Thrilling Thursday in DC!

The good news? We had a fun filled and historically packed day of excitement and advanture in DC today. The bad news? We have to leave the capital area tomorrow!
The day started with a beautiful morning at Arlington National Cemetery, where four members of our class laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We headed to the National Cathedral for a tour of the amazing architechural wonder, and then journeyed to the Smithsonian complex on the National Mall. After exploring two musuems, we paid a visit to FDR and Jefferson at their memorials, and then hustled back to the hotel to change for the boat cruise. Check out some images of the day on our picture page!

Wednesday - Chilly Gettysburg and Rainy DC

In one day, we saw the greatest battlefield in North America, an amazing 4D movie, a huge elephant, and Schwiets on a horse - what could be better? The day began with an early breakfast and a cozy bus ride to Gettysburg (check out the Wednesday pics of some of the snoozers). We went to the new visitors center for a great video and Cyclorama presentation and, for some, a journey through the amazing new museum. Then, it was off to the hallowed ground as we saw the battle unfold and visited the Iron Brigade on the first day, Little Round Top from Day 2, and Pickett's Charge at the end of the battle. After lunch, it was back to Dc. Some people participated in a little DC Idol on karaoke. The Newseum was a hit among most of the group, with a lot of interactive material and a great exhibit on 9/11, which held all of the kids' interest. We took a quick trip to the Natural History Museum, had a delicious dinner at Buca, and then ended the night with games at ESPN. Check out your gamers on the pictures and videos.
We had a little slower pace today, but tomorrow is a big day - Arlington in the morning, the National Cathedral, two Smithsonian Museums, FDR and TJ Memorials, and the famous evening cruise on the Potomac. Wish for good weather!

Tuesday in Balmy DC

As Randy Jackson would say, "We got a hot one!" (That's for my kids, who love American Idol). It was quite a day in tropical DC, with the sun shining and the heat rising. We hit the pavement hard with trips to Ford's Theater, the White House for a pic or two, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and a tour of the Capitol. Our visit with senator Kohl was certainly a highlight, as was the National Archives. The evening tour of the memorials was one of the students' favorites - a great way to end a long yet successful day. Check out the pics on the links to the right!
The troops are holding up great - tired (especially with an early breakfast on the horizon), but doing an awesome job in all respects.
And, alas, Milwaukee and nether regions, we tried to broadcast this evening, but the wireless connection in the good ol' Courtyard Marriott wasn't very helpful. We will try to do it the old fashioned way ... and post a video summation of the day.
Gettysburg tomorrow!

   

We Made It!

All is quiet amongst our young travelers as we bunk down after a long (yet pleaseanlty uneventful) day of fun in school and fun on the road. Our 8th grade service project turned out to be a huge winner as we raised over $2,800 and had a fun assembly this morning - check out the high and tights! We look great! The kids are all in great spirits and ready for a fun day tomorrow at Ford's Theater, the Folger Library, the Capitol, the Zoo, and the monuments at night. We will try for our first "Down-Lo from DC" tomorrow evening after the monuments. It should be a go around 9:30 PM in Milwaukee - let's hope it works.

AMERICAN HISTORY RULES!

THE DC BLOGGING PLAN

Let's see if this works, folks! The Class of 2013 will be using this site to communicate as we travel to Washington D.C nest week. We will have a few methods of communication available - hopefully they all work!

• Blog postings - One of us will try to post something every evening, just to reflect on some of the highlights of the trip. Hopefully we can have some students add their reflections as well! check for some video clips if the internet access works out ...
• UStream - If we can get it to work, we will try to have a live video feed or "CapitolCast" every night. The feed will be streamed onto this site and also at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/usm-dc-2009 - the password is "historyrules"
• Pictures - We will be uploading high quality images each night, and we should have either a link or a slideshow on this blog.
• AuidoCasts - Using a great platform called evoca, we will have audio updates throughout the trip. You can use the player on the blog here, or you can download the podcast on iTunes!