Big City Lights 2016
At 7:25 on the morning of March 20, twelve members of the West Country Outreach School family flew to Boston to begin the biggest adventure of our lives. While in Boston we spent a very snowy morning on a walking tour of the city, learning about the history of the American Revolution and Paul Revere. We also drove to Salem to visit the Witch Museum and experience the hysteria that gripped that area in 1692 – very creepy.
On day three, we drove south to New York City, where we spent two days seeing all of the big tourist attractions – Times Square, Grand Central, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, Chinatown. A big highlight was seeing “Jersey Boys” on Broadway.
Day five saw us driving further south to Philadelphia where we took photos of the Liberty Bell and raced each other to the top of the famous Rocky Steps. Arriving in Washington, DC late that evening we had a quick dinner then walked to the White House for pictures.
On the morning of day six, we started at the Vietnam and Lincoln Memorials, before spending time hearing the story of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre. For the afternoon we visited Mt Vernon – the famous home of George Washington. In Alexandria, Virginia that evening, a ghost tour was on the agenda, and the cool temperature and wind made it that much creepier.
Day 7 we toured the US Capitol building, Arlington National Cemetery, and The Museum of Natural History. One of the real highlights of the trip was this evening when we dressed in our finest and walked through the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin while handing out Canada and Alberta flags and pins to people we met. The nine students on the trip embraced their roles as ambassadors for our country, and as the adults followed along behind them it was heartwarming and emotional to see all the people waving the maple leaf and putting on their new pins. The kids did an excellent job.
Our last day in Washington started at the International Spy Museum, was interrupted by the President driving by in a motorcade, and ended at the Holocaust Museum, an emotional conclusion to an exciting eight days.
Our students represented Canada in the best way possible, making new friends and spreading Canadian goodwill everywhere we went. Their willingness to talk with people about our great country and home town while soaking up all of the educational opportunities given to them made the adults on the trip proud. It was common to hear Americans share that our kids are amazing. We couldn’t agree more.