Trip Journal 2016

We have arrived and are already exploring Boston. The first flight arrived, and we went to Faneuil Hall, known as The Cradle of Liberty. Once the second flight landed, we reunited and enjoyed a great dinner at Quincy Market and some quality shopping time. We were pretty tIred from our long journey, so we went to the hotel and got a good night's rest to be ready for tomorrow!

Tour Directors Mike Morgenthal and Jackie Heron

On the coach from the airport

Quincy Market

We started our day with a great visit to Boston's historic North End, where we saw the Old North Church, Paul Revere's House, and had great pastries at an authentic Italian bakery, plus we sat in the Great Hall of Fanueil Hall, the Cradle of Liberty. Next up was a visit to Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution. We headed to Harvard and MIT for lunch and campus tours, then finished walking the Freedom Trail, which included the sites of the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe completed a great day!

Old North Church

Mike's Pastry

Faneuil Hall

Holocaust Memorial

USS Constitution

Harvard University

M.I.T.

The Alchemist (sculpture at M.I.T)

Boston Massacre Site

Hard Rock Cafe

This morning we left snowy Boston and drove to New York City. Our first stop was The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We walked through Central Park and then visited Grand Central Station, New York Public Library, Rockefeller Plaza, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. We had dinner at Schnippers before going to The Top of The Rock to see beautiful views of Manhattan. We drove to our hotel in New Jersey to get some rest before another busy day in New York City.

Snowball fight in Boston

Walking in Central Park

Alice in Wonderland Statue

Bethesda Terrace

Bethesda Fountain

Strawberry Fields Memorial

Dinner at Schnippers

We began our day with a terrific visit to the Statue of Liberty and to Ellis Island, our national immigration museum. We took the ferry through scenic New York Harbor and arrived in Battery Park to start our tour of Lower Manhattan. We checked out the Charging Bull statue, Trinity Church, Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall, and the Federal Reserve. After lunch, we paid a stirring visit to the National 9-11 Memorial, including a stop at the brand-new Oculus at the Transportation Hub. We walked to Chinatown, checking out the Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall, and the Woolworth Tower along the way. We shopped our hearts out in Chinatown, and after dinner we enjoyed the lights and sites of Times Square. It was a really great NYC day!

Manhattan skyline

George Washington statue at the Federal Hall National Memorial

St. Paul's Chapel, completed in 1766

9-11 Memorial

World Trade Center Oculus

Dinner at Dallas BBQ

Times Square

We began our day with a drive to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the birthplace of our nation. We had a great lunch at Reading Terminal Market - Philly Cheesesteaks! - and then went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to run up the Rocky steps. We then drove to our nation's capital, Washington D.C., where we saw the White House and 4 stunning memorials: World War II, Korean War, Lincoln, and Vietnam War. It was a really great day in 2 amazing cities!

Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell

Independence Square

Ice Cream at Reading Terminal Market

Ben Franklin's grave

Philadelphia Art Museum (Rocky steps)

Winners of trip scholarships

Dinner at Fuel Pizza

We drove to Alexandria Virginia this morning, to board the boat that took us up the Potomac River to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. We toured his mansion, the pioneer farm, slave quarters, blacksmith, and George Washington's tomb. We had dinner at King Street Blues in Alexandria. After dinner, we had free time to explore historic Alexandria. It was a great last night to our east coast trip.

Mount Vernon

Cherry blossoms

King Street Blues Restaurant

On our final day in Washington D.C., we visited the Library of Congress and the United States Capitol. We had lunch at National Place before checking in at Dulles Airport. Our tour guides Mike and Jackie send a big thank-you to our students and chaperones.

The United States Capitol

Bus selfie!

Relaxing at the hotel

Posing

Lincoln Memorial

The Washington Monument as seen from the World War II Memorial