2010 Youth Tour Day 2!

Arlington National Cemetery

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The view from the peak of Arlington Cemetery

On the National Mall

Sitting here, grateful for my comfy slippers on my sore feet, I am trying to think of what to write. I'll start with the morning. We had a full breakfast at 8 o'clock sharp. They had the works: scrambed eggs, pancakes, seasoned potatoes, bagels, donuts, and fruit. I found it very satisfying. However, some students found the lack of bacon very distressing. Not a problem for the only vegetarian here. :P

After breakfast, we were led out to the buses where we started our very busy day. First, we went to Arlington National Cemetery where my "buddy" group was lucky enough to arrive at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers right as they were changing guards. We were also witness to the Wreath Ceremony, where they played Taps. I found it very...emotional. My group then decided that we would walk back to the entrance, instead of taking the trolley. Thanks to my terrible sense of direction and unability to read a map, we walked an extra 1-2 miles. Realizing that we were on the opposite corner of the cemetary than the entrance, we then walked EXTREMELY fast to make it to the buses in time. I am proud to say we made it with 15 minutes to spare.

Next, we were bused to the Smithsonian Institution where we were allowed 4 1/2 hours to wander and see what we wanted. My group started with the Museum of National History, and the first thing we went to view was the Atrium Cafe. All four of us grabbed the first thing in line: pizza. Tressa got pepperoni, Alex had some sort of chicken "specialty", and Justin and I got classic cheese. We each got a side ranging from fruit to cupcakes.

After our hunger was satisfied, we roamed the museum for the next hour and a half. We saw everything from the Hope Diamond, to dinasours, to a pickled Giant Squid. The next museum we visited was the Museum of Art, the West Building. We roamed this museum for about an hour, seeing many statues and paintings.

We left that building with almost two hours to burn, and sore feet that wanted to rest. So, we went to the Air and Space museum. I'd like to say that I remember every plane we saw, but I can't. What I do remember is that there was a lit up vertical sign with the greek symbols of the planets. After careful inspection, we realized that instead of replacing the sign when Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet, they merely covered its sign with a black board. I also remember a pair of rocket socks worn by a fellow tourist in the Mars section of the Planetarium. We found it very amusing.

With almost half an hour 'till we were due back, we went outside where Alex and I bought pretzels from a sidewalk vendor. Alex fed part of hers to a squirrel. Which reminds me, the squirrels in D.C are extremely friendly. "Tyrone" from fed a nut picked off a tree to one courageous squirrel, but that was later in the day.

The next group stop we made was Union Station, where we were given dinner vouchers, and an hour to burn. My entire group went to Treat Street where we got pretzels (Alex, Justin, and I), funnel cakes (Tressa), and smoothies. After we had eaten, we bought I <3 DC memorabilia, and walked the Station.  They had all kinds of stores, from Claire's to Swatch to White House Black Market. I bought a very cute pair of giraffe earrings.

Now, for the night tour. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, where there was a gorgeous sunset backdropping the monument. The big deal for me, however, was the Vietnam memorial. It was more than I ever imagined, and hard to put into words. We visited the Korean memorial, and the World War II memorials, also.

I'm out of time, and I still haven't written half of the thoughts running through my head. It was a busy, busy day, and I am very thankful for my comfy slippers. :D

Adrienne Ricker

SRT Communications

Minot, ND