Friday,
June 14th, 2019
Wow, what
a busy last 30 hours! Yesterday we spent the evening at the Holiday Inn going
over the trip details, playing games, forming the Snack Cooperative (which is a
big deal), saying goodbye to the parents, and getting to know each other. After
a short sleep, we departed the hotel at 4:30 am and headed to the airport. For
many of the students, this was their first time flying. However, we made it
through security and boarded our plane without a hitch. We had a two-hour
layover in St. Louis and arrived at the Reagan National Airport a little after
12 pm.
As a
group, we met up with Rob Taylor, our bus driver. Rob is a Maryland State
Trooper and takes a week off each year to drive a tour bus for the Iowa Youth
Tour group. Rob had already picked up subway sandwiches for everyone, so we
loaded the bus, ate our lunch, and headed to the White House.
Rob
dropped us off at the White House. The students walked down Pennsylvania Avenue
and had a chance to get photos of the north side of the White House. A big
group photo was taken and is posted on Facebook! After the White House, we
headed back to the bus. Rob then drove us to The American Veterans Disabled for
Life Memorial.
After we
visited The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, Shelly York handed
out flyers with a photo scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was a two-hour long
adventure of posing in front of certain monuments, solving riddles, and even
making human pyramids!! It was a good chance for the individual groups of 7 or
8 to bond and get to know each other better. The scavenger hunt took place at
The National Mall. It provided the students with the first previews of some of
the museums. Following the scavenger hunt, we were supposed to paddle boat on
the Tidal Basin. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans. The gusty winds
were causing rough waters, so the paddle boats were closed for the day. Have no
fear, Shelly is awesome and has rescheduled the activity for Monday!
We walked
around the Tidal Basin and visited the Jefferson Memorial. Following the
Jefferson Memorial, Rob drove us to Hill Country BBQ. At Hill County BBQ we had
a family style dinner that consisted of BBQ chicken sandwiches, macaroni and
cheese, coleslaw, and cookies. The meal was recommended by one of our
chaperones, Haley Moon. It was delicious and filling. Once again, Rob loaded us
back up and bussed the group over to the U.S. Air Force Memorial. While at the
Air Force Memorial, service members were putting on a free concert and they
sounded AMAZING.
We arrived
at our hotel around 7:30 pm. The snack cooperative board members went to the
local store to purchase snacks. We spent the rest of the evening in a privately
rented room playing games and just having fun. As it got closer to 10 pm,
everyone started to wear down and looked like they were ready for bed. I
suggest getting some sleep, wakeup call is at 6:45 am!
Clayton
Merritt
Youth Tour
Intern
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