2025 is off and running! Udvar-Hazy and Williamsburg

It begins again! The 2025 edition of the Kualapuʻu East Coast Trip has begun. After traveling from Molokai to Maui. Some of us spending quite the afternoon at the Maui Airport. We all boarded a giant plane for the Mainland. We landed in Denver, Colorado at 6:30 AM Denver time. We had just about an hour layover before our next flight to Washington, DC. Our flight to DC was a 2 1/2 hour ride that I believe most of us were passed out on from exhaustion. We landed in Washington, DC just before 2:00 in the afternoon. 

We met our guide Aaron at baggage claim. I say it often and Iʻll say it again. We are so lucky to have Aaron as our guide. Heʻs been with Kualapuʻu since our first trip in 2007. His relationships that he makes with our kids and chaperones is excellent. He started right off where he left on in 2023, making great relationships with the new cast. Along with Aaron we have an employeeʻs son from Academic Expeditions joining us for most of our trip. His name is Joey and he joined right in and everybody is getting along great. 

"Playing the "Guess how you say my name game"

Our first stop of the trip was to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Smithsonian Museum. Conveniently located right next to Dulles Airport where we landed. Also the airport used in Die Hard 2 if anybody is interested in an awesome action movie.....

Before we explored the museum it was time to eat at Shake Shake in the museum. Shake Shack is a great burger place with lots of options. We had our fill of burgers, chicken burgers, fries and shakes. Not a bad start. Then we did a quick highlight tour of the museum. 

We started by checking out the Enola Gay B-29 Superfortress. This is the actual plane that dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first of two atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan that forced Japan to surrender, ultimately ending World War II. 

We then went over to see an SR71 Blackbird. It is the worlds fastest jet propelled aircraft. According to the Udvar-Hazy website, "This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.

Our final thing to see and talk about was the Space Shuttle, Discovery. Was super cool to see an actual Space Shuttle in real life. For the adults that grew up with Space Shuttles it was pretty neat. It is huge! We also learned its not so much like a plane but a glider. The wings are not shaped like and airplanes so it glided when it would come back to Earth and land. 

It was now time to head south to the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg. Our destination this evening was to Colonial Williamsburg to take part in a show called Revolutionary Points of View. We got to go into the Colonial Williamsburg Capitol building. No pics or videos allowed inside. 

The program consisted of each person taking the part of an actual person from the Colonial days and reading what they said. We were debating to be Loyalists and stay with England or be treasonous and try to break away from England. There were pros and cons for either. The kids did a great job of reading their parts as well did the chaperones. In the end the vote had to be unanimous if they were to send a delegate to Philadelphia to debate the idea of potentially breaking away from England. It was not unanimous, thanks Aaron, so we didnʻt send a delegate. In the real history it was unanimous and Virgina sent delegates to Philadelphia. 

If during the testimonial in our show you showed you agreed with the speaker by yelling, "huzzah!:

After the hour show we went to dinner at Blaze Pizza. Blaze Pizza was a hit last trip so we did it again. Again it was a great hit. At Blaze Pizza it is kind of like a Subway Sandwich shop. You choose what they put on it. Lots of great looking pizzas. Mostly by the adults cause most kids stuck with pepperoni and cheese but it was still super good and everybody left happy and full and a little extra pizza for later. 

A quick ten minute drive to our hotel and the day was almost complete. It wouldnʻt be complete without a little night swimming. Lucky for us the pool was open till 11:00 as we got to the hotel at 10:00. Kids swam from 40 minutes and are now bathing and relaxing and going to sleep. Tomorrow will be a full, complete day here in the Historic Triangle. We will explore all three; Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Then back up to DC for an evening of memorials. Great day. Weʻve got a great group of kids and adults.