Heading Home!

Well our trip is coming to an end and we are all packing and maybe a little sleep before our wakeup call at 4:45AM! We are all looking forward to coming home. There won't be any pictures / stories from today as I'm packing and am going to try to get my three hours of sleep.

I do put a disclaimer on the spelling of any previous post. I am doing these at 1:00 at night and I can't always see straight when I'm going these. I will go back and fix the minor mistakes. I am aware there are a couple.

So off to the airport we go in a few hours! We look forward to seeing everybody at the airport tomorrow evening!

Day 6 in Washington, D.C.

Looks like we may have brought some of the New York rain with us! It wasn't that bad, just a little drizzle in the morning but it was enough to worry us. We started off with a good hike in Arlington National Cemetery. Starting with the Kennedy Grave site. The normal eternal flame is out of commission right now so there was a backup one working. Along with JFK is his wife and two babies that are buried with them. Near JFK's grave are his brothers.

After the Kennedy Grave site we went up to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We watched as the soldiers kept in perfect unison and time. They looked and acted like robots. After we saw a wreath laying, we went off to the side to talk about the memorial. We happened to luck out and two of the Unknown Soldier Guards were walking around. They came close and talked to our group about being an Unknown Soldier Guard. They debunked some myths from a popular email that is incorrect about how to become a Unknown Soldier Guard.

On our way out we did go to the newest portion of the cemetery. We got to see where they are burying those who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan. There were people in the cemetery visiting loved ones graves. We did have some brave girls that went and offered their condolences. One man was there visiting his daughter who died in Iraq five years ago today. So on the anniversary he comes to pay his respects. He did talk to us for a bit and talked a little about his daughter. It was nice, yet hard to talk to him as you could tell he was still in a lot of pain.

Lots of these graves in this portion of the cemetery have pictures on the backs of the tombstone. Seeing the pictures of them with their families really brings it home and is very emotional to see. Talking to some of the kids it was pointed out that some of these soldiers who died were less than ten years older than they are. Like at other very respectful places, the kids from Kualapu'u did an amazing job. I saw a great maturity from some of them having thoughtful conversations with strangers asking them intelligent questions and showing remorse for their situations. Great job ladies.

John F. Kennedy's grave

Eternal flame for John F. Kennedy

Kennedy family gravesite

Robert F. Kennedy

Kualapu'u front and center for the changing of the guard ceremony

T.J. and Zahya in front of the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier

Ladies with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier walk

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Meeting two of the Tomb of the Unknown Solders Guards

Guard

Group photo with the Unknown Soldier guards.

Iraq and Afghanistan War graves

New graves

After Arlington it was off to the National Cathedral. This is the sixth largest cathedral in the entire world! The architecture was absolutely stunning. Every tiny detail so carefully planned out and done by hand is simply amazing. We got to go downstairs to the crypt where Helen Keller is buried along with her teacher. Fun fact about the cathedral, outside there is a grotesque up high that is of Darth Vader. Pretty cool.

T.C. and Reaiah

Crypt at National Cathedral

Zahya and Mrs. Trinidad at the area where Helen Keller is buried

Kaluhea and Marlina with the Hawaiian flag 

After the National Cathedral was the Holocaust Museum. This was a heavy museum. I heard lots of great questions coming from the kids about what they saw and what they wondered. Lots of questions which is a good thing. As the children get older they will learn more about it and understand the Holocaust better. This was a great museum for them to see. It really opened their eyes. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed in there so no pictures for this.

Of course there was a dinner for the day. This time we ate at Pizzaria Uno. No cheeseburgers here but plenty of pizza. Smiling faces were abound!

Rista at Martin Luther King JR.

We finished up the evening with a tour of more memorials. We started off at the Martin Luther King JR. statue. We then walked around the Tidal Basin over to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson memorial. Just like in the morning it started to rain. Good thing we are used to it.

Boys with Martin Luther King JR.

Aukai and T.J. with the Jefferson Memorial in the background

Martin Luther King JR.

Roosevelt Memorial

Zahya listening to fancy music.

Ladies in line like they are in the Great Depression

Kualapu'u kids with F.D.R.

Evelyn and Makani at F.D.R. 

Evarista at the F.D.R. Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Kaua with Thomas Jefferson

Washington Monument with the White House hidden 

We are rapidly approaching the end of our whirlwind trip! One more full day of touring and then we fly home! Amazing how fast this trip is going. Off to Mt. Vernon, the White House, Ford's Theater and more tomorrow. Should be another great day!

Day 5 Philly and Washington, D.C.

We're still motoring along on the East Coast! Running on four or five hours of sleep a night we are charging hard and taking everything in. This morning found us yet in another hotel. By the evening, we would be in a different one. But that is okay, we are seeing and learning so much in between all the city and hotel transfers.

So day five welcomes us to the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We started off meeting our tour guide in Philly, Murray. Murray was a terrific ambassador of Philadelphia. He dressed in colonial gear and shared a wealth of knowledge with us.

We started off at the Pennsylvania State House, more commonly known as Independence Hall. We were the first tour of the day. Found out that in the afternoon, the King and Queen of Finland would be going there. We started off in an introductory room where the Park Ranger called up Tekoa and asked him some questions about the Declaration of Independence. Tekoa did a great job and answered with thoughtful answers. We then went to the two rooms, the courtroom, and the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the Constitution was signed.

Our guide Murray

Independence Hall

No, he wasn't in trouble. Just talking about the Declaration of Independence.

Kekumu, Tekoa, Kaua, and Gavin in the room where the Declaration was debated and signed

Kualapu'u in the room where the Declaration of Independence was debated and signed

Zahya in the Senate Secretary's Office

After Independence Hall, we traveled over to see the Liberty Bell. Pretty neat seeing it n real life when we see it in so many other things. After the Liberty Bell it was off to see Benjamin Franklin's grave and  the Betsy Ross House. We even got to meet Betsy and she showed us a trick to cut a five point star with just a couple of folds and one little snip of the scissors.

Aukai and Makani with the Liberty Bell

Keahe with the Liberty Bell

Kualapu'u with the Liberty Bell

Kualapu'u with Independence Hall 

Looking at Benjamin Franklin's grave

Aukai and Zahya with Ben's grave
Notice all the pennies even the Ben said, "A penny saved is a penny earned"

Betsy showing Aukai and Kaluhea her flag

13 stars and 13 stripes

Betsy just showed us how to make a five pointed star 

To wrap up our morning in Philadelphia we were going to go run the Rocky Steps. But we were Rocky Blocked! A few colleges were having their graduates get big group pictures taken on the steps and the steps were closed to running. But we were able to get pictures with the Rocky statue and tears were averted.

Rocky!

Mother vs. Daughter. Who wins??????!!!!!!

Rocky resembling Zahya

Love Park in Philadelphia

Love Park

Finishing our time in Philly, we went to Ralph and Rickey's for our cheesesteaks. Our driver George was recommending this place real hard so we went with the local to try out these cheesesteaks. They did not disappoint. Huge sandwiches filled with meat, cheese, and onions. It was also Ralph's birthday and we knew this ahead of time. We all sang him happy birthday and as a gift, the ladies in Immersion shared their hula from May Day. Then, the girls that participated in the sixth grade hula shared theirs. The ladies did an amazing job and all their practice showed. Ralph was extremely happy. Pretty good day in Philly.

Happy Birthday Hula

Immersion girls sharing their hula for a birthday gift

Great job ladies!

Thanks Ralph and Rickey

Off to Washington, D.C. we went. The drive took longer than expected due to some terrific Friday traffic. We got in a little later than we would've liked so we didn't get much time at the Natural History Museum. But, bones, stones, and gems were all seen.

Hope Diamond

Triceritops

Courtney needs more bling she says

Mrs. Trinidad with Alia Marie, Crystal, and Courtney with her new favorite pose

Dinner time was at Boston Market where cheeseburgers were not on the menu. Kids didn't seem to mind. Big portions of chicken, turkey, or meatloaf with sides were available. Food was pretty good.

Boston Market 

Chicken, Turkey, or Meatloaf

After dinner we went and saw a few memorials. We walked by the Lincoln, came back to it later, saw the Vietnam Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. Kids were doing a great job of answering questions about the different memorials and the people involved. We have a smart bunch of kids.

Lincoln Memorial

Kualapu'u women at the Vietnam Women's Memorial

Vietnam Memorial with the Washington Monument peaking up behind 

Kaluhea reading some names on the wall

Vietnam War Memorial

Courtney, Crystal, Alia Marie, and Kaulu thanking a Vietnam Vet at the memorial

Courtney, Makani, Reaiah, Shayland, Zahya, and Violet at the Three Soldiers Statue at the Vietnam Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Kekumu and Lindy with Lincoln

Kaluhea, Keahe, and Shayland with Honest Abe

Alia Marie, Kaulu, and Crystal with Lincoln

Says it all

Korean War Memorial

Courtney at the Korean War Memorial

We wrap up this evening in College Park, Maryland. As we get ready for bed, there is lightning in the windows so we'll see what awaits us in the morning! Hope it isn't too bad of weather as we start our morning at Arlington National Cemetery. If the weather is yuck, good thing we have our umbrellas and ponchos that we had to get when we were in New York! See ya next time!