The Arrival

57 8th graders

8 Adults

100 Strangers

1 Five Hour Flight ...

Who knew we would make it?

We landed in Washington around 5pm eastern time Wednesday afternoon. After a long flight the students were just a little bit anxious to be off the plane and on their way ... so we grabbed our luggage and loaded onto a bus -- just the reprieve they had been looking for! Ha!

We then headed to the Pentagon City Mall -- nothing stretches out travel weary 14-year-old legs like a mall!

After dinner we headed over to the National Mall where everyone got their first look at the historic Washington. The site was breathtaking!

The first stop was the Vietnam War Memorial. Everyone was overwhelmed by the number of names on the wall. What a moving experience. Remembering that a family member had been killed in the war, Brandon Pomroy, along with the help of some friends, began searching for his grandfather's name. Within minutes Michael DeMeester spotted the name -- one name, engulfed in the multitude of names. With a smile on his face, Brandon began taking pictures of the name; the name of a man, a hero, a grandfather he had never met. I do not know if the student's fully grasped the significance of this -- but I do know it was an incredible moment to watch.

Walking through the winding path we came to the clearing of the Lincoln Memorial. The massive building, along with the beauty of the National Mall lit up as the sun set, brought exclamations of awe from the students. Let the photos begin! For me, and I believe for the students, this is when Washington became a reality.

The students ran up the steps -- a few debating over whether or not these were the steps from "Rocky" -- and began to circle the memorial of the great Abraham Lincoln.

After a few million photos we all piled back on the bus and headed for the hotel ... where the students proceeded to get into bed and pretend to sleep.