Day 2: Late Starts, Arlington, Shopping Sprees, Mount Vernon and Ghost Tours

The trip is in full-swing now. The traveling and jet-lag caught up with a few of us...me included. Roll call was at 8:15am and a couple of the boys got a late start. It wasn't bad though, as they were quick to assemble and get on the bus. However, the consequences for a late start is to sing a song of the advisors' choice on the bus for the group. More to come on this later. We received compliments from the hotel guests, who said they were so impressed with how well the kids behaved, especially because they assumed that being in middle school, they would be in and out of the rooms all night. Not our kids, but then again, I guess the Tape-On-The-Door trap set by the advisors was a strong deterrent for any late-night kolohe behavior.

We started our day at the Arlington Cemetery. The weather was not cooperating for most of the day but we managed to view the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers (TotUS), the Kennedy's grave sites, and graves of other prominent military and political personnel. The kids were fascinated by the changing of the guards at the TotUS because of how disciplined and mechanical their movements were.

Once again, the kids demonstrated complete and total respect during the changing of the guards and asked a whole slew of questions regarding the meaning behind "unknown soldier."

We meandered throughout the cemetery and checked out the Kennedy Family grave site. We got to see the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's grave site as well as the famous eternal flame tomb of John and Jackie Kennedy.

We decided to cut the tour a bit short due to inclement weather so we hopped back on the bus and decided that some mall time was in order. As I mentioned earlier, the kids really wanted a chance to check out a mall so we headed to Pentagon City and allowed them to explore on their own for a bit. When we regrouped at the rendezvous point by Brookstone, Ms. Weida and I were found lounging in the massage seats in the Brookstone store, ready to pass out. After my failed attempts to convince students that they should invest in one of the $3,000 chairs for me for my birthday, we headed out again for Mt. Vernon, albeit one less knot in my back.

 
Off to Mt. Vernon we headed. The mall downtime allowed the students to dry off from the rain and roam around a bit so they were ready for the next adventure. The trip to Mt. Vernon was very enjoyable. While we waited in line to visit the Washington Mansion, we struck a conversation with a re-enacter from Scotland that provide good entertainment for about 10 minutes. For a minute, "Dr. John" thought that Princess Mae was a real Princess of Hawaii, so the kids had fun embellishing her back story a bit. They were also amused by the fact that the name of the bathroom was called the "necessary" so they kept saying it was necessary for them to use the necessary. Funny 8th grade humor. We were amazed to see the original bed that George Washington passed away in and the kids really felt connected to the history that they normally feel so detached from living in Hawaii.

We took some really great groups shot overlooking the foggy Potomac River, as students imagined the ships sailing up and down in the late 18th century. The entire Mt. Vernon property spanned over 660 acres. Over the land, there were small stables of sheep, oxen, and other livestock to recreate the look of the property when George was alive. We headed down the property and caught a glimpse of the Washington Tomb, where both George and his wife Martha's bodies lie in marble sarcophagi. Knowing that the body of the First President and arguably the Father of the United States lie a mere feet away from again gave students a personal connection that no textbook could ever evoked.

We headed into the Visitor/Learning Center where we walked through a hands-on museum that display many of the relics left behind by the Washington Family, including silverware, plateware, war outfits, swords, guns, etc. Before we left at closing time, we caught short movie in the mini-theater that was multi-sensory: rumbling seats, flashing lights, and faux snow falling from the ceiling to recreate Washington's crossing of the Delaware which ultimately led to his victory in forcing General Cornwallis of the British Army to surrender at Yorktown. We checked out the gift shop for a brief moment, and were ready to go eat dinner at Chevy's.

On the way to Chevy's, Ms. Inouye had students share questions that they created while touring Mt. Vernon. These questions were expected to be well-developed, higher-level of thinking questions and the students met the challenge. Both Dillon and Nicole answered the questions correctly and received Confederate and Union dollars!

At Chevy's, I received a pleasant surprise visit from my Aunt Esmeralda, Uncle Phil and little cousin Phil Jr. I had no idea that they were going to be there so it was nice to catch up over the buffet-style dinner. The kids happily chowed down and got to warm up before the night ghost tours in Old Alexandria. Once again, the staff at Chevy's raved about our students' behaviors and manners--upon hearing this, the advisors were glowing with pride. Our students never disappoint us and are first-class acts!!

The ride to the Alexandria proved to be the most entertaining part of the day and goes down as the Ultimate Dance-Off in Civic Club history. After a late start in the morning which was completely innocent, Dillon, Triston, and Peter each had to perform a song to sing. Triston started off with a heartfelt performance of "My Girl", though he didn't recall most of the lyrics. Still, when the chorus came back around, he was on point and the kids applauded his efforts and sang backup vocals.

Peter came on the mike and started off a bit bashful, but once he heard the opening chord of "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams, he showed off his incendiary air-guitar skills which left the crowd begging for more, all the while wearing his hood completely covering his face. Let me tell you, this boy has a future in rock and roll. 

However, despite these two valiant performances, the limelight was stolen by Dillon, who did not seem to want to relinquish it anytime soon. We thought that "Fill Me Up Buttercup" would be a challenge for Dillon but once he heard the opening riff, he completely phased the crowd with his electric dances moves. The Cabbage Patch, the Lawn Mover, the Sprinkler, the Bus Driver. This kid was moving like John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever"!!! The crowd went completely wild and we all were pleased with the finale. When asked what he thought about his brother's performance, Triston replied, "He does that all the time." I guess practice does make perfect.

For anyone who was starting to become weary from the day's travel, the dance-off completely recharged their spirits and motivation to finish up with the Ghost Tours. We met up with our tour guides in the town square and split off into two groups and the fun began.

One thing I've learned since I began teaching is that middle school students, particularly from Hawaii, are very superstitious. As the our story tellers led us throughout the small colonial town, they captivated the students by telling tales of wandering lost souls of former Revolutionary soldiers and travelers. In one group, students were clinging to Ms. Skedeleski, bracing for the 'BOO' at the end of the story. The re-enacters looked like they were plucked out of the late 1700's, dressed in colonial garments from head to toe.

When we got back on the bus, even Ms. Skedeleski began speculating why people lived in Alexandria if it was so haunted. It was a classic time to see kids on their toes, in a good way. =)

Before we loaded on the bus, we gave them the chance to stop at the old-school candy shop since they were so well-behaved throughout the entire day and were such good sports about the weather.

At some point, I will have to perform my song for being late on the bus (blogging late-night does have it's downsides), so I promised the students that when I do perform a song, it will be the greatest rock and roll bus concert they will ever witness. Just ask last year's Civic Club students about my Bohemian Rhapsody solo. Epic.

Tomorrow is lining up to be another bustling day. We are going to visit the National Archives, then at 11:00, we'll meet up with Congresswoman Hirono for a meet-and-greet, followed by a tour of the Capitol, my personal favorite part of the whole D.C. experience! After the Capitol, we are NYC-bound and if all works out, we'll have enough time to go to the Observatory Deck of the Empire State Building for a breathless view of Manhattan. It just keeps getting better and better for these kids, and they are taking it all in with open, eager minds.

Next post will be live out of Manhattan! Until then, aloooooha!

Over and out.