So! I know I have written in forever! But I am going to be better, and now I get to tell all about my trip to Washington, D.C. I went with four other EAC students, and two Deans and their wives. We went for a community college convention. The official name of the conference was, "Community College National Legislative Summit". (Doesn't it sound so important?) ; )

It was absolutely amazing! I got to see just about everything except for the temple. The first day we flew in, we went to a Lebanese restaurant which was delicious but very interesting.

The next day, we went to the Capitol Hill Ward which was amazing, and quite exciting. One lady in the ward after one of the talks was given said, "That was delicious!" It made for quite an interesting meeting: ). After church we drove to Mount Vernon which was breathtaking. It was so beautiful and I could see why George Washington loved his home. After this, we went to get registered for the conference, then went to dinner. It was a wonderful day, and I learned so much more about George Washington, and the life that he lived.

Monday, we woke up and went to the zoo. : ) I felt like a kid again, and we went at the best time. No one was there! We had all the animals to ourselves. My favorites were the Panda Bears, the Red Pandas, the Lions and Tigers, and OH My! ha ha JK, there were no bears. But, I loved it all, and it was a great way to start the day. We then, went to a luncheon where Bob Scheiffer spoke. He was very fun to watch, and our meal was amazing. After the luncheon, we went to see all of the memorials. We started out with Arlington National Cemetery, and were able to watch the Changing of the Guards which was very humbling. The entire Cemetery was solemn, and one of my favorite parts of the trip. We then took a brisk walk over to the Marines Memorial and I loved this one too. Our next walk took us over Memorial Bridge and the Potomac River to see the Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, WWII Memorial, and the Washington Monument. I loved all of it especially the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean. I was so glad that we went at night because all of the lights made the monuments even more eerie but amazing! We then walked to the White House and that was really fun to see. Overall they calculated us walking 8 miles that day. Wow! Luckily the weather for the entire trip was perfect!

On Tuesday, we decided to go to all of the Government buildings. We first went to the National Archives and got to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. We also got to see many more important documents which helped me appreciate even more what our forefathers have done for us. We then went over to the Ford's Theatre which was under construction so we decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe ; ). As we were leaving, they were having water fall from the ceiling because of a broken water valve. It was really fun! : ) We then walked over to the Capitol Building for a Capitol tour. I loved the architecture of all of the buildings in DC they are so magnificent. Next We walked over to the Library of Congress and I got to see the Gutenberg Bible. We then went and talked to US Representative Ann Kirkpatrick and I had to talk to her about Pel Grants, talk about being nervous : ). But it went over well, and I am so glad that I had that opportunity. Next we walked over to the Air and Space Museum which was quite a sight to see, they had full sized air planes in the building and even the Wright Brothers' original plane. We then went back to the hotel for a dinner at the conference and got to watch "Capitol Steps" a comedy troop perform.

Wednesday, we decided to go to all of the Smithsonians. We started with the Museum of Natural History and saw the Hope diamond, and many other amazing things, then we walked over to the Museum of American History where we saw Dorothy's red slippers, and many other exciting things. Next we went to the Holocaust museum which was...........which made me speechless. It was hard to believe the horrible things that occurred during this time. We then went to the Smithsonian Castle for a quick peek and then took the Metro to Chinatown, which was the ghetto of Washington, D.C. It was scary to get off the metro here. But while we were in Chinatown I gave a homeless guy a cookie : ) (Oh and I loved riding around on the metro for the entire trip, it was very exciting.) Next we met up with the Deans and went to the National Cathedral for Evensong and got to watch the Boys Choir sing. They were wonderful! We then went shopping for a little bit, then we went to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner and our bill ended up being, for nine people, $1001.82. They said we could get whatever we wanted, and I couldn't believe that our bill was that much. I only got steak, potatoes, asparagus, and a souffle. Of course, my steak was $38 but it was so worth it : ).

Thursday, we woke up at our leisure and I went and bought all my souvenirs, then we drove to the airport and flew back to Phoenix and then arrived in Thatcher at about Midnight. It was the most amazing trip of my life, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go, I hope everyone will have that opportunity some day.