The 8th grade social studies teacher has been planning field trips to Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. for many years. I went on my first field trip with the kids at the end of my first year in Hampstead, and was thoroughly amazed at the opportunity these kids had.  Previous trips included both Obama inaugurations and Katie had made plans for the students to attend the 2017 inauguration all the way back in May of 2016. I try to keep my politics out of this blog, but suffice it to say that I, and many of the other school personnel going on the trip, voted for the other candidate.  We’d been anticipating an event that, like the previous administration, broke new ground for the office of the president. This was not to be the case this year.  We also became more aware of planned demonstrations that would be occurring during our visit, raising my level of anxiety as administrator on the trip.

Our first stop on the trip was in Philadelphia, where the second and third inaugurations were held in Congress Hall. Our tour included the obligatory stop at the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House, Christ Church, and Ben Franklin’s printing press.

After Philadelphia, we traveled south to our hotel outside Baltimore to get some sleep before the next day’s inaugural ceremonies. Early the next morning, we took the subway into the city as it provided the easiest way to get us to the heart of the capital. Security was extremely tight and one of our students almost got excluded trying to bring a camera into the event. Our group wore yellow windbreaker hoodies which made it easy to spot us in a crowd. Katie had gotten our tickets through our Senator’s office and we were positioned in the first standing area in front of the capitol. I thought it amazing we were able to get this close. Whether you like the administration or not, America has an excellent system of transferring power from one party to another. The ceremony is impressive for anyone who occupies the office.

After the event, we attempted to make our way to the Air and Space museum for lunch, but large crowds, barricades, and spontaneous demonstrations made it difficult for us to move around. We changed our plans and headed back for a surprise meal at Dave and Busters.  The kids were probably happier anyway.

Saturday was our sightseeing day. The plan was to begin at Arlington National Cemetery and make our way back to the capitol building. The only glitch in this plan was the Women’s March on Washington that filled the streets between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. This time we were bound and determined to make it the Air & Space museum for lunch. Our yellow jacketed group grabbed the backpacks of the person in front of them and snaked their way through throngs of protesters. We were amazed though, at how helpful these protesters were. They asked where we were from and cheered us on as we made our way through the crowds. We made it to the museum and while we sat, the march moved through the city and was cleared out by the time we finished eating. I’ve been to the Air and Space museum twice before and missed seeing the Enterprise model from Star Trek. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the exhibit was now located in the main foyer and proudly got my picture. After the museum, we made our way up and around the capitol, the supreme court building, and back to the mall before being picked up by our coach for dinner and then back to the hotel. An exhausting but memorable day.

Our trip back to New Hampshire included a stop at Battery Park in New York City. After visiting the WTC memorial fountain, we walked down Wall Street to see Federal Hall where the first inauguration took place, and then to Trinity Church to sing at the tomb of Alexander Hamilton.  After lunch at Shake Shack, we took a quick sight seeing tour through Manhattan and headed home.

Despite the crowds and fears of unexpected events, our kids were great! Many of them remarked that the protest was their favorite part of the trip and how cool it was to see the 1st amendment being acted out in that way.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to attend another inauguration so I feel extremely fortunate for the opportunity.

 

*I do not post pictures of the students due to school district policy.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller