Louis Pasteur Middle School Washington D.C. Trip

06/19/2019

Last Day on Tour! On our last day in New York we began the day by walking over to Rockefeller plaza and eating at Cucina & Co. After breakfast we saw that the Today show was filming outside so we hustled over to see what they were doing and tried to get on t.v. About half of the kids got through security in time and were able to get filmed behind Al Roker on the plaza! We then walked over to St. Patrick's Cathedral and took a quick walk through one of the largest Catholic cathedrals in the world. From there we let the kids explore the area for a bit allowing them to walk and shop down 5th Ave., to check out Rockefeller plaza where a lot of New York's biggest events take place in and to shop the many stores in the area. Then we walked back to the hotel to gather our belongings and load onto the bus. The bus took us down to the Harbor to board "The Beast" a huge open air speed boat that blasts loud music while speeding out to the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately it started to rain just as we pulled out from the dock. The rain felt like needles hitting our face as we streaked past New Jersey and Lower Manhattan. Even though we got soaked, it was a fun ride and everyone got a great view of Lady Liberty. Once done with our speed boat ride we headed over to Grand Central Station making our last stop in the city to eat lunch in the stations food court. As most of the kids noticed it is beautiful and famous NYC land mark, most remembering it from the movie "Madagascar".
After lunch it was time to head to the airport and get ready to head back to Sacramento. Since we were reunited with our suitcases most of the kids grabbed any dry clothes they could find and changed out of their soaking wet clothes before we went through security, then it was time to wait for our plane. Unfortunately due to poor weather we were delayed about an hour, but we finally got off and the kids were happy to get home and see their families waiting for them at the Sacramento Airport.
As with every year this was another great trip! This group was so much fun to travel with. Thank you to all you parents for allowing me the opportunity to take your children on this once in a lifetime adventure. I hope this sparks their interest to continue to explore and experience what this world has to offer. Many of the kids stepped out of their comfort zones on this trip and challenged themselves to work through and try new things, I am very proud of them. Thank you to Richard Klem our travel guide for most of the trip and Albert our temporary guide in NYC for helping everything run smoothly, their vast knowledge and giving our students & parents a memorable experience. Thank you to Hank our bus driver in DC and from DC to New York for getting us safely from here to there and his positive upbeat attitude throughout the trip. Thank you to Mr. Po***ck for helping chaperone and accompanying me on the trip. Lastly thanks to all the kids for being great travel companions, you will all be missed next year at Pasteur, good luck in high school!

06/19/2019

The Beast!

Rockin out on our ride back from the Statue of Liberty!

06/19/2019

2019 Washington DC/New York City

06/18/2019

Broadway Classroom

Broadway Classroom

06/18/2019

Broadway Classroom

Broadway Classroom

06/18/2019

Broadway Classroom

Broadway Classroom

06/18/2019

Broadway Classroom

Broadway Classroom

06/18/2019

Day 5, "Talk about packing it in" Today was our last and only full day in NYC, so we tried to get us much in as we could. The day started off with breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe on Time Square. After breakfast it was off to our Broadway classroom, where the kids got to learn a song and dance number from a show. We learned a number from Cinderella. We started out by warming up our vocal chords, then learned and sang a song from the show. This was followed by learning the choreography for the dance that went with the song. This is all taught by an actual broadway performer, ours was an understudy from Frozen, the show we say yesterday. We then ended our activity with Q&A with the instructor.
After the Broadway class we took the entire group down into the subway and road the train to lower Manhattan, to shop and walk around China Town and Little Italy. The kids got to bargain with the vendors and see some of life on the Island. From there we walked downtown to eat lunch near ground zero of the World Trade Center. At the end of lunch we had to say good-bye to Richard our tour guide and met our new guide, Albert. Albert took us on a walking tour of downtown Manhattan and the Financial district, stopping places like Wall Street and Battery Park. We ended at the 9/11 museum and memorial and the kids got to spend some time learning about the horrible events of that day. We then walked around the memorial fountains.
Dinner was at the famous Shake Shack. The kids enjoyed the meal and loved the concrete custard/ice cream. After dinner we got to go up to the top of the new World Trade Center 1, the tallest building in NYC. It's over 100 stories high. We spent time at the top taking pictures of the amazing view. Even though it was a lot, and the kids and adults were tired, we had time for one more activity, so Albert lead a majority of the group halfway across the Brooklyn bridge for what was an amazing view of the city at night. The pictures speak for themselves! After that we took another ride on the subway back to Time Square and turned in for the night.

06/18/2019

2019 Washington DC/New York City

06/17/2019

Day 4-New York City. Today we got up ate breakfast and departed for New York. It was a good opportunity for the kids to get some extra rest, while others watched as we traveled up north. We made a pit stop in Delaware and stopped and ate lunch in New Jersey adding two more states to the list of new locations for most of our young travelers. As we approached Manhattan Island we were treated to a beautiful view of the New York City skyline, even catching a glimpse of Lady Liberty way off in the distance. Since we made good time on the road, we got into town with time to make a quick stop in Central Park. The kids got to walk through the park and see how busy it is on a Sunday afternoon, since most people in the city are not working. Because we were close enough, we walked the dozen blocks to Time Square where our hotel is located. The kids got to see the hustle and bustle of the city and the chaos that is Time Square. Since some of our rooms were not ready, we decided to walk over to the theater to get in line for our matinee showing of Frozen. The kids enjoyed the show, unfortunately we were not allowed to sing along. The nice thing about the location of the show was that it was located right next to the restaurant where we were scheduled to eat dinner, Johns' Pizzeria. This is one of my favorite places to eat in the city, bring out a huge variety of delicious pizzas and end the meal with a plate of fresh cookies and cannolis. After dinner we walked back to Time Square and took our professional group photo, once that was done we were finally able to check into our rooms. We then went back down to Time Square to take in the sights and shop a little but until it was time to return and get ready for bed.

06/17/2019

2019 Washington DC/New York City

06/16/2019

On our way to NYC!

06/16/2019

Day 3 Our day began with a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. Luckily it was a little cloudy and there was a pleasant breeze so for what is usually a hot and humid experience turned out to be a pretty nice morning to walk the cemetery. We started out learning about the history of the National Cemetery and how it was once Robert E. Lee's home, until the Civil War. We went to JFK's grave site and got to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, their was even a wreath laying ceremony by one of the visiting middle school's. Before heading out, a couple of our students were able to find and visit the grave site of a family member who is buried in the cemetery. After our visit to Arlington Cemetery we made a quick stop at Iwo Jima, the Marine Corp. memorial since it is located right next to the cemetery. We took a few photos and headed off to lunch. Today lunch was at Pentagon City, which is a huge shopping mall near the Pentagon. The kids were able to choose from the many restaurants within the food court.
After lunch we made a quick stop at the National Archives where so the kids could see the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. From there we moved onto the National Mall to visit the Smithsonian museums. The kids were given several hours to walk around and explore the area choosing which museums they wanted to visit. Some got to go to the Holocaust museum and the Air and Space museum or the Natural History museum (where the brand new Dinosaur exhibit was debuting), we also went to the Museum of American History where they have the original Star Spangled Banner and Dorothy's ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz. At this point everyone had covered a lot of distance and had tired feet. This made for a good time to sit down and eat some dinner.
After dinner we made a couple more stops before heading back to the hotel. First we went to the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon and then to the Air Force memorial where the kids got a nice view of Washington DC and enjoyed rolling down a big hill next to the monument. We then made one last stop at a store to pick-up snacks for the long drive to New York tomorrow. After our shopping stop, we headed back to the hotel. Since we got in a little early, those that chose to, got the take a dip in the hotel pool before turning in for the night.

06/16/2019

2019 Washington DC/New York City

06/15/2019

Day 2 in Washington DC. Everyone was able to get up and make it to breakfast on time this morning. We started our day with a photo stop at the White House. We then headed down to the World War II memorial. After taking some photos and learning about the 2nd World War, we ventured on to the U.S. Capitol. We started with a short video then took a tour of the Capitol and had lunch and spent some time in the Capitol shop. After that we walked in an underground tunnel to the Library Congress, then to the Supreme Court.
Next we got back on the bus and took a drive out to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. We toured the estate, seeing the mansion and his inventive out-house/bathroom. We also saw his tomb, where he and Martha Washington were laid to rest. The group was then given some time to check out a museum and the gift shop.
The day ended with a trip to the ball park to see the Washington Nationals take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. We ate at the park and rooted the home team on to victory! After the game we headed back to the hotel to get some rest for another busy day of touring tomorrow.

06/15/2019

2019 Washington DC/New York City

06/14/2019

When it rains it pours, at least today it did! We started another adventure to the East Coast today. Our journey started out with an early morning meet up at the Sacramento airport at 4:40 am to catch a 6:40am flight to Baltimore, MD. Luckily it was a direct flight and everything went smoothly and we arrived without any incidents. Once on the ground in Maryland we met up with our old friend tour guide "Uncle Rico" and our bus driver Hank. We took a short drive to American University where we had dinner in the campus cafeteria. After dinner we started to head out to the bus when I noticed some dark clouds and a few sprinkles on the ground, "oh it looks like it going to rain". With-in seconds sprinkles turned to rain and then the rain turned into a torrential down pour! We scrambled for the bus, but got stuck at a red light and had to sit and get soaked. As the light turned green a lightning strike crashed right above us and we ran for the bus, it was too late though at that point it was like we had all jumped into a swimming pool, we were completely soaked.
From there we were off to tour the monuments for our evening activity, luckily the rain stopped pretty much once we were on the bus (great timing). Our first stop was at the Thomas Jefferson memorial, then we walked to the FDR and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials. We boarded the bus and drove over to the Korean memorial, Lincoln memorial and ran through the Vietnam memorial as the rain started back up, luckily the sun had set and it was time to head back to the hotel. We checked into our rooms and watched the last half of the NBA finals, unfortunately it was not the Warriors night.☹️

06/14/2019

2019 Washington DC/New York City

06/12/2018

Day 6, Last day in NYC. We started the day by saying good-bye to Richard at breakfast, our awesome tour guide, who had to meet his next group and said hello to our fill-in guide for the day Mitch. Mitch took us to the city for our final day in the New York before our flight home. We began the day with a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center. We got some great views of the city from all sides. We then walked over and checked out St. Patrick's Cathedral. Mitch challenged the kids to take a unique artistic photo, and the kids were up to the challenge, taking some really nice pictures. After a quick look at the cathedral, the kids were given a chance to walk, see and shop on 5th Ave. before taking a tour of the NBC studios, they got to see where Saturday Night Live is filmed and make star in their own talk show. After our studio tour we were done and on our way to JFK airport. Mitch decided to make one last minute stop at the beautiful Grand Central train station on the way to the airport, which was a neat special treat for the kids to see. At JFK we checked into our flight and ate dinner in the airport before heading back home to Sacramento.
As I type out this final entry for the 2018 trip I would like to thank all the kids for another great East Coast trip. I have been on this trip many times, and it never gets old, in part because of the joy I get by experiencing this fun trip with awesome kids each year. Thank you to all the parents, those who came on the trip and enjoyed the fun and madness with us, and to all the parents for sending their kids on this memorable experience. Lastly thank you to World Strides and their staff, Richard our tour guide, Jonathan our bus driver and the teacher chaperones for everything they did to make this trip a smooth and fun experience for me and the parents and kids who traveled this year. Now it is time to start planning for 2019! Have a great summer.

06/12/2018

New York 2018

06/11/2018

Day 5, Last Full day in NYC. We started our day off with a trip to Central Park for a walk through the park. It was a little wet out this morning and continued to sprinkle throughout the day, which was nice because it kept the temperature down all day. After Central Park we were off to our Broadway show rehearsal, where we got to learn a song and dance number from the broadway show, "School of Rock" which we were scheduled to see tonight. After the class the kids were give about an hour to explore and buy lunch in the immediate area around the dance studio. After lunch it was a short drive to the harbor to catch a boat out to the Statue of Liberty. Besides seeing lady liberty, we got a great view of the city, Ellis Island and the New Jersey coast line. Then it was off to dinner, but we ended up with some extra time before dinner, so the kids were allowed to explore a little in Time Square. Dinner was at "John's Pizza" a really good local pizza restaurant. From dinner we walked to the theatre to see our broadway show, "School of Rock". The kids seemed to really enjoy the show. After the show is was back to the bus, with a quick stop back in Time Square for a group photo. Tonight is our last night before we head back home to Sacramento.

06/11/2018

Broadway Classroom

Broadway Classroom

06/11/2018

Broadway Classroom

Broadway Classroom

06/11/2018

New York 2018

06/11/2018

Broadway Class

Broadway Class

06/10/2018

Day 4, Today was our last day in Washington DC. We started out the day by traveling to Arlington National Cemetery. It was a little more humid than it had been the last couple of days, so walking the hills of Arlington was a little tough on the kids. They got to see The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard ceremony. We then walked over and saw the grave site of John F. Kennedy and his brothers Robert and Teddy. Once we were done at Arlington we were ready to leave DC and head to New York. We made a lunch stop in Delaware before getting to Manhattan. We made pretty good time on the way which allowed the kids some time to shop in China Town for souvenirs before eating dinner at a local Chinese Restaurant. The portions were huge and the kids got to show off their chop stick skills. After dinner we got to experience some of the sites in lower Manhattan. First we walked over part of the Brooklyn Bridge, then we walked to the 9/11 memorial site. From there we walked down to Wall Street and also got to see where George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States. Then we headed for our hotel in New Jersey. It is right on the water so we have a great view of the Manhattan sky line.

06/10/2018

New York 2018

06/10/2018

Washington DC 2018

06/09/2018

Day 3, After breakfast today, we made our way out to Mount Vernon to learn about and visit the home of our first president, George Washington. We saw things like the room he lived in and the tomb where he and Martha were laid to rest. We also got to see a bunch of his personal artifacts in the museum and watch a 4D movie about some of his major battles in the Revolutionary War. From Mount Vernon we headed back into Washington for lunch. After lunch we took a trip to the National Mall and went to the National Archives to see original copies of the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights and the Constitution. After a short walk we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Smithsonian Museums. Everyone was given a choice of what museums they wanted to go to, but most either went to the Natural History, American History or Air & Space. We then gathered at Air & Space to go over to the Washington Nationals Stadium to watch the Nationals play the San Francisco Giants. Because the stadium is so close to the hotel, we were able to watch most of the game and see the Giants beat the Nationals. Tonight is our last night in DC, then it off to New York tomorrow.

06/09/2018

Washington DC 2018

06/08/2018

Day 2, Our day began with a trip to the Newseum. The Newseum is a museum that follows history through the lens of the media. Students got to see artifacts like a portion of the Berlin wall, Pulitzer Prize winning photos and damaged items from the World Trade Center attack. From there we headed to the White House for a photo stop before lunch. After lunch we made the short trip to the Capitol for our souvenir photo shoot and tour of the U.S. Capitol. We then walked from the Capitol over to see the amazing Library of Congress, probably one of the most beautiful buildings in DC. From there it was time to head to dinner, on our way we made one final stop at the Jefferson Memorial for a little history and picture in front of the monument. Dinner was at a really good Mexican restaurant near our hotel. After dinner we set out to see a few more monuments to finish out our day. Our first stop was at the World War II Memorial and then after a short walk we were at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. We finished out our walk at the FDR Memorial. On our way back to the hotel we made a final stop at the Marine Corp. "Iwo Jima" memorial. Tonight we actually got finished with touring a little early, so the kids had about an hour to hang out at the hotel before their bed check, so they were given a little free time to swim at the hotel pool, good for them, bad for the poor guests who decided to take a late night dip tonight.

06/08/2018

Washington DC 2018