The Petitts: April 2013

Day #4 Washington DC

Day 4--breakfast then loaded up luggage to come home.--yeah!! But before that, another long day of touring. On Thursday the 5th graders toured the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian, then to Mount Vernon, and finally the Capitol building! Paul loved the air and space museum but let's face it--by the end of the week, the kids were tired and nothing held their interest for long. At Mount Vernon they got to see the gardens, the places where they hung meat to dry, where the hay was stacked, and saw George Washington's tomb. There even was a wharf over the Potomac. Adam loved going to the capital b/c they got to wear headphones and listen to the tour. He especially liked the picture at the very top of the rotunda. At the end of the day, they had supper then settled in for a long night on the bus. They arrived back at school around 7:30 in the morning. I picked them up, brought them home, unpacked and started laundry. They were both asleep at 10am so I headed to school. All in all , a really busy trip with long days, but they both had a really good time. Paul just wished he had more time to actually read some of the stuff but they always seemed to be in a hurry and had to keep moving. Andrew will go in two more years--will Paul be ready?? I hope it's like childbirth--he will forget the pain and decide to do it all over again!!

President Adam Petitt

in front of George Wash. uniform

Mount Vernon

room where they hung meat to dry

George and Martha Washington tombs

Path to the gardens at Mt. Vernon

inside the hay barn

picture in rotunda

future congressmen--God help us!

Sharpe 5th grade class

Spirit of St Louis behind boys

Kitty Hawk

Day #3 at Washington DC

Wednesday was another day jam packed with excitement with 5th graders!!! they toured several things this day--Ford's theater where Lincoln was shot, the Pentagon, and Smithsonian--National History Museum. At Ford's theater nothing is original b/c the govt came and took everything out b/c they knew people would loot and take memorabilia, so this is a replica. At the Pentagon, they installed benches in honor of 9-11. On the benches are names--if you see a name at the end of a bench and as you are looking at it, if the sky is above you then the person died in the airplane in Pennsylvania. If you look at the name and see the Pentagon in the background, then the person died at the Pentagon. Lots of walking again . Here are a few pictures for you.

booth at Ford's theater

Bed where lincoln died

outside of Pentagon

Looking at benches

Day #2 Washinton DC

Now I may not have everything in exact chronological order, but you will get the jist of what they did. Tuesday morning they had to be up bright and early again, usually on the bus by 7am. This day they went to Arlington National Cemetery and then on to DC. While at Arlington 4 of the students got the honor of laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. They also saw the eternal flame at Kennedy's burial site. They also toured the National Cathedral and stood in front of the White House. There were snipers on the top which normally they are not there but since the Boston bombing, they were there. They also saw the Iwa Jima Memorial (spelled correct? who cares). That was probably one of my most memorable things that I remember along with the vietnam veteran wall. There was LOTS of walking--Paul said around 9 miles a day!! they also saw Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Monument, and a new one--the Martin Luther King memorial.

parents and teachers on bus #1

Adam at the Wall

Vietnam Veteran Wall with reflection of Wash Mon

Adam holding up Washington Monument

in front of Lincoln

tribute to Korean Conflict

Martin Luther King Memorial

Paul at MLK Memorial

Adam and Caleb acting goofy

At the FDR statue

Jefferson Monument

National Cathedral

inside National Cathedral

very ornate inside

inside National Cathedral

snipers on roof

Great pic in front of white house!

Iwa Jima tribute

tulips from Netherlands at Arlington

Peterson headstone

Eternal flame on JFK and Jackie O gravesites

Pettit tombstone--they spelled it wrong

Arlington overlooking Wash DC

Guard at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

changing of the guard

Arlington--fantastic view

Day #1 Washinton DC

Wow, what a trip Paul and Adam had to Washington DC with the 5th grade class!! They left Sharpe school at 5am and traveled allllll day. They stopped that Gettysburg and spent the night. On Monday morning they toured Gettysburg Battleground, visitor center and museum. Paul said they are trying to leave the area (abut 7-9 acres) exactly as it was back then--the open fields, rocky areas, etc. They told them about how the Union troops positioned themselves on top of the hill to have a better advantage and where a fence used to be that they hid behind and when the confederate soldiers were coming, they stood up and fired on them. Then in the afternoon, they headed to Philadelphia. They saw Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Constitution Center. They were in the EXACT room where the Declaration of Independence is signed and saw the actual chair that George Washington sat in when it was signed. In the pictures are life size statues of the signers of the Dec of Independence. Also there is a bust of Ben Franklin made of keys (key on string of kite...). Anyway, Ben franklin organized the first fire station b/c he owned an insurance company, and in order to protect that investment, he came up with the fire station. Unfortunately, the fire station got struck by lightning and burned down--quite a coincidence huh???