| Laura Turbyfill:
After an exciting breakfast at McDonalds, we headed to the Arlington National Cemetery. This is always my favorite historical sight-seeing tour. I love the changing of the guard becasue it is so serious and moving. Looking at the 300,000 headstones takes your breath away.
We rode the subway over to the Smithsonian. We were given 5 hours to visits the surrounding buildings and eat lunch. I went to the Holocaust museum. The amount of information packed into the 5-story building was incredible.
We arrived back at the hotel around 4:30 to have some free time and get ready for the all-states dance. It was really fun. You can tell how everyone is breaking out of their own "shell" and having a great time doing it.
We are scheduled to be at the bus at 7:45am so I need to go to sleep. The long days are fun, but the short nights aren't! |
| Cynthia Kastl:
Today was an interesting day. We got to visit Arlington National Cemetery. My father was a Marine, so it was very emotional for me. Seeing all the unknown graves was very sad because it is hard to imagine not just dying, but losing your identity. The Kennedy flame and monument within the cemetery were both moving. As I watched the Changing of the Gaurd at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I wanted to cry. The respect given to an unkown because of his service to our country is amazing.
We got to ride on the subway and, as always, it was a fun adventure. I almost fell when the metro started. It is crazy how many people use the metro daily to travel around D.C.
We got to travel in groups around the Smithsonian Mall. My group could not decide what to do, but hunger got the best of us. We had to back-track twice before we got to the Natural History Musuem and it's cafe. We decided to go see an I-Max movie about lions while at the musuem. The video was very factual and showed how two lions will fight over their land. I learned a lot that I did not know. I also saw a woman working on an actual dinosaur bone in a little room. It was very cool to see right there, right then.
We also went to the American Indian Musuem. The musuem was expecially speceial to me because of my heritage. I enjoyed seeing all the different jewelry and pottery expecially.
When we returned to the hotel we got to go to a dinner dance. It was so cool that all of the youth tour participants got to get together. I had an amazing time and I danced with people from different states. However, North Carolina stuck together near the front and danced with each other. We had a great time, not sitting out a single dance.
So far I have had an amazing time in Washington. I have learned so much and realized how many possibilities there are out there. I can't wait for tomorrow, but after all the action of the day, I am left totally drained. Sleep sounds so good by the end of the day, and the hotel bed is looking good! |
| Today was a little bit less packed than yesterday due to some cancelations because of bad weather. This morning we woke up and had to get really dressed up because we were meeting our congressmen and women from our districts. Laura, Cynthia, and I got to have a personal conference with Virgina Fox. We discussed her involvment with politics and how her busy schedule effects her personal life. She was a very level headed down to earth lady who definitely knew the meaning of working your way up from the bottom. Afterwards we were not able to get to have a tour of the National Cathedral so we just rode by there to see it and take some pictures then came back to the hotel to have some free time, which was a time that most people used to catch up on some lost sleep. For dinner, we got boxed dinners and then went to the Smithsonian Mall to watch a sunset parade, but a thunderstorm came through and it was cancelled. Ms. Lois (advisor) took us instead to the Pentagon City once again for some shopping. Then we just came back to the hotel and had some free time till bed time at 10. During the free time a boy named Michael had brought out his Playstation 2 and guitar hero. It was a great hit and Morgan Sills, Rebecca Crumpler and I showed up all the boys with our great skills! The boys were left with their pride and ego hurting bad. haha So far the group has bonded so well, just as if we had all been friends way before this trip had even begun. Tomorrow is a fun filled day ending with the All States Ball. Stay tuned to the continuing blog for more great and exciting details. ~Tuesday June 12~ |
| Today was the best day yet! This morning all the states had to get together for our first offical conference. Laura, Cynthia, and I had to wake up around 6 in order to meet down at the ballroom by 7:30. Three speakers came to talk with us today about the meaning of a cooperative. The most influential speaker of the morning was a man by the name of Mike Schlappi. He had a hard story to hear but his words were very intriguing and his message was all about standing out in a crowd and making a difference in even the simplest things. Afterwards the states split up and went their seperate ways. North Carolina decided to eat at the mall (Pentagon City) and then shop for most of the afternoon. I had to stay back at the hotel for a little while because the YLC was eating lunch together to get to know each other more. I got to become closer with Brad from Mississippi and Kaite from Indiana because they were at my table for lunch. Once the lunch was over I took a taxi over to the mall to meet up with Laura, Morgan, and Rebecca. We shopped around until about 3 and then returned to the hotel to get ready for the most exciting part of the night. At 5:30 we left the hotel and went to board a four story Yacht for a states dance party!!! A DJ was placed on each floor and we danced the night away, or at least till about 10. Laura was crazy, running around and never stopping the dancing, while I got up with another delegate from North Carolina (Frankie)and began to swing dance. The boat ride was definitely the highlight so far. Then we all boarded the buses and headed back to the hotel to get some rest for another exciting day! Tomorrow we get to meet with our district congress representative and talk with them privately for alitte while. I will fill you in about another exciting day tomorrow night. ~Monday June 11~ |
| Hey Blue Ridge! Sorry that it has taken me a day to get this blog up and running but at the hotel we are staying at now there is finally wireless internet. Yesterday we arrived in Raleigh and met the other North Carolina delegates for each cooperative. After dinner the delegates began to give speeches on why they should be chosen as the youth leadership council representative of North Carolina and one delegate was chosen. Along with a 2,000 dollar scholarship, traveling is another reward of being chosen as the YLC delegate. I was chosen for the state of North Carolina. Today we woke up VERY early (way too early for my taste) and ate some breakfast. We left around 9 to start on our long day to Washington. We stopped at Mount Vernon and stayed for two hours touring the grounds and catching up on some historical knowledge that we might not have already learned in history class. After spending two hours there we loaded the bus again and headed off to the hotel. Dinner time came and we had pizza from a local parlor up here. Then we went to have a lighted tour at the Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln memorials. Tonight we are back at the hotel after such a long day and i am actually getting ready to head down to the lobby to meet the other chosen YLC leaders for their states. Thanks again for the opportunity to be up here and we are having a blast!!
~Sunday June 10~ |