Thursday, January 22, 2009
Kevin Dessart
We woke up early and made it to the train (and then the next train, then the bus and finally the plane) this morning and now we are back in Green Bay. It was memorable and I would like to thank everyone for making this trip possible. Thanks to all the parents, the YMCA, Tom, and especially Julie. The countless hours spent planning to make sure we had no problems and then taking the lead and getting us headed in the right direction--Julie, Thank you. Lastly, thanks to the kids for making this enjoyable. There was very little complaining and when there was it was probably warranted. (You should get to eat sometime!) And on a final note, thank you Cassie for getting the blog up and running. I had many people post comments, e-mail and call me to tell me they followed our trip. It was great being able to share this experience with everybody. Anyway, thanks again and see you in Madison or next meeting, whichever comes first.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Bailey Jaworski
Every moment today was picturesque starting with the visit to the capital building, to the magnificent sunset behind the Washington Monument, and I have the pictures to prove it! :]
I cant wait to tell everyone back home everything because I will never forget this trip because it truly was a once in a lifetime trip. :]
(p.s. >> i'm not going to lie, i really don't want to leave here, and i might consider living here when i get older.) anyone considering a trip here, do it and you will have no regrets. :]
I cant wait to tell everyone back home everything because I will never forget this trip because it truly was a once in a lifetime trip. :]
(p.s. >> i'm not going to lie, i really don't want to leave here, and i might consider living here when i get older.) anyone considering a trip here, do it and you will have no regrets. :]
Catie Knier
good times at hard times!!! :D [[hard times cafe, that is]] a fancy dinner, a long day of memorable touring, and another great meal of good ol' chili! today was as great as all the days before. ditto to all those posts beloww ;))
>>>BIG thank u to: our chaperons mr. dessart (julie see below)), congressman KIagen (great stories, sense of humor, and advice for us all!), frances kerry from reuters (amazing tour!!!), all the people who helped get us into the inauguration (life changing), president Obama himself (inspiring) and our #1 julie!! :]] thank u all who made it possible, soo much for making the experience great!! it is something i will never forget!
>>>BIG thank u to: our chaperons mr. dessart (julie see below)), congressman KIagen (great stories, sense of humor, and advice for us all!), frances kerry from reuters (amazing tour!!!), all the people who helped get us into the inauguration (life changing), president Obama himself (inspiring) and our #1 julie!! :]] thank u all who made it possible, soo much for making the experience great!! it is something i will never forget!
Kevin Dessart
Today was very cool. For all you fans of current events out there, the Reuters office was maybe the most amazing thing I have ever seen. We could see stories being written and sent around the world. The woman there was amazing and what a time to visit a newsroom in DC--24 hours after a new President takes office. UNREAL.
The meeting with Congressman Kagen was also very interesting. He was discussing what it was like to actually get things done in Washington and I felt he was very honest and straightforward answering our questions and giving us some insight into the beltway.
This is my 5th time to DC and there are still new things to see. Some of the old favorites though we saw today--the Lincoln memorial is always impressive and of course the Vietnam and Korean War memorials are very sobering.
The kids today were great and I am not surprised. If we are handing our government to these future congresspeople we are in good hands.
Tomorrow--back to GB.
The meeting with Congressman Kagen was also very interesting. He was discussing what it was like to actually get things done in Washington and I felt he was very honest and straightforward answering our questions and giving us some insight into the beltway.
This is my 5th time to DC and there are still new things to see. Some of the old favorites though we saw today--the Lincoln memorial is always impressive and of course the Vietnam and Korean War memorials are very sobering.
The kids today were great and I am not surprised. If we are handing our government to these future congresspeople we are in good hands.
Tomorrow--back to GB.
Yes we did!
First off, let me tell you, there were over 100 tons of garbage collected after the inauguration.
Today, we traveled around the city, seeing everything we could before we leave tomorrow. We first went to Representative Kagen's office, and actually got to meet him. He talked to us for a while, and then after meeting him, we were off to the capitol building for a tour. Seeing the capitol building from inside was amazing. The architecture was awe inspiring, as were the sculptures and paintings. We sat in on a small debate in the House of Representatives, too. There was debate on whether or not we should honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday, rather than the third Monday of January, as we currently do.
After staying in the capitol building for some time, we went to Thompson Reuters for a tour of an international news room. Other than the facility being a zillion degrees (an obvious exaggeration, but it WAS quite warm) it was quite an exciting and interesting experience. The link to the Reuters website is http://www.reuters.com/
After the (warm) experience at Thompson Reuters, we went to see the White House. Though we could only see it through the fence, it was quite exciting to see the house that our new president is living in. We then went to Union Station to eat and shop.
We wrapped up our day by walking down the Mall, seeing the Washington Monument, the World War II memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korea Memorial, and, of course, the Lincoln Memorial.
Today was a fun day, and we saw a lot of things that we will remember for a long time. We're sad to be going home tomorrow, but we are so grateful to have had this experience. None of us would trade it for anything, and will remember it forever.
Today, we traveled around the city, seeing everything we could before we leave tomorrow. We first went to Representative Kagen's office, and actually got to meet him. He talked to us for a while, and then after meeting him, we were off to the capitol building for a tour. Seeing the capitol building from inside was amazing. The architecture was awe inspiring, as were the sculptures and paintings. We sat in on a small debate in the House of Representatives, too. There was debate on whether or not we should honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday, rather than the third Monday of January, as we currently do.
After staying in the capitol building for some time, we went to Thompson Reuters for a tour of an international news room. Other than the facility being a zillion degrees (an obvious exaggeration, but it WAS quite warm) it was quite an exciting and interesting experience. The link to the Reuters website is http://www.reuters.com/
After the (warm) experience at Thompson Reuters, we went to see the White House. Though we could only see it through the fence, it was quite exciting to see the house that our new president is living in. We then went to Union Station to eat and shop.
We wrapped up our day by walking down the Mall, seeing the Washington Monument, the World War II memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korea Memorial, and, of course, the Lincoln Memorial.
Today was a fun day, and we saw a lot of things that we will remember for a long time. We're sad to be going home tomorrow, but we are so grateful to have had this experience. None of us would trade it for anything, and will remember it forever.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Main Event
Waking at the crack of dawn is one of the "best" parts of this experience and one that we got to experience again today! We woke up at 4:15 am (3:15 Wisconsin time) and got to our complementary breakfast five minutes before it even opened to make sure we left the hotel in time to get a good spot at the inauguration. Despite the time, the metro station was still packed and we had to take our second option of train. From 5:45 on, we were on our feet in lines waiting for the gates to open at 8. The security checks started taking place slightly before 8 with a very mild mannered crowd. We were lucky enough to have tickets given to us by Congressman Kagen, Senator Kohl, Senator Feingold, Patty Hoeft, Jack Kreuger, and Tony Vanderbloemen so we were much closer than the general public, but the tickets required that we had to go through security.
The amount of people was absurd. All you could see were people, from the Washington Monument to the Capitol building there was a solid wall of people. We estimated that in the ticket area alone was 4 times capacity Lambeau Field's, and the surrounding area had 40 times the stadium's capacity.
The rest of the day was spent standing...and waiting. There was some background music but all and all we were responsible for keeping ourselves occupied. When the festivities started the electricity in the air was unmeasurable. Their were several performers including the United States Marine Band, Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, Gabriela Montero, Itzhak Perlman, and Elizabeth Alexander.
The inauguration speech explained our countries current condition, outlined our challenges, and actions needed to address those issues. The crowd roared and clapped with every statement that encouraged our progress.
All and all the crowd was excited and respectful, with the exception of the introductions of former presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and other Republican dignitaries.
We managed to follow the crowd to the metro station and promptly waited 1 hour 7 minutes and 34 seconds (of course only a rough estimate). We made it to our hotel for some much needed rest. We weren't fortunate enough to receive Inaugural Ball tickets but decided to get dressed up and go out to dinner anyway.
The last hours of the day were spent bonding and writing this blog to keep you all involved in this part of history.
The amount of people was absurd. All you could see were people, from the Washington Monument to the Capitol building there was a solid wall of people. We estimated that in the ticket area alone was 4 times capacity Lambeau Field's, and the surrounding area had 40 times the stadium's capacity.
The rest of the day was spent standing...and waiting. There was some background music but all and all we were responsible for keeping ourselves occupied. When the festivities started the electricity in the air was unmeasurable. Their were several performers including the United States Marine Band, Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, Gabriela Montero, Itzhak Perlman, and Elizabeth Alexander.
The inauguration speech explained our countries current condition, outlined our challenges, and actions needed to address those issues. The crowd roared and clapped with every statement that encouraged our progress.
All and all the crowd was excited and respectful, with the exception of the introductions of former presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and other Republican dignitaries.
We managed to follow the crowd to the metro station and promptly waited 1 hour 7 minutes and 34 seconds (of course only a rough estimate). We made it to our hotel for some much needed rest. We weren't fortunate enough to receive Inaugural Ball tickets but decided to get dressed up and go out to dinner anyway.
The last hours of the day were spent bonding and writing this blog to keep you all involved in this part of history.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
