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Annual senior trip packed full of history
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Some see Pres. Obama board helicopter
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April 29, 2009 |
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Photo identified at end of full story.
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by Alycia West
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT FOR
THE OGDEN REPORTER
Hello dear friends and neighbors! This is the very exclusive inside look of the 2009 Ogden High School senior trip.
It started early Saturday morning, April 18, and I was one of the few lucky people to be graced with classmate Tony Silvas's, breakfast burritos. We soon reached our first stop, President Hoover's birthplace and burial at West Branch. Many of us soon realized how much we are out of shape, as we huffed and puffed up the hill to Hoover's gravesite. It was very interesting to learn more about our Iowan president and all the things he did.
Back on the road, we reached our neighbor state Illinois. I was slightly drowsy, but quickly awoke when I witnessed classmate Bryce DeMoss start to skip, yes skip, with other classmates and then begin to play on the swing set. At the next stop in Indiana, many classmates bought scratch tickets, just because they finally could. Afterwards, we were told to get some sleep, which, let me tell you my fellow readers, we are the masters of fitting people in every possible space on the bus.
Just when we were falling asleep, we awoke to Ms. Bohr very, very, pleasantly telling us 'Good Morning!' We were in Pennsylvania now, and had stopped at a twenty-four hour Walmart. It was quite funny to see the faces of the workers as this huge mob from Iowa walked in demanding bathroom use. After attempting to freshen up in the bathrooms we boarded the bus to head to Gettysburg. Upon arriving we ate breakfast in the presence of President Lincoln, and no we were not dreaming. He was actually an impersonator, who did a very good job telling us about the president's life and his part in the Civil War.
After lunch at Tommy's Pizza, we started our jam-packed day at Gettysburg. First, we started at the Shriver House that recounted a family's part in the Civil War, and how they coped. There were still bullet holes in the attic of that house, and after an investigation, they learned that a rebel soldier had died in that attic. We continued our tour of Gettysburg, and fought our own battle of fatigue as we hiked all over to historical places from the battle.
On the road again, we reached our nation's capital and rejoiced at the sight of a bed. That had to wait, as we took a walk up to view the Capitol at night, which was a wonderful sight, and completely worth the drowsiness we were all feeling. After a good night's sleep we witnessed east coast weather, rain. We were the very first senior trip group to view the Capitol visitor center, which was underground thankfully.
We spent the day touring the Capitol and learning more about our nation's government. In the afternoon we had a choice of a tour, and I chose to go to the National Gallery of Art. It was filled with modern art and classical art. It was so amazing for an art freak like myself to see some of the most famous works such as Picasso, and have the ability to actually take a picture of it!
Other students went to the Library of Congress, International Spy Museum, or the Newseum. We all ended up at the Air and Space Museum.
That night we danced on the Spirit of Washington harbor cruise. We had to share the deck with another school composed of eighth graders, and we taught them how to dance, let me tell you. We had a dance contest and our very own Ashlei Pritchard won the girls' dance off, and Tony Silvas was runner up in the boys' division. The night was full of fun. We all enjoyed it, especially when Ms. Bohr got her groove on!
The next morning a few lucky students were able to have breakfast with Senator and Mrs. Charles Grassley and Representative Tom Latham. That was really cool to meet some of the people that represent Iowa. Our tour of Washington D.C. took us to the National Cathedral, where we got to see the gothic values of the church and some of the most beautiful stained glass ever.
Our tour guide, Dorothy, took us to the National Archives where we saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
We also laid wreaths at the Vietnam and Korean War memorials.
Later that afternoon, a bunch of us saw the Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves play a game of baseball. Quite a few classmates got a baseball from batting practice. Unfortunately, it rained for the first hour so we had to wait before we could watch the game. Many of us remember Atlanta's biggest fan, Thad Satre, quickly change to Nationals gear when he was asked to appear as ESPN's fan of the week. One word dear readers, poser. Anyone else who didn't go to the game went to Ford's Theatre, which I heard was fantastic.
Wednesday we were able to tour the White House, and a few very lucky students were able to watch President Obama board a helicopter to, ironically, fly to Iowa for Earth Day. We went to the Holocaust Museum, which was one of my favorite museums. It was so eye opening as to what really happened during the Holocaust. The displays sugar- coated nothing. We also visited Arlington National Cemetery where class officers and myself were able to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
We said good-bye to D.C. the next day and said hello to Philadelphia where most of us had a Philly Cheese Steak for the first time. We were also able to tour Philly in a carriage ride. Our stop in Philly was short, for soon we were on our way to the Big Apple.
New York City is very different from Iowa. I soon found out that they do not know how to drive there, and according to our tour guide, Jane, if you wear anything that has stripes or looks like a shower curtain or wallpaper, then that screams you're from out of town. We arrived at our hotel and got ready to go to Gershwin Theatre to see Wicked, the real story of the Wicked Witch of the West. While getting ready for the theatre we chowed down on pizza and Casey Neubauer ate 35 bananas, which I think is close to the record. We walked to the theatre and saw Times Square, which was very bright and not something I'm used to. We all enjoyed Wicked very much and highly recommend it for years to come.
On Friday, our very unique and slightly crazy tour guide, Jane, took us all over her beloved New York. We saw the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry and viewed beautiful Central Park. We also went to the top of Rockefeller Plaza and saw the most fantastic view of New York City imaginable. One of my most favorite places in New York was Chinatown, where we had the opportunity to barter for t-shirts and purses, and actually tell the seller that 'no, I will only give you this much', and then actually get your way! Too bad it's not like this for regular stores.
Before we knew it, it was time to go and we had to reluctantly get back on the bus for a long ride home. We could tell we needed sleep when everyone started going crazy right about when we reached Ames, and sleepiness with anxiousness of getting home took over.
The senior trip was a truly memorable experience and probably the best one yet, because it's us! I have to say the Class of 2009 is pretty much the bomb. I would like to thank Mr. Friesen, Ms. Bohr, Mr. Reimers, Mr. Wilson, our chaperones, our bus drivers, Pete and Paul, and anyone else who made this trip the best one yet.
PHOTO ID: THE OHS CLASS OF 2009 presented a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns as a part of their trip to Washington, D. C. last week. Participating in the ceremony were Thad Satre, class vice president; Alycia West, class president; Alison Lawler (partially hidden), class secretary-treasurer; and Kristina Rose, member of the senior trip planning committee.
Jade Elsberry and Bryce DeMoss present a wreath at the Vietnam Wall, near the name of Ogden's Army Spec 5 Dennis Kouhns, who was killed in Vietnam, Jan. 30, 1968. Pvt. Dean Lass, who was killed in Korea Oct. 28, 1951, was also recognized with a wreath presentation at the Korean War Memorial. -Photos by Josh Peter
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©The Ogden Reporter 2010
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