WASHINGTON, D.C. – Our trip began March 11, 2024. We arrived at school at around 6:45 AM. This day we were required to wear our red R.E.A.C.H. Week hoodies. We gathered with our parents, peers, and teachers to pray for our trip and our flights. We had a quick flight and arrived safely at Baltimore Airport. We had about an hour drive to Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was shot, and then we toured the house where he later died. We had a guide explain what happened when Lincoln was shot. For the rest of the day, we walked around and saw the World War I Memorial, the White House, and the Washington Monument. I really enjoyed seeing the Washington Monument. We went around sunset which made it so pretty with the flags. This was one of my favorite things we saw in Washington, D.C.
The second day we went on a guided tour of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon is where George Washington lived. The house overlooks the Potomac River. I really enjoyed seeing the Lafayette room, which is the room where Lafayette stayed with Washington. After we toured the house’s interior, we were free to walk around the grounds in small groups. I went inside the building with the museum, food court and gift shops. Livia, Mia, and I walked around the museum and watched a 4D movie about the Revolutionary War. We spent the whole morning walking around Mount Vernon. Afterwards, we went to the FBI experience. We walked around a museum and my favorite thing I saw in the museum was a recreation of a hotel room with hidden cameras. There were cameras hidden somewhere in the room and there was a monitor so that you could watch the people inside the room through the hidden cameras. There was also a list of the top 10 most wanted people in the country. Alison Siebrecht said, “I really liked the FBI experience. It was so cool to see everything in there.” Once we finished at the FBI, we headed over to The Museum of the Bible. The elevator inside was cool because the closer to the top floor you got the closer to heaven.
The third day we got a picture taken with Brian Mast in front of the Capitol building. We also went on a tour of the Capitol building and saw lots of art, statues and historical figures. Every state is represented by a certain person and that person has a statue. We saw the Florida statue. After that we went to the Holocaust Museum. The museum was really sad, but we learned a lot about the Holocaust that we didn’t know before. We got to see some of their living conditions and where some of the concentration camps were. The last thing we did was go to the Lincoln Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial was so amazing. It was one of my favorite memorials.
The fourth, and final day we went to the Arlington National Cemetery. We walked around the Kennedy house and around their graves. Their house had an amazing view of Washington, D.C. We also got to watch some of our JCS students in the wreath laying ceremony of the unknown soldier. We also went to some of the Smithsonian Museums and got lunch at some food trucks. I bought a Washington, D.C. sweatshirt from a street vendor. I also went to the national archives and saw the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. After that we left for the airport. We got home safely around 10 pm on Thursday.
