Dessert Binge! by Mathias Van Patten

As you have certainly asked yourself as you look upon our blogs on important historical places and people: What are they having for dessert? Well all those questions will be debunked now! To start off our day we eat at the National 4H center. Now they usually have pretty good choices such as cranberry juice and milk but there are always those plates of doughnuts. Every morning two huge plates of delicious doughnuts tempt the entire group, and often a few of us will take some. And I won't even mention the bins of Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops. Today at the Friendly's Restaurant in Gettysburg, we each got giant two scoop ice cream sundaes after lunch. At night it's even worse. When we go downstairs to the cafeteria we eat the main entrée, which is usually pretty good, such as orange glazed chicken. After the meal, everybody in the entire group (Except for Mr. Harvey) goes over to the ice cream machine and fills up a cup, including a veritable plethora of toppings. Someone, who shall remain nameless, always drowns his ice cream in chocolate syrup, later drinking all of it.

Even on top of all of this we have still gone to two other delicious shops. On our way home from Mt. Vernon, which was amazing, we went to a Krispy Kreme doughnuts shop! But by far the best desert was at Mr. Yogoto, where we got to say our Braveheart speech and Noah, Sam and Mathias recited their parody yogurt version of Mr. Roboto. Mr. Yogoto even had a Nintendo 64 and plenty of games that we played. Overall our entire dessert binge has been tons of fun.

An Evening with Aunt Janice by Melina Harvey

Tonight we went to Aunt Janice’s for a barn dance!!!!! We arrived and were met by three dogs: Bone-Dog, a neighbor dog and their new puppy Richmond. It was really fun to meet them and they were so nice. Then everybody snuggled with the muddy puppy. We walked up to the barn made up of three sections and three stories. The first section was the dance floor which had been cleared. There were sections on the right and left, the right filled with delectable treats, and left having the stereo system. Strewn from the ceiling, twinkle lights hung giving the place a festive feel. The bon-fire was so large we needed marshmallow sticks five feet long, and we would still be really warm that far away. We ate many s’mores and KRISPY KREMES. Finally, it was time to dance… The boys mostly screamed at the top of their lungs and jumped up and down while the girls sang and busted out some moves learned from “Just Dance.” We listened to classic rock like Boston’s “More Than a Feeling,” and popular hits such as Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” All in all everybody had a blast!!! We were all sad to leave but just about promised Aunt Janice that we would return if it snowed. So, please everybody pray that it snows!!!!!! Thank you Aunt Janice!!!!

(For those of you who don’t know, Aunt Janice is Lexi Krueger’s aunt, and we were her guests two years ago on our first Carden DC trip. Janice and her husband Greg live in a splendid old farmhouse on around 20 acres in Poolesville, Maryland, about 40 minutes from the 4-H Center and right on the way back from Gettysburg. The Glenn Farm is a very special place, filled with love, safety, welcome and blessing. We are thankful and fortunate to get to share in it.)

Relaxing (Besides Mr. YOGATO!!!)

Mount Vernon Blog, by Jonathan Gallivan

Today we travelled to Mount Vernon, the home of our country’s first president: George Washington. He inherited it from his half-brother Laurence and expanded upon the original building. We toured around the property with a guide until we ended the tour at the tomb of George Washington. Four volunteers Melina, Talbot, Maddie, and Noah, helped complete a wreath laying ceremony.

Afterwards we explored the Wharf and found Washington’s sixteen sided barn and we ate our delicious lunch (thank you Mrs. Williams) at the Mount Vernon Inn. We then explored the rest of the grounds and saw a super cool movie that had moving seats and snow fell from the seeing, I mean, ceiling.

Mr. Yogato, by Noah

Hello from the East Coast all ye school goers. Today we went to none other than Mr. Yogato!!! At Mr. Yogato, if you do cool stuff, you get cool discounts. Three of the 7^th grade boys who shall remain unnamed composed a parody of the song Mr. Robotco. Don’t look it up, we’re scarred for life. Anyway, we got a discount for that as well as reciting the Braveheart battlefield speech that ends with, “…but they will never take our FREEDOM!!!” We also got a discount for answering various trivia questions. That’s why you go to school kids! Duncan and another nameless yogurt-eater were especially adept at answering the questions. The staff recorded our speech, and if they are to be believed, they’re going to post it on their website: http://www.mryogato.com. The flavors were regular, tangy, and guava. Not to be biased or anything, but guava won hands down. They had several interesting toppings, such as olive oil and sunflower seeds. If you’re ever in D.C, look it up. Anyways, we enjoyed amazing yogurt and a NES thoughtfully provided to the customers. Enjoy the Pacific Northwest-ish weather!

-Noah

Metro and White House, by Maddie Ekin

Hello, I have made a goal of lying down in all the class pictures. Hopefully, I will beat my brother’s record (if you can remember, he did the same thing last DC trip). Anyway, yesterday we traveled on the metro instead of in our vans. When we left for the parking lot where we parked our cars, we noticed a plastic owl in the rafters. Upon closer inspection, we counted eight different owls, three balloons, and zero pigeons (that was the owls’ job, scaring off the pigeons). It was cool how something that abstract could end up in a huge metro station. During our metro adventure, we were in one of the busiest stations during “rush hour” when Noah, Sam, and Mathias decided to get on the wrong train! Just as the doors were closing, Mr. Harvey grabbed them and dragged them out of the train. We all laughed and jumped on the right train. We also visited the White House. We were waiting in a large hall when the president’s dog ran through a door with several secret service men following. Apparently the dog had gone on a walk and wanted to visit us so a few of us got to pet it. We had a good, busy, day full of fun, adventures and good food.

Laying a Wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, by Sam Fischer

Yesterday our class went to Arlington National Cemetery where Duncan, Mathias, and I were the lucky three that were chosen to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I have had the jitters about this for the past couple of weeks, so when we arrived at the cemetery, I could feel my heart start beating faster. When we three arrived at the marble structure located directly up the steps from the Tomb of the Unknowns, we all felt extremely light headed and a little sick to our stomachs. We stood at the top of the marble steps and waited for the host to come up and give us directions on how to lay the wreath. Fifteen minutes later, three guards were now in the march on the black mats, making perfect copies of their previous step every time. Then they all went to the side of the tomb except for one who stood staring at us from the base of the steps with his tinted glasses, Marine uniform and big, shiny sidearm. Then, moments later, a solemn, eerie, blue figure approached us, ascending the stairs. His tinted glasses allowed us to see our own faces clearly and especially my terrified, pale white face. He now stood right in front of us staring us down, but to my relief we were greeted with a smile and a “Hey guys, how’s it going?” we replied with a shaky “good.” He then gave us our directions on how to respectfully place the wreath, so we followed him on his right side and a very serious figure, a Marine, waited for us with a wonderful smelling flower covered wreath. Mathias, Duncan, and I all took hold of the wreath and placed it upon the white stand and placed our hands over our hearts as we listened to another sentinel played Taps. When Taps was over we turned around and met the host at his side and ascended the stairs. At the top again, the guard, Jason, shook our hands, said we did a good job (because we “didn’t fall down the stairs”) and asked us where we were from and we replied we were from Washington State. He said he was from Oregon and to say hello to the Pacific Northwest for him. He went back to his duty and we finished our walk at Arlington. So, from all of us and Sentinel Jason, “Hello to the Pacific Northwest.”

Proof of Life

We had a great, really long day, and we'll tell you all about it tomorrow but we're going to bed now. But here are a few photos.

A lesson from Washington, DC

Dear Friends,

We have had a splendid day: safe, educational and fun, yet holding important lessons as well.

Today, among other things, we went to Arlington National Cemetery and visited the memorial to John F. Kennedy, our 35th President. Arlington is a very special place for me. I find its hallowed grounds a place of reverence, awe and wonder at the bravery and sacrifice of those who have built this great nation, and the incredible blessings we receive simply by merit of being born in this time and this place.

Kennedy led our nation during a time of fear and hope: Fear of the military might of the Soviet Union and the possiblity of nuclear annihilation, yet hope that our own recent military victories and economic might would protect us. He was a powerful orator who had a vision for our nation, a vision of service. In his First Innagural Address in January, 1961, Kennedy said, "My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."

Kennedy called us not work only for our own needs and desires, but to work and sacrifice for the needs and desires of others as well.

The men and women buried at Arlington made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom and welfare. As is inscribed at the Korean War Memorial: "Freedom is not free." Let us all remember and be truly grateful for the work and sacrifices of those, in uniform and not, who ensure our own peace, security and well being. Thank a veteran or soldier for their service. Thank a policeman or fireman and tell them you appreciate their work. Thank your mom and dad and tell them you love them. Say a prayer, thanking God for his many blessings, and tell him you love him.

Gratefully,
Mr. Harvey

PS: To our dear parents and Mrs. Moody, THANK YOU for your work and dedication to send us here. We appreciate your efforts and we love you all.

More Blog, Day 2

Rows and rows of white markers uniformly dotted the hillside at Arlington National Cemetery. When passing by the memorial to the U.S.S. Maine, which sank in Havana, Cuba in 1998, I read not the names of the departed but their occupations. From Sea-cooks and blacksmiths to lieutenants and majors, they were honored side by side. The cemetery is on the site of the former home of the Confederate general from the US Civil War, Robert E. Lee. His house still stands at the top of the hill and is a US National Park. When we visited the house I not only thought of how sad it was that every day they perform at least 36 funerals in the cemetery, but also that someday I would love to live in that house. We saw Mel, the famous bus-driver from the trip two years ago, but didn’t have a chance to really talk with him, and we thought of the alumni from that trip. Another Tourmobile driver was very memorable because of the way he spoke… His voice was thickly accented with who knows what, and fluctuated unnecessarily. He mentioned several times that the Kennedy Center had free shows every night and that we should attend them. The he pondered whether to go as well… for a long time… Another driver became our favorite, his name was Norman. He waited patiently for Mrs. Bentley and Mr. Williams as they ran from the National Air and Space museum.-Melina

For lunch, we went to Union Station. We all split up into our mini groups and picked a restaurant in the food court to eat. Melina, Maddie, and I ate Greek food after Mr. Williams, our chaperone, left us with our $15 lunch money before deserting us. We then ate our food together by ourselves! (ok, all of the other adults could see us, but it was still fun!) After using our remaining money to buy ice-cream and watching Sam buy a picture of himself with Justin Beiber, we left Union Station and got to walk to the Air and Space Museum. Noah got stuck on the other side of the street after running ahead. We could see him on the other side walking all by himself (He caught up with us a few minutes later.) We saw most of the monuments today as well. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and everyone’s feet hurt, but it was definitely worth it! I miss you guys! -Madeleine