Long Day, Filled with Amazing Sites!

Although today was quite long, I have to admit, I loved every minute of it. The excitement that is building in the city is incredible, and everyone seems to be flexible with all of the congestion, lines, and traffic.

D.C. is very different from good ol' Colorado--that is, it's very diverse and filled with lots of visitors from all over the world. It's been cool to think that every time we see a limo someone "famous" is driving by (and we see one every hour or so).

There were many breath-taking moments today:

1. Visiting the cemetery of the un-marked graves of the Washington estate on MLK, Jr. Day on the eve of Obama's first day as president.

2. Seeing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights for the very first time in person. It made me understand even more the amazing country we live in. Seeing these documents made the term FREEDOM so very real--in a way I didn't know was possible.

3. As our tour guide, Sarah, so perfectly stated, "Tomorrow we will be apart of current news and history in the making."

It's been great to see the student's reactions to all of the sites along the way. Of my 190 pictures of the day, here are a few of my favorites:

The fellas posing just outside of Mt. Vernon, the home and estate of George Washington. We had to wait a while to get in, but they didn't mind!

This tree was planted by George Washington himself. I started getting metaphorical and said, just as this tree was planted and grew deep roots, so has our country--and all by the hands of GW. Brianna was smiling nearly all day. I don't think I caught her without a huge grin on her face!

The site where the very first African-American man will be sworn into the position of President of the United States of America (nearly on the 80th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.).

--Joy