Out of town, without the parents

     Last May I traveled to Washington D.C. and not for the first time. I'd been there previously twice but with my mother and brother. This time was different. It wasn't the first time I'd been out of town well out of state without my family but it was the first time I'd been out of state with adults I hadn't known since before I could talk.

     The first time was a trip to Mammoth caves with my girl scout troop. This trip ended in disaster with our leader removing herself and her grand-daughter from our troop.

     My trip to D.C. went much better.

     I have a bit of advice for you. If you know you are going to be spending every second of the next four days with a person you consider to be your best friend...do not be her partner. My friend and I have been friends since second grade but after the second day we were ready to run away screaming from each other--I assure you, this was not an exaggeration.

     I was not used to being around these same forty kids (it was my class trip) for that long but I found myself enjoying it all the same. Another friend of mine joined me in looking at our phones to see what time it was and feeling bad for the friends that were stuck in classes like French and Algebra.

     I saw memorials I hadn't gotten to see before. Our bus driver was a veteran and managed to call in a favor so the flag at Iwo Jima was raised when we went at night to see it.

     We ate at Union Station and the Old Post Office as well as several other places. I decided to be adventurous and try crayfish, the small sliver of meat I got to eat was delicious but I couldn't figure out how to get anymore meat out.

      We made a "Harlem Shake" video on the balcony of the Kennedy Center before going back into to see a play.

     We went to the Washington zoo and saw the pandas. We went to countless museums and as stated before, monuments.

     One thing I have to tell you is a must if you are ever in D,C, Go see the Jefferson memorial lit up at night.

     I read the Gettysburg Address on the wall of the Lincoln memorial, I stood in awe looking at the statue of a man who managed the impossible and freed an entire race of people from the bonds of slavery.

     I felt really short looking at the Washington memorial and a sense of pride at places like the Korean or Vietnam memorial.

     I will never be in another place that can literally make me feel history. Not just look at a picture and say "that happened, that's really cool" but to actually feel the history. To experience it in a way I will never again do.

     Washington D.C. is officially my favorite city and I've been to New York city, twice.