Goodbye Washington

Our last day was warmer & brighter than previous days as we began our day's sightseeing with a drive south along the George Washington Parkway to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home.
We spent around two & a half hours visiting the mansion, walking through the grounds, & viewing some of the movies & other exhibits in the museum - including the first president's false teeth!
From Mount Vernon we returned to the D.C area to view some of the thousands of military graves in Arlington National Cemetery, & to visit the Marine Corps Memorial, one of the most iconic sights of any trip to D.C & a great way to end our time in the capital city.
Then it was time to travel to the airport in good time for an afternoon flight back to the West Coast.

Thank you all for your great company this week.  We packed a lot of sightseeing into this week, learned lots about our nation's history, ate some good food, rode the metrorail many times & walked LOTS of miles.  I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did & that one day you'll come back to Washington D.C & Philadelphia, two great cities.
Safe travels,
Declan

In line to enter the mansion at Mount Vernon

On the mansion verandah, overlooking the Potomac River

In front of the mansion at Mount Vernon

With George Washington

The Marine Corps Memorial

Mr. Duffy's group at the Marine Corps Memorial

One last photo of the Washington D.C skyline

Checked-in & waiting to fly home

D.C & Old Town Alexandria

Today we saw more of Washington D.C, & also traveled across the Potomac River to Alexandra in Virginia.
After our metrorail ride into the center of the city, our first visit was to the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the news - the events that make the news, how they are reported, etc.  It's a great museum with something for everyone - & a great roof terrace where the group began their visit.
Afterwards we had free time for lunch on 7th Street, by the Verizon Center & Chinatown, before we walked across the National Mall to the National Holocaust Museum & Memorial.
This is always a moving, disturbing & sometimes difficult place to visit, but is very worthwhile.  Many of the students were very interested, asking lots of pertinent questions both before & after our visit.
We rode the metrorail & a trolley bus to Old Town Alexandria in the mid afternoon.  This historic city just outside D.C predates the capital & is home to a picturesque historic neighborhood & interesting shops.  The students had some free time to shop for souvenirs before we met-up again for dinner.
This evening we had our ghost tour - a walking tour of the area's streets, led by a costumed guide who told is stories of some of the former residents & how they met their end!
Finally we rode the trolley & metrorail back to our hotel - another long day but one that was packed with interesting, educational, & fun sightseeing.

Washington D.C in Depth

We began this morning with a ride on the Washington D.C "metrorail", its efficient & easy-to-use subway system.  The train to us for our visit to the U.S Capitol Building where we experienced the full process of Washington D.C security in action as we were screened for entry into the building.
Unfortunately, due to a very late departure from the hotel, we were unable to take a tour of the inside of the building, though we did get to see a close-up of the plaster cast for the famous figure of "Freedom" that sits atop the dome.

From the Capital we walked, past the Supreme Court & Senate office buildings, to Union Station.  Here we boarded the metro again for the short ride to Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated.  We enjoyed a short play retelling the events of that fateful night, then had free time for souvenir shopping & lunch.

A short walk past the FBI Building took us to the National Archives where, after a long wait in line, we se saw the "Charters of Freedom":  the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, & the Bill of Rights.  

Our last sightseeing of the day was to spend the rest of the afternoon visiting the Smithsonian Institution museums:  everyone spent time in the National Museum of American History, then the students were able to choose from the National Air & Space Museum or the Natural History Museum.

Dinner this evening was in the heart of D.C's Chinatown.  It proved a popular meal with everyone, with plenty of good food.
A shorter metro ride took us back to our hotel, an easy end to a long but packed day during which we walked approximately 8 MILES!  On top of the 6 miles yesterday & 4 miles on Monday!

Warming-up in Washington D.C. (New Photos Added)

Today's weather was MUCH better than Monday's a welcome change for everybody as we began our sightseeing this morning in Philadelphia.
Our first visit was to the U.S Mint, a modern facility in the historic district & one of just two places in the USA where the government makes coins.  After the usual security check we saw a small exhibit about the history of the mint & national reserves, then walked along a passageway high above the work floor & looked down on the machinery to see the coins being cut, pressed, etc.
Just a short walk away we went to the Betsy Ross House next, to see the home of the maker of America's first flag.  A re-enactor playing Betsy Ross sat in one room, sewing & talking to visitors.
Lunch today was in the historic Reading Market, a huge 'food court'/market with over 80 stalls selling all kinds of hot & cold foods for lunch, including plenty of cheesesteaks, etc.  With something for everyone this proved a big hit.
On the way to our final stop in Philadelphia we passed the notorious Eastern State Penitentiary, then arrived at the 'Rocky Steps' that lead up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  After a quick run to the top, view of the city skyline, & photo stop with the Rocky statue from Rocky 3 we hit the road to D.C.
Dinner was at our hotel this evening, after we checked-in for a 3 night stay.  Then it was candy for dessert on the bus as we traveled into Downtown D.C to meet our evening guide Dupree.
For the next 3 hours Dupree led us on a tour of the National Mall & Tidal Basin's presidential & veterans monuments & memorials, including some of the most famous sights of the city:  The White House, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, & the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.
Finally we arrived back at our hotel, tired but not wet or cold, & excited after a great day of sightseeing.

Welcome to a Wintry East Coast!

The group landed this morning (an hour late after a delayed take-off in LAX) in a winter wonderland - overnight the East Coast's late winter storm hit the Washington D.C area, blanketing the airport area with 2-3 inches of snow.  Thankfully the roads weren't too bad though so we were able to make our way north to Philadelphia.
Due to the late arrival & weather we began the day late so made a couple of adjustments to ensure we fitted in all our sightseeing - breakfast was a shorter than planned stop & upon arrival we dove straight into lunch & then our guided walking tour, led by a historical character - the captain of the United States' first marine corps & was present at the first reading of the declaration of independence.
By the time we finished our walk & visited Independence Hall it was very cold so we paid a quick visit to the Liberty Bell before heading to the hotel to check-in, warm-up & change.
An hour later everybody was warm & dry as we headed to dinner at Steaks on South, one of "Philly's Top 10 Cheesesteaks", a metro-ride & walk away, where we had cheesesteaks & Philadelphia's very own 'Tastykakes' - a fitting way to end a day in Philly.