A Meeting with the Congresswoman...New York City Skyline

When I first began planning this trip, I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like:  take the club on it's first White House visit, seeing the famous nation-founding documents in the National Archives, experience the yearly Capitol tour and visit New York City. So far, all of these ambitions have came to fruition. However, today was a one part generosity, two parts hospitality and three parts Aloha!!

I knew today was going to be ambitious when everyone was up and at 'em on time and ready to roll. After a filling breakfast, we made our way to the National Archives to see our nation's Charters of Freedom! Luckily, we arrived at the National Archives about 30 minutes before it opened so we were right in front of the line. Once we got in, we were amazed by the incredible architecture inside. The kids were stoked to see the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other major handwritten documents of American antiquity. Ms. Inouye and I were completely floored when we started reading the original lines of the Declaration of Independence..."The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America..." For me, a childhood dream fulfilled, and for the kids, the beginning of their patriotic homage.

We had to hurry out of the Archives because the next visit was going to be a once-in-a-life-opportunity that even I didn't anticipate.

We arrived at the Capitol around 11:30am. We power-walked/jogged/trotted/horse-backed our way up the side pathway to meet the assistant to Congresswoman Mazie Hirono. Pat Okimoto was so helpful in orchestrating the White House tour as well as setting up the Capitol tour. Unbeknownst to us, we received admittance to the House Gallery to watch a live session of the House Chamber with Congresswoman Hirono presiding over the floor as the pro tempore! Democracy in motion!! After watching the brief debate between a Democrat and Republican House Rep on health care, we left the chamber only to be greeted by Congresswoman Hirono herself at the foot of the staircase!! From there, we were invited into the Speaker of the House's chamber to have a photo opp with Con. Hirono. Kawehi presented the Congresswoman with a lei and so began the photo ops with Mrs. Hirono.

The photo with the Congresswoman was a very rare opportunity that many other school groups from Hawaii do not have the fortune to experience. Congresswoman placed a request to the House Speaker Pelosi's office for this opportunity and the kids were so stoked! The picture tells a 1,000 words. We left the room and made our way outside to the steps leading up to the Capitol. There, Congresswoman engaged the students in an open forum where the kids asked questions about health care, education, and life working in the Capitol. She was totally receptive and did a wonderful job of

providing the hometown connection to the national limelight. I reveled in the moment for my students. =)

After several groups shots with our club banner, everyone was totally fulfilled with our time at the Capitol. I conveyed to the students that they experienced a most rare, incredible afternoon that many people would not have the chance to have. I could tell that they were very appreciative and exhilarated from the visit. Mission accomplished.

 After the Capitol visit, we had to hurry to the bus so we could make our way to New York. We pulled another Clark Kent/Superman in the bathroom and on our way we were.

Needless to say, everyone caught a second wind when we got back on the bus and headed towards NYC. The weather continued to be raining but everyone persevered. The bus ride was filling with sing-a-longs, snoring, and singing competitions. During a point where most of the students were sleeping, I busted out a mean air-guitar performance of "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey--just a tip of the iceberg of what's to come.

We made a stop along the New Jersey Turnpike for dinner and once the Empire State Building came into view, we blasted the Jay-Z song in victory.

New York, here we come.

 Over and out.