Today the majority of all our stops were outside and boy was
it hot outside! We started our day off at our favorite breakfast spot, The
Crystal City Sports Pub. We then head off to Mount Vernon for tours. The
students got to see Washington’s grave, tour of the entire house, and the rest
of the 400 acre estate, such as places like the Wharf, the stables, the
greenhouse, etc. The studnets got a special treat while at Mount Vernon, they
got the chance to go on the “History Meets Hollywood Tour.” On this tour they
explained all of the in’s and out’s on the making of the movie National
Treasure: Book of Secrets.
Afterwards we picked up lunch at Mount Vernon and hustled
over to Arlington National Cemetary where some of the Youth Tour Students got
the chance to Lay a Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The students thought it
was such a great opportunity and a neat experience to be in the ceremony and
watch the changing of the guard. After our visit to Arlington was complete we
took the students to Georgetown where they got a bit of free time to explore
this historic town, and shop and take in all of the sights.
We then
drove to the Iwo Jima Memorial for the Sunset Parade, where we got the chance
to see the silent guard perform for us, which was a pretty cool sight! We also
got the chance to meet with various Marines and ask them questions like how
long how they been serving, or when did they find their calling to be a marine,
among many other questions. To cap off the night we drove to the Pentagon 911
Memorial, and got walked through an audio that explained the significance of it
and the symbolism of everything.
Now onto our next endeavor where some of students will be getting
up at 3:55am in the morning to get the opportunity to run with Senator Chuck
Grassley! Wish us luck! Time for this Intern to get some sleep!
By Alec DeVries (Youth Tour Intern/Alumni)
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