The day started off nice and early with a 6:30 breakfast time. Today was going to be a long day of sightseeing and concerts and the kids came downstairs ready for day's events. Breakfast was a selection including French toast, pastries, bacon, scrambled eggs, a multi-colored assortment of potatoes and coffee/juices/milk.
We boarded the buses at 7:30 and made our ways to Arlington National Cemetery. DC traffic did not disappoint and a normally 45 minute drive became an hour and a half. It was a good time for the kids to nap and "gently" wake up into the day. The skies were blue and not a cloud in the sky could be seen but the temperature was quite brisk. We met up with our tour guides, bus 1 had Phil, and started our tour through the iconic memorial. Phil gave us some background about the cemetery and how a person can apply to be laid to rest in the cemetery. He also told us how the tombstones were categorized and uniformity of the etchings on the back and front of the markers.
Our first stop was the amphitheater where the VRHS Concert Choir sang our national anthem. The arced up on the dome covered stage and began singing. The experience was quite surreal as you could hear a bugle playing taps in the distance for a full Naval burial and the overall silence in the cemetery. Unfortunately, park rules state that groups cannot perform on stage and a guard waved down Miss Hilton in the final 16 measures of music. Miss Hilton "didn't see" the guard and continued on to the end of the piece. When she finally did see the guard, she explained to them that we had permission from the company we are touring with to do just the Star Spangled Banner. The guard apologized and thought we were doing a full concert and Miss Hilton assured him that it was not the case.
We walked a short distance to watch the 10:00 changing of the guard. Phi had told us that to be a part of this division of the Army is extremely prestigious and the training that goes into it, is intense. The precision of the rifle, steps and seconds paused had to be perfect. The changing of the guards was flawless and the guards were successfully switched. A changing of the wreaths occurred afterwards and was accompanied by the commanding officer, a bugler and the family/friends that dedicated the wreath. Taps was played, the wreaths exchanged and the ceremony was over.
99% of the group continued on to see the Kennedy Memorial where the Eternal Flame is located. Two Valley students have two relatives in the cemetery and we went on a mission to find their relatives' graves and pay their respects.
11:00 rolled around and it was time to continue our whirlwind tour through DC. We stopped off at the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Vietnam War Memorial (and it's surrounding statues). Since we were on a tight schedule, we pretty much had time to walk out to it, explore a little bit, take a couple of pictures and it was back to the buses.
By this time, it was 1:00 and we had walked nearly 4 miles, given a lot of great information and we were a bit hungry. Lunch was eaten at the Reagan Center. After standing in a pretty sizable security line, the students had a variety of choices in the food court area of the government office building. I think some of the students thought we were going to a traditional mall (or traditional by our students' standards) and expected some time to shop and visit stores. Unfortunately, this was not the case but this time spent at the Reagan Center was a good time to eat, decompress and relax before the rest of the day.
3:30 and it was back on the buses to the Naval Academy. Again, a 45 minute bus ride ended up taking 1.5 hours but we got there just in time to start walking through parts of the Naval Academy and towards the Navy Chapel. Upon entering the chapel, there was a sense of patriotism and awe. The chapel's pull-knob organ was the focus of the demonstration and the organist did not disappoint. He gave us some background on the instrument, played some examples and then played a mini-recital including pieces by Back (Toccata and Fugue), Stars and Stripes Forever by JP Sousa and the main theme from Harry Potter by John Williams. The sheer massiveness of the organ had us all shaking, literally and figuratively, in our seats. After the demonstration, the vocal groups from the various schools had the opportunity to sing, a cappella, in the acoustically rich chapel. The VR Madrigals took the stage and sang one of the songs there were performing for the competition. The resonance was incredible and the performance well-performed.
Dinner was a boxed meal prepared by the Naval Academy in a dry-dock building. After a short bit of downtime, it was time to head back to the chapel to hear the Naval Academy Women's Glee Choir perform. These women sang beautifully and the concert was incredible. 2 students from each respective choral program were nominated to sing God Bless American with the Navy Glee Choir and Miss Hilton nominated Indigo C. and Lily A. The concert concluded and it was time to head back for some much needed rest.
The students were in their rooms, given information for the next day and stayed in for the evening. Saturday is competition day and it is going to be a doozy.
We boarded the buses at 7:30 and made our ways to Arlington National Cemetery. DC traffic did not disappoint and a normally 45 minute drive became an hour and a half. It was a good time for the kids to nap and "gently" wake up into the day. The skies were blue and not a cloud in the sky could be seen but the temperature was quite brisk. We met up with our tour guides, bus 1 had Phil, and started our tour through the iconic memorial. Phil gave us some background about the cemetery and how a person can apply to be laid to rest in the cemetery. He also told us how the tombstones were categorized and uniformity of the etchings on the back and front of the markers.
Our first stop was the amphitheater where the VRHS Concert Choir sang our national anthem. The arced up on the dome covered stage and began singing. The experience was quite surreal as you could hear a bugle playing taps in the distance for a full Naval burial and the overall silence in the cemetery. Unfortunately, park rules state that groups cannot perform on stage and a guard waved down Miss Hilton in the final 16 measures of music. Miss Hilton "didn't see" the guard and continued on to the end of the piece. When she finally did see the guard, she explained to them that we had permission from the company we are touring with to do just the Star Spangled Banner. The guard apologized and thought we were doing a full concert and Miss Hilton assured him that it was not the case.
We walked a short distance to watch the 10:00 changing of the guard. Phi had told us that to be a part of this division of the Army is extremely prestigious and the training that goes into it, is intense. The precision of the rifle, steps and seconds paused had to be perfect. The changing of the guards was flawless and the guards were successfully switched. A changing of the wreaths occurred afterwards and was accompanied by the commanding officer, a bugler and the family/friends that dedicated the wreath. Taps was played, the wreaths exchanged and the ceremony was over.
99% of the group continued on to see the Kennedy Memorial where the Eternal Flame is located. Two Valley students have two relatives in the cemetery and we went on a mission to find their relatives' graves and pay their respects.
11:00 rolled around and it was time to continue our whirlwind tour through DC. We stopped off at the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Vietnam War Memorial (and it's surrounding statues). Since we were on a tight schedule, we pretty much had time to walk out to it, explore a little bit, take a couple of pictures and it was back to the buses.
By this time, it was 1:00 and we had walked nearly 4 miles, given a lot of great information and we were a bit hungry. Lunch was eaten at the Reagan Center. After standing in a pretty sizable security line, the students had a variety of choices in the food court area of the government office building. I think some of the students thought we were going to a traditional mall (or traditional by our students' standards) and expected some time to shop and visit stores. Unfortunately, this was not the case but this time spent at the Reagan Center was a good time to eat, decompress and relax before the rest of the day.
3:30 and it was back on the buses to the Naval Academy. Again, a 45 minute bus ride ended up taking 1.5 hours but we got there just in time to start walking through parts of the Naval Academy and towards the Navy Chapel. Upon entering the chapel, there was a sense of patriotism and awe. The chapel's pull-knob organ was the focus of the demonstration and the organist did not disappoint. He gave us some background on the instrument, played some examples and then played a mini-recital including pieces by Back (Toccata and Fugue), Stars and Stripes Forever by JP Sousa and the main theme from Harry Potter by John Williams. The sheer massiveness of the organ had us all shaking, literally and figuratively, in our seats. After the demonstration, the vocal groups from the various schools had the opportunity to sing, a cappella, in the acoustically rich chapel. The VR Madrigals took the stage and sang one of the songs there were performing for the competition. The resonance was incredible and the performance well-performed.
Dinner was a boxed meal prepared by the Naval Academy in a dry-dock building. After a short bit of downtime, it was time to head back to the chapel to hear the Naval Academy Women's Glee Choir perform. These women sang beautifully and the concert was incredible. 2 students from each respective choral program were nominated to sing God Bless American with the Navy Glee Choir and Miss Hilton nominated Indigo C. and Lily A. The concert concluded and it was time to head back for some much needed rest.
The students were in their rooms, given information for the next day and stayed in for the evening. Saturday is competition day and it is going to be a doozy.
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