Day 7: National Archives

National Archives

Sculpture in Sculpture Garden

We went to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. The documents where in a dark room to protect the ink so it wouldn't fade. You also couldn't take pics with flash because that would also harm the ink. The guard sent 3 rows of people up in the room, because there only could be 100 people in the room. We also went to the Sculpture Garden in Washington DC and there was awesome sculptures. It was amazing how they built those beautiful sculptures. We had a very fun day on July 14, 2009.

Day 6: Not here

I wasn't there because I was Sleeping

Day 5: Memorials

We visited the memorials and it was uhhhh...very...FUN...if your into walking a lot and learning about history and all that good stuff so here are the memorials we visited:

WWII Memorial

WWII Memorial

This is a memorial for people who lost their lives in world war II. There are pillars for each state and there are two sections Atlantic and Pacific. There are many quotes--some include:

D-day June 6, 1944

You are about to embark upon the

Great crusade toward

Which we have stricken these many months the eyes of

the world are upon you...

Have fulfill confidence in your courage, devotion,

and skill in battle -- General Dwight D. Eisenhower

VIETNAM MEMORIAL

Vietnam War Memorial

Vietnam is a country south of China. North Vietnam was communist and invaded South Vietnam and the US supported them. This started the Vietnam War. When we 1st saw the wall of names I immediately was grief stricken as I saw all the names of people who died in the war. My heart ached for all the people who died and also for their families. I saw multiple flowers and flags in honor of the people who lost their lives.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL

Lincoln Memorial

We found out Lincoln he is sitting like that because he wanted to see how America looked when the war ended but unfortunately he was assassinated. When you walk up the stairs and in the place you see an enormous statue of Lincoln and above him you see a quote that goes a little something like this:

IN THIS TEMPLE

AS IN HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE

FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION

THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

IS FURNISHED FOREVER

There is also quotes all over the place from Abraham Lincoln, it is all very cool.

The memorials are very interesting and wear your walking shoes because there is A LOT of walking and bring tissues because you might cry seeing all the names of the people who died in war.

Day 4: A Visit to the National Zoo

Uhhh... the national zoo was a very stinky place filled with animals. We went on July 9, 2009. That sounds bad but it was actually pretty fun. I really liked the 1st animal we saw and it was a Sloth Bear. The Bear was huge and the bear was located on the Asia Trail Exhibit. We went into the Elephant house and it was so smelly that nobody could really breathe...but I liked to see the Hippos.

We saw the Orangtan and they were climbing very high, because they like to climb a lot. We also saw a Red Panda and the panda was really small and cute. I thought it would be big like an actual Panda but it wasn't. We saw a clouded leopard too and this was an interesting animal... but it was sleeping and wasn't very active.

At the Small Mammal House we saw a Collard Peccary it really looked similar to a pig as you can see above in the picture...but it wasn't. Overall the National Zoo can be a fun place but you have to close your nose in certain places.

Day 3: Tour of the Capitol Building

The Capitol Building is a very interesting, beautiful place and we went there on July 8, 2009. They constructed the first part of the Capital Building in 1798 or the early 1800's. The House of Representatives and The senate reside in the Capital Building. The House of Representatives has 435 people in it.

The Judicial Branch is across the street and was once located in The Capitol Building. There is a dome on top of The Capitol Building. The dome is a big open space and is beautifully designed. The paintings in the dome were all painted by the same man. Some funerals were held in the dome such as JFK's, Abraham Lincoln's, and Rosa Parks.

There is a Statue of freedom on the top of the dome and the statue was constructed with the help of a slave. We also went on a tour and before the tour we watched a movie about how The Capitol Building came to be.

The 1st Capitol Building got burned down 2 years after the war of 1812 by British soldiers. During the tour we saw The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, who is third in line to presidency. We also went into the House Gallery where they debate. When we went in there we had to be very quiet and couldn't applause so we could respect them.

It was all very interesting. They also fought over George Washington's remains for over 30 years after he died. They wanted to bury him under The Capitol Building and he wanted to be buried at Mount Vernon beside his wife. He also didn't want to be treated like a king or monarchy, because it would lead America back to the Revolutionary War.

If you have ever been there you know how gorgeous it is but if have not you should definitely visit to see this extremely beautiful building.

Day 2: My visit to Arlington Cemetary

Arlington Cemetary is dedicated to soldiers who lost their lives due to war. Arlington Cemetary is a very sad, quiet , and calm place filled with thousands of deceased war soldiers that did important things in wars. We visited the cemetary on July 7, 2009.

Robert E. Lee's house is still there, looking as beautiful as ever. We also saw a fountain with words over it explaining more of the beautiful things the army has done.

We also noticed all the tomb stones were the same color. A lot of the tombstones were little and only some were big and a lot of the big ones had only names and no dates.

A little history of Arlington Cemetary is that Robert E. Lee lived there and a general from the north said,"I'm going to bury all the bodies on your land, because you did this and we want you to feel ashamed." The name came to be Arlington because that is what Lee named his house.

The Cemetary was established after the Civil War. We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb was established to honor an unknown soldiers who died during the line of duty, hence the name.

There were two guards and a commander giving commands. We noticed the 2 two guards were moving at the exact same time and showed no emotion.

The commander and one guard left leaving only one, this process is called the changing of the guards. Everyone was also quiet out of respect for the unkinown soldier.

If you don't respect the army you should visit Arlington Cemetary to find out what these people who lost there lives for you did. It is a very historical place to honor anyone who died in the line of duty.

Day 1: A day in Old Town

Some town houses

On July 6, 2009 I went walking in old town with my super summer group to show us how the field trips for the next two weeks are gonna feel.

During Our Trip we discovered:

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  Old Town was founded before the United States was.


• 
  
  The houses are very expensive.


• 
  
  Most houses are connected meaning they're townhouses.


• 
  
  Some of the buildings in Old Town were there before Old Town was founded.


• 
  
  We also went to the Alexandria Library and it was founded in 1794.


• 
  
  Alexandria Library is on Queen Street and it is also a memorial dedicated to Kate Waller Barrett and that is why it is calles the Barrett Library.


• 
  
  We found a very unique church that also had a cemetary, the church was called Christ Church. George Washington went there.


• 
  
  President Lincoln sent soldiers to occupy the area which was in the graveyard and the soldiers had very little respect for the Confederacy so the slept on the tombstones, stole them, and wrecked them.


• 
  
  The Graveyard was als0 founded before the United States was.


• 
  
  We also went to Lord Fairfax if you recognize that Fairfax County was named after him.


• 
  
  We also visited Geroge Washington's house in Old Town and he did business in that house.


• 
  
  The last placed we visted was Gadsby's Tavern and we visited the ice well.


• The Ice Well held the ice for drinks and meat. Gadsby's Tavern was used as a place for MEN to do business. The women could only go there for dances.

Old Town was a very interesting place and if you haven't been to this historical place then you should definitely consider it as a place to visit or even--live.