Music Nation in DC

by Brianna Carlson

The first day of the trip started bright and early with a call time of 6:15 am and we started off at around 7:40 With a quick pit stop in Delaware, we reached the Jefferson Memorial at 2:20; the performance went wonderful with people stopping to listen. After packing the buses back up, we met our tour guides who stayed with us until we reached the hotel On the drive we saw the Washington Monument and learned that it’s two different colors due to it being built in two phases; the first being private and the second being public. We then visited Carmine’s for dinner where we were served garlic bread, salad, pasta, and chicken parm After that, we went to the Treasury Department building where we learned about Alexander Hamilton, the US’s first Secretary of the Treasury. We then went and saw the White House and lastly, we went to see the Andrew Jackson equestrian statue, which is there to honor Andrew Jackson for winning the battle of New Orleans. The statue itself was the first horse statue to stand on its hind legs without any other support. From there we traveled to the Lincoln Memorial, where we walked the steps and got the chance to stand in the spot where the famous “I Have a Dream” speech was given by Martin Luther King; after we went to see the Vietnam and Korean memorials recognizing the soldiers whose lives were lost during the two wars. Finally, we said goodbye to our tour guides and went to the hotel where we were assigned our rooms and roommates and went to settle down. The night finished off with everyone hanging out in the lobby before the night finally came to an end at 11:00.

The second day started early with a 7 am wake-up call; students had breakfast at 8 and were off for the busy day by 9 Starting the day at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, students were able to go on self-guided tours before meeting back at the entrance. Then students traveled to the Pentagon City Mall where they were able to branch off and eat lunch with their friends After lunch, students loaded back onto the bus and went to the National Archives Museum, where after going through security, students were once again able to go on a self-guided tour throughout the museum. Afterward, students watched the Shear Madness Show at The Kennedy Center. The show being an interactive murder mystery, the crowd pieced together the criminal case as the actors performed. After the show, students ate dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Finally, after dinner, everyone loaded back onto the bus and went back to the hotel for the night.

Starting the day with our final 7 am wakeup call breakfast started around 8. During breakfast, many students and some teachers sampled the Lethal Dose hot sauce. The teachers who dared to try it were Dr. Goldstein, Mrs. Bush, Mr. Knapp, and Mr. Murray. After all that, at 9 am students handed in their key cards and loaded onto the bus to head to their final performance at the Naval Memorial After their performance students loaded the buses back off and traveled to Washington Nationals Park Baseball Stadium where they watched the Cleveland Guardians vs the Washington Nationals The game ended closely with the Washington Nationals winning the game with a score of 7-6. Leaving the stadium during the 7th inning, students loaded up into the bus to start heading home Stopping at the Delaware House Travel Plaza students stopped for dinner before loading back onto the buses for the last time before heading back to the school.