Washington: A Trip Worth Making
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Commentary by David Slone-
Warsaw Community High School Step 1 U.S. history teacher David Hoffert organized the trip and was instrumental in getting approximately 30 students to attend the inauguration Tuesday of the United State's 44th president, and first black president, Barack Obama. Besides attending that historic event, Hoffert's eager students also got to visit and see the White House, Washington Monument, Capitol Building, the Smithsonian Institute and the U.S. Holocaust Museum.
Thankfully, Hoffert was able to allow me the privilege of going with the group to write stories and take pictures of the trip. I'm sure he also had to OK that with administrators, too, so I am also grateful for their permission.[[In-content Ad]]I've never been to Washington, D.C., so I wasn't 100 percent sure what to expect. By the time I left, however, I was ready to pack up my bags and move to the nation's capitol. It would be the only way I could further explore the city that has so much history, great architecture and art to see.
The bus left WCHS at about 7 p.m. Sunday. Though a charter bus, the trip took about 12-13 hours, and sleep did not welcome me. But who cares? I was headed to D.C.
One of the first things the group had to do upon arriving in D.C. was take a subway train. I'm sure some people have done that many times in Chicago - but I don't travel to Chicago. So riding the line was an interesting experience that we got to partake in several times Monday. Along the route, we saw the Pentagon building and bits of Arlington National Cemetery. If I ever get the privilege of returning to D.C., I'd like to actually visit those two places if possible.
Walking out of the subway, we came to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The first of two group photos was taken there.
One of the first monuments we passed by during our approximate 18 miles of walking Monday and Tuesday was the Washington Monument. It's one tall, large, sand-colored obelisk. The closer you get to it, the taller it seems to grow. I took a bunch of shots of the structure from various angles, getting really close to it Tuesday afternoon. It's also a good landmark to help you navigate your way around the Washington Mall. When I was walking by myself after the inauguration, I was able to find and look at the World War II Memorial because I knew it was behind the Washington Monument.
Obviously, there was no way we were getting inside the White House earlier this week. However, we did get to walk by it and view it from two different angles from the gate. One of my first thoughts was, "Wow, it's smaller than I thought it would be."
And then, like the Washington Monument and the Reagan building, I admired the architecture of the building. I haven't studied architecture since my Art History course in college my freshman year, but I've appreciated it ever since. And D.C. has a lot of amazing architecture to see. I took several photos of buildings around D.C. just because I was impressed by their design.
The first museum we walked around was the Smithsonian. We didn't have a lot of time to view all that the Smithsonian has to offer, so that's a reason in itself to go back to D.C. at some point for a day or six.
When you first enter the Smithsonian, the new building, not the old one (which I also took a picture of because of its amazing design), there are relics of America's past in glass cases along the wall. It includes everything from a small replica of the Titanic to the costume of C3PO.
After that, we had time to check out one exhibit. I chose to view the exhibit of the wars the U.S. has participated in. From the Revolutionary War and Civil War to World War II, Vietnam War and Desert Storm, the Smithsonian had much for onlookers to take in.
I took a few pictures inside the museum, most notably of a Huey helicopter from the Vietnam War. Yes, a full helicopter inside the museum.
But the next stop on the trip was what most of the students, and myself included, were most eager to see.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum is four stories high. According to a representative of the museum, if you looked at every artifact, video and documentation, it would take you about 16 hours to get through the museum. We had less than two hours.
The museum does not shy away from the truth. Onlookers will see pictures and videos of victims of the Holocaust and World War II. They are graphic, but anything less would have not done the truth justice.
WCHS students and teachers were appalled by different things in the museum. For me, it was the railcar that you could actually walk through.
Railcars were used by the Nazis to transport Jews, Romas, homosexuals, the handicapped and other "undesirables" from all over Europe to ghettos, concentration camps and killing centers. The ones being transported did not always know where they were going or what to expect. Along the way, many of the people died in the railcars.
To stand in that small, dark space and realize that there would be a hundred or so other people piled into the railcar, some sick or dying or dead, just made me ill to my stomach.
So much to see in the Holocaust Museum, how could any intelligent person doubt it ever happened or to the extent that it did? If you ever get the opportunity to take a tour of the museum, don't hesitate. It's an eye opener.
Tired and sleepy, we got back on the subway, loaded up on our bus and went to Best Western in Alexandria, Va., for pizza and sleep. Wake-up call was about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday morning, and we left shortly after 4 a.m.
We waited on the bus for a couple of hours before we got off the bus about 6:18 a.m. Tuesday morning to head to the Washington Mall to watch the inauguration at the Capitol Building. Lots of walking, lots of people.
Eventually, I got separated from everyone in the group. It was just me and the camera for the inauguration. I found myself making my way closer and closer to the Capitol Building. Somehow, my luck wasn't too bad and I was able to get past the Reflection Pond and the statues to First Street. Still lots of people in front of me, I was as close as I was able to get. People all around me were vying for the same "best angle," standing on top of statues, walls and port-a-johns. Yes, people sat on portable toilets to get a view of the inauguration.
Whether you love or hate the idea of Obama being the 44th president of the United States, being at the 56th presidential inauguration was historic. It is a presidential inauguration, in itself historic. But, Obama's the first black (or biracial if you prefer) president of the U.S. And America loves its firsts - first president, first man on the moon, first woman in space, etc.
Just being there, knowing that I was there for an historic moment, now that was cool. And the students, whether they supported Obama or not, knew they were living history and not just seeing it on television.
Warsaw Community High School Step 1 U.S. history teacher David Hoffert organized the trip and was instrumental in getting approximately 30 students to attend the inauguration Tuesday of the United State's 44th president, and first black president, Barack Obama. Besides attending that historic event, Hoffert's eager students also got to visit and see the White House, Washington Monument, Capitol Building, the Smithsonian Institute and the U.S. Holocaust Museum.
Thankfully, Hoffert was able to allow me the privilege of going with the group to write stories and take pictures of the trip. I'm sure he also had to OK that with administrators, too, so I am also grateful for their permission.[[In-content Ad]]I've never been to Washington, D.C., so I wasn't 100 percent sure what to expect. By the time I left, however, I was ready to pack up my bags and move to the nation's capitol. It would be the only way I could further explore the city that has so much history, great architecture and art to see.
The bus left WCHS at about 7 p.m. Sunday. Though a charter bus, the trip took about 12-13 hours, and sleep did not welcome me. But who cares? I was headed to D.C.
One of the first things the group had to do upon arriving in D.C. was take a subway train. I'm sure some people have done that many times in Chicago - but I don't travel to Chicago. So riding the line was an interesting experience that we got to partake in several times Monday. Along the route, we saw the Pentagon building and bits of Arlington National Cemetery. If I ever get the privilege of returning to D.C., I'd like to actually visit those two places if possible.
Walking out of the subway, we came to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The first of two group photos was taken there.
One of the first monuments we passed by during our approximate 18 miles of walking Monday and Tuesday was the Washington Monument. It's one tall, large, sand-colored obelisk. The closer you get to it, the taller it seems to grow. I took a bunch of shots of the structure from various angles, getting really close to it Tuesday afternoon. It's also a good landmark to help you navigate your way around the Washington Mall. When I was walking by myself after the inauguration, I was able to find and look at the World War II Memorial because I knew it was behind the Washington Monument.
Obviously, there was no way we were getting inside the White House earlier this week. However, we did get to walk by it and view it from two different angles from the gate. One of my first thoughts was, "Wow, it's smaller than I thought it would be."
And then, like the Washington Monument and the Reagan building, I admired the architecture of the building. I haven't studied architecture since my Art History course in college my freshman year, but I've appreciated it ever since. And D.C. has a lot of amazing architecture to see. I took several photos of buildings around D.C. just because I was impressed by their design.
The first museum we walked around was the Smithsonian. We didn't have a lot of time to view all that the Smithsonian has to offer, so that's a reason in itself to go back to D.C. at some point for a day or six.
When you first enter the Smithsonian, the new building, not the old one (which I also took a picture of because of its amazing design), there are relics of America's past in glass cases along the wall. It includes everything from a small replica of the Titanic to the costume of C3PO.
After that, we had time to check out one exhibit. I chose to view the exhibit of the wars the U.S. has participated in. From the Revolutionary War and Civil War to World War II, Vietnam War and Desert Storm, the Smithsonian had much for onlookers to take in.
I took a few pictures inside the museum, most notably of a Huey helicopter from the Vietnam War. Yes, a full helicopter inside the museum.
But the next stop on the trip was what most of the students, and myself included, were most eager to see.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum is four stories high. According to a representative of the museum, if you looked at every artifact, video and documentation, it would take you about 16 hours to get through the museum. We had less than two hours.
The museum does not shy away from the truth. Onlookers will see pictures and videos of victims of the Holocaust and World War II. They are graphic, but anything less would have not done the truth justice.
WCHS students and teachers were appalled by different things in the museum. For me, it was the railcar that you could actually walk through.
Railcars were used by the Nazis to transport Jews, Romas, homosexuals, the handicapped and other "undesirables" from all over Europe to ghettos, concentration camps and killing centers. The ones being transported did not always know where they were going or what to expect. Along the way, many of the people died in the railcars.
To stand in that small, dark space and realize that there would be a hundred or so other people piled into the railcar, some sick or dying or dead, just made me ill to my stomach.
So much to see in the Holocaust Museum, how could any intelligent person doubt it ever happened or to the extent that it did? If you ever get the opportunity to take a tour of the museum, don't hesitate. It's an eye opener.
Tired and sleepy, we got back on the subway, loaded up on our bus and went to Best Western in Alexandria, Va., for pizza and sleep. Wake-up call was about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday morning, and we left shortly after 4 a.m.
We waited on the bus for a couple of hours before we got off the bus about 6:18 a.m. Tuesday morning to head to the Washington Mall to watch the inauguration at the Capitol Building. Lots of walking, lots of people.
Eventually, I got separated from everyone in the group. It was just me and the camera for the inauguration. I found myself making my way closer and closer to the Capitol Building. Somehow, my luck wasn't too bad and I was able to get past the Reflection Pond and the statues to First Street. Still lots of people in front of me, I was as close as I was able to get. People all around me were vying for the same "best angle," standing on top of statues, walls and port-a-johns. Yes, people sat on portable toilets to get a view of the inauguration.
Whether you love or hate the idea of Obama being the 44th president of the United States, being at the 56th presidential inauguration was historic. It is a presidential inauguration, in itself historic. But, Obama's the first black (or biracial if you prefer) president of the U.S. And America loves its firsts - first president, first man on the moon, first woman in space, etc.
Just being there, knowing that I was there for an historic moment, now that was cool. And the students, whether they supported Obama or not, knew they were living history and not just seeing it on television.
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