Heritage Tour - Winslow Jr. High

Day 1 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We arrived at the Alfond Youth Center at 5:30 am to a cool, crisp morning. It was dry and it wasn't snowing but it could have been warmer considering the time of year. We ran right on schedule all day but we changed the schedule in the late afternoon as we headed toward Pennsylvaniaq instead of Virginia. We spent most of the time on the bus and in rest areas before we arrived in Gettysburg at around 8:00 pm. We checked into our rooms and then the kids had a social until 9:15 pm. Tomorrow we do the Gettysburg Military Park in the am and then we go to the Amish Country for our second guided tour of the day. We will have supper at the Leola Family Restaurant before we head to King of Prussia and our Hotel. The kids were super today and they are anxious to see some of the sites on the trip.

Day 2 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

The weather in Gettysburg was absolutely super as it was warm at 9:00 am and got better as the day went on. Jim Clouse was our guide in Gettysburg and as usual, he was excellent. He has a wealth of knowledge and he knows the Military Park like the back of his hand. He has a lot of knowledge about the Maine involvement in the 3 day battle at Gettysburg and he shared a lot of that knowledge with us today. We visited the Civil War Museum to see the wax museum and had lunch in their parking lot. We walked thru the National Military Park in gettysburg before we headed to the Amish Country to meet our other guide to have another tour. Again, Marcia was excellent and she gave us a lot of inforfmation on how the Amish lived and survived. We had supper at the Leola Family Restaurant where we feasted on fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, applesauce, rolls, dessert, and drinks. Dave (Our bus driver) and I had the pleasure of dining with 3 delightful young ladies and their team leader. It made supper very enjoyable. We had a short bus ride to King of Prussia and our Hotel where we had a social with pretzels and juice. By 9:00 pm everyone was in their room for the night as tomorrow we head tp Philadelphia and then Washington, DC. I hope the weather was good back home and everyone had a chance to go outside and enjoy it.

Day 3 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

It was another beautiful day in Philadelphia. We left the Hotel at 8:00 am and our first stop was at the place where "Rocky" did his traing for his movies. We all had a chance to walk up the stairs plus have a picture taken with his statue. We then landed in Philly and we all did the Mint before we went to Independance Hall where we had a self guided and guided tour. Our guide was excellent and we were told a lot of interesting facts about the development of our country. We had our Philly Steak sandwich for lunch and as usual, it was delicious. We then saw the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin's Court Yard. His Underground Museum and Printing Shop were closed. We then went to the Betsey Ross House, Elfreth's Alley (the Nations oldest neighborhood), the Firemen's Museum, the Quaker Meeting House, and Ben Franklin's grave site. We left Philly at around 2:30 pm to go to Washington and we were late getting there as the traffic was very heavy and it was farther than I thought. Once we got to DC we went to the White House and the WW II Memorial before we headed to Chantilly, Virginia and the Hotel. Some of the kids went swimming in the cold water before we had our pizza for supper. By 10:00 pm we had them in bed for the night as tomorrow we will be touring DC during the day and going to Medieval Times at night. Hope the weather in Maine was as good as ours.

Day 4 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a tough day in DC for the Winslow 2010 Heritage Tour. It was cold and damp as it rained all day. If it was a warm rain it may have been different but it was a raw kind of day. Most of us were soaked and cold by the time we reached the afternoon bus ride to Medieval Times. We did not make it to Ford's Theater as the traffic was really heavy and we missed our 9:00 am reservation. We did the American History Museum in the am, and then we walked to the Old Post Office Pavilion to have lunch and shop. We went to the Natural History Museum after lunch and then we went to the Holocaust Museum where the kids had a good working knowledge of the Holocaust because they study it in school at the Winslow Junior High. It started to rain harder after we left the Holocaust and we did the Korean Memorial, Lincoln Monument, and the Viewtnam Wall. We boarded the bus at 5:00 pm to go to Hanover, Maryland and again the traffic was heavy and we just made it to the supper and show with 5 minutes to spare. Even though it was cold and rainy, I didn't hear any complaining. We got back to the Hotel at 10:45 pm and we had a bunch of tired kids and adults. On Thursday we go to Arlington and the the Air and Space Museum before we head to New Jersey and the Home Town Buffet. Hope the weather was good in Maine.

Day 5 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We started our day in Arlington on a warm and sunny day. We started at JFK's grave site and then moved to Bobby Kennedy's and then Ted Kennedy's grave sites. Most of the kids did not realize the history behind the Kennedy's and we tried to give them some insight as to why the Kennedy's were buried there and what the difference was between the grave sites. We then went to the 3 memorials and the USS Maine before we saw the "Changing of the Guard". Everyone was very impressed with the "Changing of the Guard" and they couldn't believe how precise they were. On the way back down to the bus we stopped off at the Robert E. Lee house to get a tour and then we had lunch on the bus as we made our way back into DC to viisit the Air and Space Museum. From the Air and Space Museum some of us stopped in to the Botantic Gardens befoe we headed to the Capital to have a group picture taken. We headed for Edison, New Jersey to have supper at the Home Town Buffet and by 8:00 pm we were in our Hotel. Some of our kids went for a swim and the others either had a social or went to bed. We met up with the Messalonskee group as they were having their pizza party and by 9:15 pm we were ready for bed. Tomorrow will be an early morning for us as we go into the Big Apple for as great day of touring. Hope the weather was good back home.

Day 6 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a great day in New York City. The weather was sunny and cool when we left the Hotel but it was cold by the time we arrived at Battery Park. We boarded the Ferry and went to Liberty Island where we got some good pictures of "The Lady" and did a little shopping in the gift shops. We went to Ellis Island and the groups did the scavenger hunt as they went throughout the Museum looking for answers for the questions. By 3:00 pm we were back on land and some of the kids and team leaders went to Ground Zero to get what was left and to see what they are trying to build in that spot. We walked down part of the financial section of DC and we took some pictures of the Merrill Bull before we got on the bus to go to The Lower East Side. We walked the streets of China Town for 90 minutes and then we went to Times Square to finish up our day. Everyone got a chance to see where the ball drops on New Years Eve and thet really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of that part of New York. After we left New York City we went back to the Hotel to get ready for our pizza party that consisted of pizza and soda. By 9:15 pm everyone was in bed as we had a bunch of tired kids and adults alike. Watch for us on TV on Saturday as we will we wearing our Red and Yellow jackets. Hope the weather was nice in Winslow because it was beauiful in New York. Talk to all of you on saturday night.

Day 7 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We started our day at 6:00 am with our wake up call and we loaded the bus before we had breakfast. Breakfast was from 6:45 - 7:15 am and then we were on our way to the Big Apple and the Today Show. We arrived just before 8:00 am and our first encounter was with a giant dinosaur that really excited the kids and adults. Bill, the weather man, was outside talking to the people and he finally made his way to our end and he mentioned on the air that some of his Winslow friends were in attendance. Most of us were on TV and by 9:00 am the groups broke up to do their shopping and sight seeing on 5th Avenue. We ended up at the FAO Swartz Toy store and by 11:30 am we were standing on the corner of 59th Street and Madison Avenue. We arrived in Bristol, Conn at 3:00 pm for a late lunch before we continued on our way to Kennebunk. We did not stop and we reached the Burger King at around 7:30 pm and after a short break we started our last leg home to Waterville, Maine. We arrived home at exactly 9:31 pm and 6 people had the correct time of our arrival. I would like to thank all of the Red Coats for a great week and I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. A special thanks to all of the Yellow Jackets for their hard work and for giving up a week of their time to spend it with us. Because of their effort the trip was a lot of fun. Also, a special thanks to Dave for his efforts and for getting us around to all of the places safe and sound.