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| Inside of the Library of Congress |
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| Jacob, John Michael & James takin' a break |
If you are wondering what we did on day two, I can sum it up in one word....WALK! First, we WALKED around outside and inside the Library of Congress. It was so amazing to see Thomas Jefferson's book collection - the books he actually read and had in his personal library. Delaney commented that she loved the masonry work of the inside and outside. Once you realize that every stone, every tile was hand-placed, it is something to appreciate.
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| Just an ordinary courthouse...NOT |
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| Capitol dome |
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| Jenna & Erica waiting for the tour |
Before we WALKED to our nation's capitol, we were privileged to stand in front of the Supreme Court for a group photo as well as prayer. Once we were over by the Capitol, many of the students commented that the dome appears much larger when you are viewing it from the outside than when you see it on the inside. The detailing was just as incredible as the Library of Congress. We had a special treat on the steps of the Capitol. The Chaplain to the Senate, Chaplain Barry Black, stopped by and spoke to our group for about 10 minutes. What a great man of God! He strongly encouraged the students to not only continue their education but stay in Christian education. He said that he was a product of Christian education from 1st grade all the way through seminary. This was a last minute add-on to our events but it truly made our day special.
You may be asking, "what did you do next?" Wait for it.....wait for it.... We WALKED to the bus after lunch and traveled to Arlington Memorial Cemetary. Just in case we did not get enough exercise in the morning, our journey around Arlington made up for it. We spent approximately three hours outside at Arlington seeing and appreciating this amazing place. (By the way, the temperature remained around 43 degrees tops with drizzle the whole day.) Although physically exhausting as well as a bit cold, this was such a tremendous experience for all of us. We witnessed the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then Becky, John Michael, Deanna and Evanna participated in the wreath laying ceremony. This was especially poignant for John Michael because he has several family members buried at Arlington including his grandparents, great-grandparents and his great uncle. Another highlight was meeting John Michael's uncle, Dave Magness. Once we completed the ceremonies, we all proceeded to the area where their family members are buried. Mr. Magness brought small American flags for each of us to honor these family members as well as others in the general vicinity as an expression of our appreciation for their service. All of the students really seemed to understand and appreciate the magnitude of this opportunity.
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| Wreath Laying Ceremony |
We then stopped at the Iwo Jima Memorial and WALKED around it. The kids were challenged to find the "extra" item on one of the soldiers. James pointed out the blanket on the belt of the soldier in the back. Ask your student, when we get home, the significance of that blanket. They should be able to tell you the story.
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| What do you get when you combine a blond, redhead and brunette? Mrs. Devore, Mrs. Crocker and Mrs. Phillips believing they are Charlie's Angels.... or perhaps we were just tired. You decide... |
We then WALKED inside the Pentagon City Centre which is a really cool mall. This is where we ate dinner and relaxed for about an hour.
Our final quest of the day was WALKING around the Air Force Memorial.
So, did you catch the theme? Needless to say, as I am typing this, I can confidently tell you that everyone else in our group is out like a light and I will be shortly. Thanks for staying with us and I will be checking back in tomorrow after we visit Mount Vernon.
