Yesterday started at 9 AM when we met in the lobby of the hotel for our trek to the Newseum, something I had been looking forward to for the past week. I had a chance to tour the Newseum last summer and I couldn’t wait to get back. It was bitterly cold (although not as cold as Olean according to the Weather Channel) so we had to make a quick pitstop at Starbucks before we entered the museum.
Saturday Morning at Starbucks
The Newseum was not a disappointment. The students seemed to enjoy it (and the protest that erupted while we were there). As someone who is old enough to remember “history” many of the exhibits are particularly interesting. The Berlin Wall exhibit is fantastic.
Piece of The Berlin Wall
Checkpoint Charlie
The exhibit of the current day’s headlines also hit home as national and international papers reported on New York and the plane landing in the Hudson River.
The view from the 6th floor terrace was amazing, providing a nice background for another picture!!
6th floor terrace of the Newseum
The 9/11 exhbit is phenomenal. While the exhibit primarily focuses on photos and headlines, the antennae from the top of the World Trade Center is the definite centerpiece of the exhibit.
The exhibit of Pulitizer Prize winning photographs was another interesting part of the museum – maybe, once again, because I remember so many of these occurrences.
1967 - James Meredith Shot During Freedom Walk Across Mississippi
1971 - Kent State Massacre
And, of course, there always has to be a little humor
First Amendment Rights
After lunch we all headed out in different directions – some went shopping, others to the Holocaust Museum and some just wanted to breathe deep and put their feet up. I was off to Best Buy to try to find another battery for the camcorder. The one I had only lasted about an hour and there is no way that was going to work out once we are out on The Mall today and Tuesday. I also had to get a new cell phone as mine won’t hold a charge for more than a couple of hours. That turned into an entire afternoon disaster as Sprint couldn’t seem to activate the new phone. Finally, mission accomplished and I was on my way back to the hotel.
I was spending a very quiet evening in my room trying to program all my contacts into my new cell phone when there was a knock on my door. General Sorokes (Adam) and his ragtag crew decided they needed to reenact the crossing of the “Poo”tomac outside my room. I was laughing so hard I don’t think the video is even viewable!
All in all, another good day. The students were real troopers this week – attending every lecture and site visit with no complaints about the early starts and late end to the days. We are all off for a day of fun at what will probably be billed as “The Concert of the Year” on The National Mall. Some of the students left very early this morning so they could try to get as close to the stage (in front of the Lincoln Memorial) as possible. Others (and me) decided that we were not all that interested in being right up front so we will be heading out shortly.
I would like to say that the video of the concert will be up on the blog tonight, but (to my continued dismay) the internet connection at the hotel is so slow that it is almost impossible to upload the videos. It took over an hour to upload the short video I put up the other night.
I’m sure there will be all kinds of posts from the students tonight. Check back to see their comments on the concert.
