A Trip I'll Never Forget: My Scholarship-Funded Washington, D.C. Trip
Josie — North Dakota
Thank you so much for the scholarship, and for making it possible for me to go on this awesome trip! I had the best time ever, and it was so cool and informative to see all the historic sights.
Day 1: Hitting the Road to Williamsburg
For Day 1 it was a lot of traveling, and it felt like a very long day leaving so early in the morning. It was a lot of time spent on the bus going to Williamsburg, VA, but it was so fun because of our bus driver and tour guide, who were so great and always kept the energy up. The first thing we did was go out to eat, and it was a really good meal. I got a burger, and it was delicious! While we were there, our tour guide showed us an app called PhotoCircle where we could all upload pictures, so we had a ton of them in the end.
After supper we went to a mock trial at Colonial Williamsburg, where we got to take part in a real-life trial of whether the person was guilty or not guilty. It was really fun, and really cool to watch. After that we got to talk to the cast and take pictures with them, then we went to our hotel and spent our first night there. The second day we got up early, got breakfast — which was amazing — then started our day. We first went to the Jamestown settlement tour, and it was really cool to see all the houses set up and the boats at the dock. We got to learn techniques like how to tie a knot and how to make needles, and what it would be like to live there. It was a really cool experience, and our tour guide there was really nice. After that we went to Yorktown and the American Revolution Museum. It was a really cool place to see, and we also got to watch them set off a cannon. It was a hot day, but it was really fun. Walking around Yorktown was really cool, and there were a lot of people dressed up making sure it was all in order. In the museum there was a movie spot where the lights would light up to the action on the screen. It was really cool and fun to see. We visited the gift shops, then got back on the bus to head back to Washington, D.C.
Day 2: A Ghost Tour
On the second day we had a different bus driver, and he was amazing and always pumped everybody up. Once we got back to Washington, D.C. we went to a pizza place for supper, and it was really good. We then got ready for the ghost tour. You could either choose the funny/scary one or the really scary one. My friends and I went on the really scary one, and at first it was okay, but eventually it got to be a lot.
Day 3: Arlington, the Holocaust Museum, and Memorials
Moving on to the third day, we started by going to Arlington National Cemetery, which was really sad but also really cool to see. We got to learn how the marking at the top of each gravestone showed what that person believed in. Most of them were crosses for Christianity, but there were a lot of others too. While we were there we saw the changing of the guard, which was cool. We also saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Iwo Jima Memorial. After that we went to the place I was most looking forward to, which was the Holocaust Museum. It was a really powerful but sad place. There were shoes piled up, hair that had been cut off the victims, and pictures of people either in gas chambers or on the way to them. It was very sad, and at the end of the museum two Holocaust survivors talked to us about their experience.
We then got a tour of the National Cathedral, and the stained glass was so beautiful. We visited Embassy Row, and then went to Ford's Theatre and the Petersen House. At Ford's Theatre, we were right behind it, in the same place where John Wilkes Booth ran out right after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. We ended the day with a lot of memorials, including the Vietnam, Lincoln, Korean, and WWII memorials. Visiting these memorials was really fun because our tour guide made scavenger hunts, and we got to explore them to find what we were looking for.
My favorite was the Vietnam Memorial, where my friends and I got to talk to a veteran who served in Vietnam. He was really nice, and we got to take a picture with him. At that memorial we laid down hair ties in honor of the women who served. It was really cool.
Day 4: The Capitol and Museums
Day 4 was another really good day. We made our way to the United States Capitol Building tour, where the tour guide led us through — it was a really cool experience. After that we went for a walk outside the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. We did a photo stop outside the White House, and we went to Lafayette Park. Then there was a choice of which museum to go to — either the natural history museum that had the Hope Diamond, or the aerospace museum. Most of the group went with the natural history museum, but I went to the aerospace museum with a smaller group. It was really cool, and I'm glad I went to it. We then went to some more memorials to end the day, and we went back to the hotel, which sadly was our last night.
Day 5: Mount Vernon, Old Town Alexandria, and Heading Home
On the last day we got going in the morning and headed to Mount Vernon, which was George Washington's mansion. We then ended at Old Town Alexandria, where we got to grab something to eat and go shopping. After that we headed to the airport, boarded our flight, and got home.
Looking Back
It was so much fun, and I'm so grateful for the scholarship. Thank you for making this experience so good. I wish I could go back again because I had a lot of fun. It felt like a short trip, but it was really fun.
Thank you to those who support these scholarships and make these incredible journeys possible. Your generosity is paving the way for the next generation of informed, confident, and inspired citizens.