New York City, Day Six

What a night on Broadway!  "Phantom of the Opera" described as "50 thumbs up," Book of Mormon was "the funniest, best show we've ever seen," and Hamilton was... well "unbelievable, amazing and everything we were hoping for!"  From a teacher's standpoint, the layering of art, theater and history has an amazingly powerful and profound effect on your appreciation for and understanding of history (and politics).  What an amazing experience!

Anna with Daveed Diggs (Thomas Jefferson in "Hamilton")

All in all, the night would have gotten a perfect 10 out of 10 if not for Daniela getting stuck for 45 minutes in one of the hotel elevators.  Pretty hefty price to pay for trying to get a drink out of the vending machines downstairs.  

Our last day began in Central Park.. with a walk from Lincoln Center through the southern part of the park, up to literary row and the fountain, back over to the west side where we took at look at the Dakota building (where John Lennon was killed), spent a few moments at the "Imagine" memorial/Strawberry Fields, and then took a subway ride downtown to NYU/Washington Square Park for lunch and some fun in the park. 

Nothing brings New Yorkers out to the parks like a mid 60 degree day in mid March.  Street performers, musicians, jazz combos, and tons of people made it a sightseeing experience.  The students really enjoyed tit.

We then headed back uptown to our hotel, where a few people are going to take in a second Broadway show while some go to Rockefeller Center and to the top of the Empire State Building.
In all, it's been a great trip.  With the time leaping forward one hour tonight , we won't be getting much sleep.  The hope now is to shuttle our way to the airport, get on the plane, and hopefully catch a nap before arriving back home.  Students are very thankful there's no school on Monday.  See you all soon!

New York City, Day Five

We had a lot planned for New York City - Day 2: Battery Park/Statue of Liberty; Wall Street/Federal Hall/Trinity Church; 9/11 Museum/Memorial; Lunch in Brooklyn/ Brooklyn Bridge Walk; and then Broadway!  So we set out for downtown, at just before 10:00 am, on the yellow line.
 Battery Park offered a lot of pictures of NY Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.  We shared fun facts about her, including Emma Lazarus' "Colossus", the poem inscribed at her base ("Give me your tired, your poor, your huddles masses..") that welcomes people from all over into the country. 

After a short time, we walked up a couple of blocks to Wall Street, seeing the heavily guarded exterior of the New York Stock Exchange along with Federal Hall, site of the 1st inauguration of George Washington and convening of the United States Congress in 1789. 

Across from Federal Hall you can still see the pock marks left by schrapenal in the side of the office building once owned by J.P. Morgan that was the target of a terrorist attack in 1920.  Until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, it had been the single largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. 

Next we took a quick visit to Trinity Church with its incredible architecture and detail, followed by a walk through the cemetery that houses the gravestone of Alexander Hamilton.  Unfortunately, we were in a hurry in order to make our 11:30 reservation at the 9/11 museum.  Wow!  The museum is very tastefully done, capturing the emotion and devastation of that event very well.  Lots of factual information mixed in with personal experience, heartbreak, frustration, artifacts and tribute that make it a must see if you haven't seen it.  Our group's recommendation: when in New York you must see the 9/11 museum. 

We then took the "R" train into Brooklyn where, before having lunch, we were entertained by a musical duet on the train.  Nothing like live entertainment to jazz up an otherwise boring subway ride! After disembarking, we had lunch in Brooklyn Heights.  Most of the group had a great lunch, except for the French Bistro group that is still teasing Seth for his $13 dry bread with cheese and meat selection.  After lunch, we walked along the promenade, enjoying views of Downtown New York City from the Brooklyn side that are truly unbelievable.  The students enjoyed the fact that there were no tourists over there, just us and Brooklyn-ites enjoying an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon.

Our walk across the Brooklyn Bridge was great, again plenty of pictures of the bridge itself along with vistas of the skyline and the Empire State Building in the background.  Once we got back into lower Manhattan, we took the green line up to 33rd Street, walked over a few blocks to our hotel, and are awaiting our departure for Broadway.  "Hamilton", "The Book of Mormon", and "Phantom of the Opera" are on the schedule so it should be an incredible night.  Talk of what to wear, where to eat, and what time to leave is at a frenzy!

New York City, Day Four

By 8:45, everyone was dressed, packed, fed and ready to head for the train station.  One challenge:  rush hour on the D.C. Metro!  We were 23... all with luggage, bags, purses and backpacks.  They were morning commuters in no mood to take us on.  In the end, we tolerated each other enough so that we got on the train with only minor irritations.
 

After a 3 hour, sleep-filled train ride, we pulled into Penn Station with just enough time for a select group to rush onto the subway (led by Mrs. Rogers) and get to the Ed Sullivan Theater in time to see a taping of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  Among the guests were Attorney General Loretta Lynch!  The overwhelming consensus was that it was great.  Those in attendance swear that if you watch the show you'll be able to hear Will Resner's cheering/applause over everyone else!

After the show, the whole group met back up and took the subway down to Little Italy to have dinner.  In typical New York fashion, our reservations were given away to a party of 28.  Ughh.  Luckily, this is a resilient group and we ended up at "Sofia's", one of the most well-known and touted places in all of Little Italy.  The pizza was great, the pasta really tasty, and the accordian player performing a birthday medley for Anna (whose birthday it is not!) and allowing Van to play a song or two was worth every penny. 

Finally, we rode the subway back to our hotel (mid-town, 36th street, two blocks from the Empire State Building) where we're settling in for the night.  Tomorrow we'll go downtown to see the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Federal Hall, 9/11 Museum, and take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.... all before seeing Broadway at night. 

Washington D.C., Day Three

For some, the 2nd morning started by walking over to the Iwo Jima memorial (which is 4 or 5 blocks from our hotel) and then on to Arlington National Cemetery for a visit.  For the others who weren't up for starting their day at 7:00 am, missed timed alarm clocks and misplaced Metro cards began "Museums Day".   Once we got going, we started at the Holocaust Museum which, if you've never been, is very moving and very powerful.  The students, all of them, took the entire experience to heart.  They were respectful, inquisitive, and took their time going through the exhibits.  After nearly 2½ hours inside, most of us were through the tour and in the main lobby when.... the fire alarm sounded.  Patrons were ushered to the nearest exits immediately so our group of 23 was broken up.  In another era this would have been madness, literally a thousand people outside... teachers standing on benches signalling for kids to walk a certain direction, adults yelling the names of their groups, people on all four sides of the museum.  Fortunately, in an age of smart phones and group chat, our group was back together in a matter of minutes!  Whew.

For lunch, we split up, people were able to get what they wanted to eat, and each group got to decide which of the four museums they wanted to visit.  Some went to the Natural History Museum, some went to American History (yeah!), some went to the National Art Gallery, and others went to the Air & Space Museum (although most took in at least two).  

After T-Rex exhibits, the Apollo Missions, the Revolutionary War chronology, several flight simulator rides, U.S. Presidential portraits and artifacts, and the "Spirit of St. Louis", we settles into a late afternoon IMAX showing entitled "Journey Into Space".  Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel in rush hour Metro traffic, where we'll rest up a bit before heading back into Georgetown for dinner (and maybe a 2nd trip to Georgetown Cupcakes!!)

Tomorrow morning we check out and head for the train station for a 3 hour ride up to New York City.  Washington has been great.  Lots of walking, lots to see, lots of discussion, lots of pictures...  certainly a packed 3 days.  But, I'd say the teenagers are ready for the sights and sounds of New York!  

 

Washington D.C. - Day Two

Day Two started with stories of bedtime and our West Coast roots getting the best of some people.  Some claimed four hours of sleep, some said five... but nobody would admit to getting more than seven.  So, undeterred, we set out.  Our first stop was the Capitol for a 9:45 tour.   Unfortunately for us, the Capitol is being refurbished and having a lot of repairs and maintenance done to its exterior.  It was noted more than once that the scaffolding, both inside and out, effects our picture taking!   Still, we forged on.  Our tour guide was great.., funny, knowledgeable, engaging... the best we've ever experienced on any of our trips. 

We toured the crypt, Rotunda and Statuary Hall while there, with plenty of Q&A's being shared between our guide and the students.  I dare you to ask them about whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable.  Hopefully their knowledge (both horticulturally and legally) will impress you.  In the end, it was decided that Nolan and Shannon were his favorites!
  After the Capitol, we took the underground passage to the Library of Congress.  We did a self-guided tour, seeing Thomas Jefferson's personal library, an exhibition they had on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and saw the main reading room.  The building itself is majestic... certainly one of the most impressive in Washington.
 

Next, we went next door to the Supreme Court.  After touring the main hall, fielding questions about  Earl Warren and the importance of the Warren Court, noting the precedent set by William Howard Taft of being president and then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Obama?), and seeing the courtroom from the observation area, we had to decide if we wanted to commit another 45 minutes to actually going inside the courtroom.... or go sit somewhere and have lunch.  In the end, hungry teenagers won the moment and we left. 
 

We had lunch in Penn Square before heading for the White House via Ford's Theater.  Crazy how far they set you back on the front side of the White House.  Car bombers and fence jumpers have made it so that you're probably 200 yards away.  So we went to the back side where, in the midst of a least a half dozen security guards, you're a mere 75 yards away. 

  Finally, around 4:00 pm we made it to the Metro station, headed back to the hotel.  We'll be in the hotel for a couple of hours before we head across the Francis Scott Key bridge to Georgetown for dinner and some touring.  Tomorrow, it's "museums" day... Holocaust, Smithsonians, etc... 

Washington D.C. - Day One

Tons of Michael Jackson music welcomed us to the Virgin America gate at SFO. The flight from SFO to Washington went fine… amazing how smart phones and headsets can make 5 ½  hours fly bye.  As we shuttled to the airport, the Jamaican driver was sure we were from Australia?  After a chuckle or two, he guessed Texas!  What kind of Californians are we?

  After getting to the hotel and getting some dinner, we headed for the monuments. 

 

   The Jefferson Memorial is magnificent at night…. majestic in its form with the preamble of the Declaration of Independence amongst the words scrolled across the walls.  I wasn’t counting, but there had to have been a couple hundred pictures taken. 

  After Jefferson, we toured through the FDR memorial.  It’s set up so that visitors begin, thematically, with his first term in office and walk through his 2^nd 3^rd and 4^th terms.  As you might have guessed, we came in from the back and went backwards, from 4^th to 1^st term.  Plenty of laughs and pictures.

   

The Civil Rights memorial and Korean War memorial were next, followed by the spectacular Lincoln Memorial.  Several students literally sat underneath the scrolling words of the Gettysburg Address, reading and discussing them.  Priceless for a history teacher.   Plenty of pictures taken in the spot that MLK delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech…. Along with pictures of the Washington Monument with its reflection beaming off of the reflecting pool. 

  Finally, we walked through the Vietnam Memorial.  While better during the day in my opinion, it was probably our only chance to see it.  The students took it in, had plenty of questions, and took an impressive amount of time taking it in.

  We ended by walking back through George Washington University before hopping on the Metro and getting back to the hotel by 11:45 or so.  Whew!  We’re all tired and ready for a good night sleep.  Great first day!!