Tuesday, June 9

3 A.M., an ungodly hour, yet somehow, we managed to all be here as required. The wheels on the bus rolled out of the SMS blacktop at 3:45 as promised, said our prayers, and we were on our way. Ms. Hanson got to send us off along with our loved ones. Thank you for entrusting your children with me. We turned the lights on the bus off so we can get a quick shut-eye on the way to SFO. Once there, we got used to lots of waiting, but no matter, we were just happy to be among friends.

6:20 A.M. We board! Off we went, gratefully and uneventfully to Atlanta. Now the fun begins: once there, we set off to find lunch. When we returned, we found a delay instead. Thunderstorms plagued the northeast which meant a gate delay from  Reagan National. First it was 4:59, then  it was 6 P.M. ! 2 hours from our original departure time. We board the plane just in time to be asked to deplane for further delays. We sat patiently (really!) by the gate until we finally boarded a att 6:30 P.M. , still uncertain if we are actually going to get out of Atlanta. Hallelujah! We finally take off at 7:20 which meant that we weren't going to be in D.C. until 9 P.M., 3 hours from the original time we were to arrive. We get our bags, eat at Chipotle--a quick run through the line and we were on our way to Williamsburg, another 3 or so hours on the bus. Lots of whining at first, but the adults finally settled down (hahaha!).

1;50 A.M. (YES!) We finally got to our hotel, got our keys and got in our rooms. Some of us slept, some of us were just too excited. We will pay for it tomorrow. No matter: we were finally here!

Wednessday, June 10

8:30 We all had to have bags ready to go since we're going straight to DC after our Williamsburg-Jamestown stint. We all made it. Som e of us suffering the wear and tear of the flight and the lack of sleep last night, but we were there nonetheless.

9 A.M. Willliamsburg: we didn't know what to expect but we were all pleasantly surprised. Neat town with lots of historical significance. We really enjoyed the visit to the House of Burgesses in the Capitol where we learned about Colonial government. We role-played and saw what it might have been like to meet with fellow land-owners (White, male, of course! After all, it was the 1700s! )  We met lots of interesting folk like the silversmith, the peruke maker, the printing press  operator, and other townspeople. After lunch, we were off to Jamestown. Humid, humid, humid! We had great tour guides who took us through a Powhatan Village (think Pocahontas), the Susan Constance, one of the ships that the settlers came in, and the settlement itself. We learned about the setllers and the purpose of their journey into the new world. At around this time, we started to hear news from home about the shootings at the Holocaust Museum. Thankfully, we were 3 hours away from the tragedy and what must have been chaos at the museum and surrounding areas.

Dinner was at the College of William and  Mary campus:one of the oldest higher learning institution in the U.S. , second only to Harvard. . Then we were off to an amazing experience that we didn't expect at all. We were treated to a one-woman performance of a slave-woman storyteller. She was funny, inspirational, authentic, and engaging. Ask your child if he or she knows how to Juba this and Juba that. Juba skinned the yellow cat. I can't even begin to describe what emotions she brought to the surface for all. To top it off, ask Marisa Mangano to show you the video starring Mr. Ramirez himself ! A star is born, indeed! We said goodbye to Ol' Bessie and off we were to D.C. for the first time this whole trip--3 hours! We settled in, Kaitlin and roomies had a toilet incident, resulting in a little musical rooms, but all's well that ends well, as the bard said.

Thursday, June 12: Our first D.C. day started at the Hart Senate Building where Sen. Feinstein's office is located. We met with  her legislative aide who told us about all of the senator's responsibilities. Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet with the senator herself as she was busy with judiciary committee meetings and other things. On the way out of the building, we recognized a familiar face walking in: Sen. John Kerry himself. He greeted us cheerfully and even shook Al Garcia's hand!

Off we went to Arlington for our wreath laying, reverently and proudly represented by Brad Speno and McKenzie Lanier. We were very touched! We visited and prayed over the graves of the Kennedy brothers and recalled their contributions to our nation.

Lunch: off to the mall for an hour and then to the FDR memorial. Amazing place for an amazing man. Souvenir shopping was next followed by a 2-hour jaunt to Smithsonian Museums. Some of us went to the Air and Space, others to the Natural History, and others to the American History. We all felt that we didn't have enough time! There's so much to see! We hope to be able to return again on Saturday.

Dinner at Phillips' Seafood was next. On the waterfront, we ate buffet style right before our theatre production of Shear Madness. What a riot! It's a whoddunnit with audience participation where we get to vote on who's guilty. Ask Bas about his role in the play! Hilarious. We took on the night sky outside the Kennedy Center before we headed home for the evening. Who knows what tomorrow will bring at the Capitol, the mint, and the memorials. Stay tuned!