Day 7 - Washington DC Day 2

We started our second day in DC with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, and then by going to the Einstein statute and sitting in his lap.

We then went to tour the White House. We waited in 6 separate lines, but I think by the time we came out everyone thought it was worth the wait.  In the midst of our visit the first family came out on the lawn below and got into the helicopter Marine One.  Some were sure they glimpsed the President and First Lady although it was pretty hard to see through the trees.   It was fun to see the different rooms and read about all the events that have taken place there.  Katie's family joined us for the tour.

We had a bit of time to split into groups again and catch one more Smithsonian museum, whatever you missed yesterday like the museum of the American Indian, or the Botanical Gardens, then we met up at the Holocaust Museum for a sobering visit.

On the way back to the hotel we made one more stop - the Jefferson Memorial - then were back in time for dinner and some swimming in the hotel pool before turning in.

Here are some digital images from Day Seven:

Day 6 - Washington DC Day 1

Day Six began with a stop at Mount Vernon, south of DC.  Mount Vernon is George Washington's estate and we toured the impressive home.  Other big attractions were the resident pig and horse.

We then traveled into DC, split into groups and toured the Smithsonian museums.  Big attractions were the Natural History, American History, Air and Space and Modern Art museums.

After dinner we met David, a tour guide who took us around to the monuments, from Lincoln (and the "I have a dream" spot) to the Capital to Iwo Jima and also WWII where it was pouring rain, but we got out anyway to see one of the more impressive monuments.  Very entertaining and educational.

That's just three short paragraphs, but they represent a lot of walking and a lot of organizing.  We finally checked into our hotel and collapsed.

Here are many pics from Day 6:

Day Five - Raleigh NC to Midlothian Virginia

First off, a sincere apology from your friendly blogger.  I neglected to communicate the happy ending of the Wes Sawyer saga.  We had to reroute Wes to the New Bern airport, just outside of our Morehead City stop.  United doesn't fly there so it meant buying a new ticket on Delta.  For one leg only a first class ticket was available, but we couldn't ring another concert without him so we bit the bullet and Wes traveled in style.  Gina's mom Judy picked him up at the airport and we were joyfully reunited at the beach.

On Day Five we found lunch at the medical center across the street from the American Civil War museum.  The group was distraught when Miss Emma Allison, a delicate southerner, fainted away on account of the heat and humidity.  Bless my stars!  Fortunately there is a lot of medical expertise in this group and she was soon revived.  See the pictures below.  We then toured the museum and the White House of the Confederacy and saw the Tredegar Iron Works where the kids got to practice loading and firing (well, pretend firing) a civil war era cannon.    Much was learned about the Civil War.

We continued on to Midlothian and the kids played another great concert to close to 100 folks.  Gina had more family in the crowd as Chuck's brother helped arrange this concert.  The crowds and concerts continue to be strong on this trip.

A couple of additional notes on life on the bus.  First, the auction.  Everyone is required to keep their area clean and relatively neat.  Everything has to be up off the floor so the "inside crew" can sweep every night.  If anything is left on the floor it goes into the auction.  The next morning when everyone is back on the bus items are auctioned to the highest bidder.  Sometimes the original owner buys back their own possessions, sometimes they are outbid!

Another important bit about life on the bus is zipping on and off.  Every time a ringer gets off the bus they pull down a zipper that is mounted by the front door.  When they get back on the bus they zip back up.  This is one important way we keep track of everyone.  If someone forgets to either zip on or off, they are fined $1.00.  There is also a fine for any inappropriate language heard on the bus

All of the fines and auction proceeds go into an account and are used to pay for a senior lunch.  At some point during the tour Katie takes the seniors and super seniors out to lunch on the choir as a thank you for all of their hard work.

Here are some pictures from Day Five of the 2016 tour.



    

Day Four - MHC to Raleigh NC

Day Four began with a very short drive to Beaufort NC for a two hour kayak tour.  Beaufort is a beautiful little historical town on the waterfront.  We floated for a bit and stopped off at an island where wild ponies run free.  We also saw horseshoe crab and sea urchin.  Everyone got a bit wet but no one fell out although we did suffer the tragic loss of an iphone full of pictures.  Actually the phone is sitting inside a bag of kitty litter now, so who knows, maybe it will recover.

We arrived at Highland United Methodist Church in time for more rehearsal and to enjoy a wonderful pot luck dinner.  Our first true pot luck - we love those.  Ahead of the concert the church held a prayer and communion service in honor and memory of the victims in the Orlando shooting.  We were blessed to be able to participate with the congregation in worship.

The choir made good use of the extra rehearsal time and responded by playing their best concert yet.  Magnificent.  Jenn's friend Aaron from college came and took some professional quality pictures for us. All the chaperones are getting along great, almost like "brothers" and "sisters".  Gina was visited by her brother and his family (Jeff, Jennifer and Connor White), and Harold, Sue, and Sue and Susan Salmon.  (Chuck's uncle and family.)  Uncle Harold is a visiting pastor at Highland and helped lead the earlier service.

Four days in I thought it was time to tell you more about life on the bus.  Every day we have a devotional that Ed has prepared.  The theme this year is Star Tales and the Heavenly Zoo, stories of animals we see in the stars.  This is followed by a related prayer read by Katie.

The bank opens and anyone who needs spending money for the day comes up to make a withdrawal. There is also an ongoing craft - a heart and bell cross stitch many of the kids are working on.  Vitamins are passed out to everyone.  This is all followed up by quiet time, when generally everyone catches up on some sleep.

Here are some pics of day four:

Day Three - Charleston to Morehead City North Carolina

Day Three was an ocean and beach day for the choir, although only after another longish drive.  The timing worked out perfectly and we had just enough time to enjoy the Atlantic but not enough to achieve complete exhaustion.  We splashed in the waves at Fort Macon State Park Beach.

Our concert was at First Baptist Church where once again southern hospitality was on display. Kelly's grandma was key to the visit and concert.  100 people were in attendance and were treated to another great performance.

We are a bit short on pictures because of a tragic accident involving an iphone, a kayak and the deep blue sea.  But more on that tomorrow.  Enjoy what we have: