We started with night tours of the FDR memorial and the Jefferson memorial. These were beautiful at night, but it is difficult to take good pictures. 
The next morning was quite an adventure as we were supposed to be at breakfast at 6:30 so we set all wake up calls for 5:30. Well, apparently the hotel did not prepare for the daylight savings time because phones didn't ring until 6:30. Thankfully, another chaperon and I were up on time, the hard part was waking all the kids up. Some wouldn't answer their phone so we would bang on their door. We had some seriously heavy sleepers, but they all managed to be ready by 6:30. I have to say I was pretty impressed - did I mention that we were at the airport at 5:30 the morning before. These are times of the day most junior high kids don't know exist! At last we head out to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. 
It overlooks the Potomac and is lovely even at this time of the year, with bare trees. I can only imagine what it looks like in the fall. All the Revolutionary War relics just reminded me of how blessed we were and are. Rationally, we shouldn't have won, but I believe God had his hand over us and blessed us - I only wonder what we have done with this blessing and what we are doing with it. The kids had some time to relax at our next stop, the National Zoo. You may think, why go to the zoo when you are in DC and there are so many other things to see - well, these were my thoughts exactly before we went, but I left with a different attitude. The kids needed a break and they loved it. The animals were all out and active with the perfect weather we had. The tigers were fighting, the lion was pacing, the orangutans were swinging, and I have never seen a bigger hippo than the one I saw that day! (sorry no picture) We were supposed to go to a performance at the Kennedy Center, but we were 15 minutes late - at this point I am getting a little perturbed with our tour guide (he will be forgiven in the end - if you make it that far). 
Instead we go to the Iwojima memorial. 
The next morning we take some pictures in front of the White House, take the fastest tour of the Holocaust Museum ever (30 minutes - not time enough to really see anything), and then head to the Washington Monument.
The views of the city from the top are great. In the afternoon we had a tour of the Capitol - we were just a few minutes too late to see the House in session. `A few minutes too late' is starting to become a theme. 
In the evening we headed to the Vietnam Memorial. Several of the students wanted to look up names of relatives, but the tour guide wanted us to hurry (surprise surprise). The other chaperon and I were rebels though and we took a few kids back over later to find the names and place a flag for them.
The Lincoln Memorial was next, followed by the Korean Memorial and the WWII Memorial. 
Those are all a bit overwhelming to go through, but what really got to me was our next day's excursion, Arlington National Cemetery. This place just goes on and on. It is daunting to look at and think of all the people who have sacrificed for this country, as well as others. 
Kennedy's grave is there as well as the tomb of the unknown soldier. This spot provided the highlight for my trip, ironically, due to another lapse from our tour guide. We were supposed to go to the 9am changing of the guard, but again we were late. So, he told us there would be one at 9:30 - no such thing, they only change on the hour at this time of year. So we see some other sights and then come back for the 10 changing of the guard only to find out that the Israeli Minister of Defense is going to be laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. So we got to see a full ceremony, a rare thing which you can't plan (our tour guide is now forgiven!). Before it started a photographer was called down by the guard for trying to cross over the barrier. I don't know if it was this or the magnitude of the event, but our kids were great during the ceremony. 
All five branches were there as well as a band. The Israeli Minister had his entourage with him, including bodyguards who were seen talking into their coats. After that incredible experience which I couldn't get over the rest of the day we headed to the National Archives and some of the Smithsonian museums (one was closed for renovations). While we waited on the bus to take us to the airport we gave the kids some time to roam. We took them to the mall (grassy area in front of the Capitol) and let them be kids. It is pretty neat to me to think that they were playing freeze tag in front of the Capitol. The flight home was expected to be an adventure itself. We only had a 30 minute layover in Atlanta and it was the last flight of the night. As it turned out, we arrived early and the next flight was only two gates down, so we even had time for restroom breaks. Since we arrived at midnight, the kids should have been good and worn out for their parents the next day - I know I was!On a side note, I was horrified to read upon my return that someone had the audacity to hit #10 in the head with a pitch in spring training. He had to have stitches on his left ear and will be out indefinitely due to the swelling and such that prevent him being able to wear a batting helmet.
