concessions, but also stores like Build-A-Bear,
Sony Play Station karaoke, and children's playgrounds. The game was exciting, with the Nationals coming back in the eighth to tie
the game, move ahead 5-4, and end the game with that score. In the eighth inning a well, one Blake student was lucky enough to catch a homerun in the stands - what a great memory and keepsake! A great time was had by all.
Now - students have been checked in, cleaned their rooms, packed, and are (hopefully) asleep. We have a long day tomorrow - Arlington Cemetery, lunch at Pentagon City, and then we are off and Medfield-bound! Wish us little traffic tomorrow!
While in Arlington, we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard, which lasted about 15 minutes, but in complete silence and in pretty hot, humid weather. Our kids did not complain, and were troopers; what a neat scene to see, especially on Memorial Day weekend, of the Marines changing guard in front of the Tomb. We continued to the Challenger and Columbia Spaceshuttle Memorials, JFK's grave and the eternal flame, RFK's grave, and back to the coach buses, destined for the Pentagon City Mall for lunch in the food court. Students got a chance to have lunch and relax before departing for Medfield at around 11:30. 
n astounding sight, both intellectually and architecturally. It is six stories of glass inside and outside the building, including a six-story glass elevator (a la Charlie and the Glass Elevator). Students were treated to a 4-D movie (ask your child about what made it "4-D"), including a segment about New York reporter Nellie Blye. After the 4-D movie, students had a great photo-op on the top balcony, adjacent to the Canadian Embassy, with the US Capitol Building in the background. Some memorable sections included the original newspapers dating back to the early 1600s (including one reporting on the Salem Witch Trials!), a 9-11 history and piece of the World Trade Center, a piece of the Berlin Wall, a sports and the news room, and Pulitzer-Prize Winning photos.
part of the Washington Mall. Depending on the bus group, students saw a combination of the World War II Memorial, Washington Monument, and The U.S. Holocaust Museum.
downtown) Washington, and provided a beautiful view of the marina and the river.