Category: Journal (Page 5 of 861)

…but not DC. New York!

We drove from Gettysburg to New York yesterday morning. The first thing we did was take the Staten Island ferry. It goes right past the Statue of Liberty.

It also gave us great views of the surrounding cities.

After our ferry ride, a hop-on tour guide rode around Manhattan with us and told about things we drove past. As it turns out, I didn’t take any pictures of stuff he was pointing out, because I was in the back of the bus shushing kids, but here’s some random street I took a picture of when I took a moment to sit:

Next, we stopped at Central Park. We walked around just a little bit. We stopped at that famous fountain, but there was no water in it.

I was excited to see all the early spring blooms.

Next was more of our driving tour. I got a picture of the ice skating rink where Buddy the Elf skated.

After a delicious dinner, we walked through Times Square…

…and went to see The Lion King.

The costumes were really cool. And of course it was a fun story. We got to bed late. Whew!

Today we will go to the top of Freedom Tower, then head for the airport and fly home. Wow! This trip has flown by!

Yesterday we started the day at Mount Vernon – George Washington’s house. The sky was so dramatic in the morning!

It’s a really interesting place to visit. It’s on the shores of the Potomac River. It was an opportunity for another picture of the dramatic sky:

The house itself is cool. Lots of original stuff still there. Look – I’m putting my hand on the same railing George Washington put his hand on!

Here’s an original piece of furniture from his time there:

The grounds are beautiful. We walked all around them.

It did have a weird sign by the entrance though. I’m trying to imagine the story behind this:

Next, we went to Gettysburg. The visitor center is new-ish. I had never been in there. It’s cool. There’s a movie you watch, then you see this giant painting in a circular room. It’s called the cylclorama. Someone took a picture of me as I contemplated the painting.

After the visitor center, we drove around the battle field while a hop-on tour guide travelled with us. There were many picture opportunities.

We stayed at a hotel in Gettysburg last night. Today we head to New York!

Yesterday started at the Bible Museum. We went last year, but I didn’t have time to look at much. This year, I had plenty of time, and wow! I liked it!

There’s an immersive experience where you hear and see the story of the Old Testament. It’s super cool. Here we are going through the parted Red Sea:

I was out of sync with my students, so they came out of one of the movie experiences as I was going in. I had the theater to myself.

There was a Bible garden on the roof. Most everything was still dormant from winter, but it was still very fun to see:

Our next stop was the Capitol Building.

I had a brush with fame on my way through security. Look who was behind me:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! I didn’t even see her. One of the parents from my group took the picture.

Our first stop was at the cafe for lunch. Check out what I had for dessert!

I thought it was made of ice cream cone material, but it was white chocolate. Delicious, but so rich. I had an acid stomach afterward.

On the tour, I had to touch the pillars in the crypt under the dome. They support all the weight of the dome, which is like 9 million pounds. That sounds like hyperbole, but it isn’t.

I also touched this hand rail, which is on the route that the president takes when he goes through the building. So many presidents must also have touched this exact spot. Wow!

Our next stop was the Natural History Museum. I wanted to touch a meteorite. I had done it before, back in 2011, but I just had to do it again.

They were setting up in the lobby for a dinner.

I supposed it was for big donors. I also supposed they were serving elephant steaks.

After dinner, we visited some memorials as the sun was setting. The Vietnam Memorial was very moving.

The Lincoln Memorial was as cool as always, though I didn’t get to see it very long, since construction had closed the bathrooms, and I had to go across the street.

Today we visit Mount Vernon (George Washington’s house), the we head to Gettysburg.

We started yesterday morning with a delicious hotel breakfast. Yum! I wish I could have those every day. (of course then I would weigh a million pounds)

We started the day at the Air Force Memorial. It’s new, so I had never been to it. It was cool.

At the World War 2 Memorial, I took a selfie by Nebraska. I think standard protocol is to do selfies by the significant state(s) in your life

Next was a stop at Ford’s Theater. I had never been there either, which surprises me a little. I lived in Baltimore for a long time. The theater was interesting to visit. I didn’t read much of the info in the museum though, because we didn’t spend a long time there.

We were hurrying because we had to get to church services at the National Cathedral.

The service was interesting. The congregation is Episcopalian. Some things were the same as Lutherans, and some were different.

After church, we went to the American History Smithsonian, and then Arlington.

It was cold outside. I didn’t wear enough clothes. But then there were snow flurries! So exciting! It almost made the cold worth it. Almost. I took a picture of a piece of snow on someone’s shirt:

A few other memorials, and then dinner, and then we went to the 9-11 memorial at the Pentagon. It was dark by then and really cold, but our docent was someone who was at the Pentagon on the day of the attack. His story was powerful. The memorial is also powerful, especially at night.

When we got back to the hotel, I cranked the heat. Today I will wear more clothes.

Our trip to DC started bright and early yesterday at the LA airport. But as we were checking in, we suddenly had to evacuate. No one told us why. We were guessing it was a suspicious package.

After a while, we got back on track. The flight was direct, and it was mostly good, until the end, when it was bumpy.

Our first stop was the Udvar-Hazy airplane museum. We went there last year. It was a quick visit, but I got a picture of the Enola Gay:

And a picture of the space shuttle. A space shuttle!! So amazing!

Next, we headed to the White House to take some pictures from the outside. It was cold and rainy, but fun.

Then we went to the FDR memorial. Somewhere I have a picture of my dad and me standing behind the bread line statues. I did get a picture of the kids standing like that, but the kids were more excited that I looked like a statue of a starving man.

We finished the evening with dinner at Bertuccis. Mmm… I love their rolls and oil.

I got to bed surprisingly early. Yay! The clock changed last night. Boo!