Monday, 14th May

Today was another early morning for the GSE Team! By 6:30am we were on the road to Washington DC!!

Our first stop in Washington was meant to be a tour of the Capitol Building, but due to traffic delays on the way into the city we missed our time slot. So we decided to take a walking tour of DC instead.

Starting at the Capitol Building, we walked along Pennsylvania Avenue passing famous buildings such as the F.B.I Building, the National Archives, Federal Trade Commission and the Department of the Treasury, on the way to the White House (which was smaller than we had imagined!), home of President Bush, 43rd President of the US. After a few photos we made our way to the World War II Memorial featuring all 50 US States on pillars around a magnificent fountain. From there we walked alongside the famous Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. This marble statue immortalizes the 16th President of the United States known as the Great Emancipator and preserver of the nation during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln.

From there we walked through the West Potomac Park to view the Korean War Veterans Memorial which features many 'larger than life' soldier statues walking through a battlefield. 17 South Africans died in the Korean War and South Africa is mentioned at the memorial together with other countries that participated in the war. On the way to our next monument, we saw the Thomas Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin. Next stop was the Washington Monument, dedicated to the 'Father of the Country' and first US President, George Washington. This obelisk stands at 555 feet (we used this as our compass point throughout the city!) and is reflected in the aptly named Reflecting Pool (seen in the Forrest Gump movie).

We then made our way to the National Mall (not a shopping center) and the museums of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institution comprises 15 museums which all provide free entrance to the public and we saw many schools on field trips taking advantage of this incredible educational experience!! On the way to the museums we stopped for footlong hot dogs at a street vendor (for the diet!) and then decided to split up to attempt to take in as much as possible in the time that we had. We covered the Air and Space Museum, the National Archives (which house the original Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights in the Rotunda), Museum of American Indian and the Museum of Natural Hisotry. We saw some amazing exhibits, but it would take weeks (if not months) to truly do these museums justice!

It was then time to meet back at the bus and make our way back to Pennsylvania. On the way home we stopped at a restaurant called the 'Old Country Buffet' where we had an 'all-you-can' eat buffet.

This was a fantastic (if not exhausting!) day!! Thanks to the Rotary Club of Emmaus for organising the trip!!