DC Trip

This year, CC's 7th grade class took an overnight field trip to Washington, DC. I chaperoned, so we were together for all the adventures, and it was really fun! 

The itinerary kept us busy, but we also saw things I'd never seen before in my multiple trips to DC. We did some museums: the African-American History Museum, where the kids took a fun and interesting step class, and the Natural History Museum. But we also visited Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and had a tour of the FDR, Jefferson, and MLK Jr Monuments, as well as the Vietnam, WWI and Korean War Memorials. We walked by the White House for some pictures, but we didn't get to go inside.

Much like last year's trip to Atlanta, CC had a hard time managing her friendships 24-7 for multiple days without much sleep. I think she's a bit introverted in that way. At one point, I took her to the Museum of American History by herself, just to get a little break. It worked wonders, and she was back to her old self by the time we reunited with the group.

When we visited the Vietnam Memorial, I showed the kids how to find a specific person. We used the name of my dad's good friend, Richard Lanctot, and the kids looked him up in the directory, identified his panel and line, and found his name on the wall. It was a good lesson for them, and sobering for CC to think about the war in such personal terms.

Our last night, we took a dinner cruise on the Potomac. The kids had a great time dancing to the blasting music, singing their hearts out to Taylor Swift songs. The adults enjoyed relaxing for the first time on the trip, and watching the gorgeous sunset!

Our final stop the next morning was the Holocaust Museum. We gave the kids a stern talking-to about behavior before we went in, and they were appropriately respectful. But CC took one step into the first exhibit space, teared up, and said, "I don't want to be here, Mommy!" It led to a good conversation about why it's important to remember events like the Holocaust. But I was surprised that at 12, CC was already so affected by it. I visited that museum in college, and remember it as being a mostly factual experience, not emotional.

Then we headed back home. They were tired (and a little irritable) but mostly quiet. It was a good trip, with a mix of fun and educational experiences. I liked that we had a few hours of free time on the mall to visit whatever museums we wanted to (although unfortunately both the National Archives and the Air & Space Museum had lines that were too long).

Bonus: the cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom! I'd never been to DC to see the famous trees in bloom, but they were beautiful, and we were blessed with gorgeous weather.