Day 12: Home Sweet Home

Today we made the last stretch home from St. Louis to Tyndall. The trip was very interesting, educational, and fun. I would like to thank Steve Crawford and my cousin Erin for putting together a very memorable trip. Mom and I made some new friends that we plan on meeting again at Czech Days. Now it is time to relax for this last week of summer vacation. I better start saving my money to go on a trip again next year. ~David

Day 11: St. Louis, MO

Today is our last day before we get back home. We started off by going to Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) where we ate breakfast and had a tour of the barns where the horses are stored and a tour of the museum. We even got to see some of the horses and their trainers warm up on the track. Our tour guide at the track was from the Tabor/Yankton, SD area, I couldn't believe that! After we got done at the track we headed our way to St. Louis. We headed straight for the Gateway Arch (aka Jefferson National Expansion Memorial). When we got there Mom and I headed straight for the elevator to head to the top. The elevator (they called it a pod) could only fit 5 people! It wasn't tall enough for me, so I had to lean forward most of the time. Then we headed to the hotel.

Churchill Downs entrance

The track with horses coming in the distance

The Gateway Arch

Busch Stadium (home of the St. Louis Cardinals) from the top
of the arch

The shadow of the arch in the Mississippi River

Tomorrow we head for home! I'm ready to be home and sleep in my own bed. ~David

Day 10: Louisville, KY

Today we really didn't do much but sit on the bus and get closer to home! We started off later than expected because the bus was getting the air conditioner fixed. At least we got to sleep in a little later today! We stopped in Beckley, West Virginia for lunch, then made our way to Louisville. Right as we stepped in the hotel it started to pour. After we got checked in our friends (my aunt Diane's sister Amy and her family) came and picked us up to go out for supper at Mimi's Cafe.
Tomorrow we start of early as we head to Churchill Downs (the Kentucky Derby site) to tour the track and have breakfast. Then we make our way to St. Louis, MO.~David

Day 9: Roanoke, VA

Today we started out by going to Monticello, the plantation where President Thomas Jefferson lived. The house was very high detailed. After we toured the house Mom and I walked down to where Jefferson was buried. Then we met back up with Grandma and headed to go eat at the cafe on the plantation. We then headed towards Appomattox courthouse. While driving there our bus's air conditioner wasn't working, so our bus headed to the hotel while the other bus stopped at Appomattox.

Monticello Plantation

The kitchen in Thomas Jefferson's home

the tomb of Thomas Jefferson

A hummingbird I seen at the plantation

Tomorrow we get even closer to home. We end up in Louisville, KY. When we get there we are going to go out for supper with some friends from the area.~David

Day 8: Richmond, VA

Yesterday we left Ocean City and started our way to Richmond, VA. About an hour into the journey we crossed the 23 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge- Tunnel. I thought it would be scary but it actually wasn't! After we got back onto land we stopped in Norfolk, Virginia for a tour of the Norfolk Naval Base, the largest base in the United States. I learned that it takes 3 years to re-fuel a ship and it can last 25 years without re-fueling. After that we toured the Nauticus War Museum and we got to tour the USS Wisconsin. After all that sightseeing in Norfolk we headed our way to Richmond. We got to our hotel and then went out for supper at Applebees.

Going into a tunnel on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Tunnel

Norfolk Naval Base

The USS Wisconsin

Today we are touring Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house and Appomatox Courthouse. ~David

Day 7: Ocean City, MD

Yesterday we started our way back to home. I would have updated last night but I didn't have any internet. First we started out by touring Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. Most of the stuff there is still the original stuff from when Washington lived there. After the tour we moved our way to Annapolis, MD where we ate lunch. Then we made our way to the Atlantic Ocean. When we did get to Ocean City we headed straight to the beach to ride the waves. After we rode the waves we ate at a buffet called Paul Reveres Smorgasbord, it was very good!!

Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home

Jon, Erin, and I in the Atlantic Ocean

The sunset from our motel

Today we are headed to the Naval Base in Norfolk, VA. Then to Richmond, VA for the night.~David

Day 6: Last Day in DC

Today is our last full day in the nation's capitol. I can't believe this trip if half way over already. We used our hop on/hop off buses again today. This morning our buses took us to tour the U.S. Capitol building. After that tour we were on our own to get to the Holocaust Memorial Museum for a group tour. It was a very quit and touching place to be. I don't have any pictures of that because you couldn't use cameras. I can officially say I worked for the U.S. Government today! At the Holocaust museum Erin volunteered 4 people from our group to help hand stuff out as the rest walked in. Sadly I didn't get paid. After we that we were on our own. Our little group decided to tour Ford's Theatre, the place where President Lincoln was shot. After we got in we figured our that the only original thing was the front wall. The rest was a replica. The reason it is a replica is because a month after Lincoln was shot, the theatre changed into an office building. Then the park service changed it back into a theatre that looks exactly like the original. After the theatre we headed to Union Station, one of the largest train stations in the world. It is almost like a mall. I got the best Danish pastry there! After Union Station we headed back to the hotel. We were going to use the bus service, but that would have taken about an hour. So I thought of the idea to take a taxi back to the hotel and we got there in about 15 minutes! When we got back to the hotel we ate, then Mom and I walked to the White House to take a night photo.

U.S. Capitol Building

The Presidential Box where Abraham Lincoln was shot

Union Station

Inside Union Station

night picture of the South side of the White House

night picture of the North side of the White House

Tomorrow we leave DC and head for Ocean City, Maryland, and on our way we stop a Mt. Vernon, George Washington's house. ~David

Day 5: Washington DC

Today we used the hop on, hop off bus service. We were sightseeing from 9 am to 6 pm. I'm glad we did that because we seen a lot of stuff without much walking. I was the tour guide for our little group. First we made our way to the Arlington Nation Cemetery. The thing is huge!! We got on a tour bus there and toured most of the cemetery. We started off by stopping at the Kennedy's grave-sites. After that we went to the Tomb of the Unkown Soldiers. We even got to see the changing of the guards ceremony. After the cemetery we went to the Jefferson Memorial and the Franklin Roosevelt memorial.

The eternal flame at the JFK grave site

John F. Kennedy's grave site

Some of the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery

The Changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson in the memorial

Franklin Roosevelt in his wheelchair

Franklin Roosevelt with his dog

Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot

Tomorrow we tour the Capitol and the Holocaust Museum, then we are on our own for the rest of the day. ~David

Group Photo

Here is a group picture we took in Pennsylvania. The landscape was so nice in the background. We are standing where a hotel used to stand.

Our group of 112 People

Day 4: Washington DC

Today we started touring the city of Washington. We started the day by visiting the White House Visitors Center. Then moved on to the White House, we couldn't take pictures of the inside but we could on the outside. We all got in without any problems with security! After the White House the bus picked up people to go to the Washington Monument, we decided to walk. The view from the top of the Washington Monument was spectacular! Then we went on our own to see all the memorials in the mall. We made it to the Lincoln Memorial, WW11 Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. Tomorrow we will take in the rest.

Me in front of the White House

The south side of the White House

The Washington Monument

The Capitol and mall for the top of
the Washington Monument

The White House from the Monument

The World War II Memorial- my grandpa is going on the
Honor Flight to this Memorial

Another angle of the WWII Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

Abraham Lincoln in the Memorial

The Vietnam War Memorial Wall

The Korean War Memorial

The Honeymooners aka Erin and Jon. They took all 110
of us on their honeymoon!

We are off to a night tour of DC, then tomorrow we will use a hop on, hop off bus service to see the sights in DC. ~David

Day 3: Washington DC

Today we made our way to the Nation's Capitol! We started out by stopping at the Flight 93 Temporary Memorial. This is the place where the hijacked United Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001. The hijacked plane was upside down when it crashed and when it did crashed investigators found pieces of the aircraft 40 feet in the ground. After we stopped at the memorial we headed our way down country roads towards Bedford, PA for lunch. After lunch we made our way to DC.

The flag represents the final resting place for the 40 passengers
the died on Flight 93

The area where construction has started for the permanent memorial

A Scenic lookout in Pennsylvania where we decided to take a group picture

Our hotel in Washington DC, The Washington Plaza Hotel.
(its 5 blocks from where the President lives!!)

Tomorrow we tour the White House and the memorials. From Washington DC ~David.

Day 2: Pittsburgh

Today was another day of traveling. We managed to be in four states today. We started off in Illinois, then to Indiana, then Ohio, and ending in Pennsylvania. I think that is the most states I have ever been in, in one day. We made a short stop in South Bend, Indiana to see Touchdown Jesus at the University of Notre Dame. For lunch we stopped in Toledo, Ohio. After that we were on the last stretch to Pittsburgh. When we got to Pittsburgh the bus dropped us off at PNC Park to watch the Pirates battle the Rockies. The pirates ended up winning 5-1. I am at the hotel now getting ready to go to sleep.

Touchdown Jesus at the University of Notre Dame

Pittsburgh Pirates stadium (PNC Park)

PNC Park in Pittsburgh

Downtown Pittsburgh from the deck of PNC Park

Tomorrow we are off to Washington DC. I will update tomorrow night again. ~David