Your Itinerary Overview
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Your itinerary overview The following itinerary is a working document and is subject to change. May 12, 2021 Departure │ Arrival and Acclimation in Washington, D.C. Wednesday ▪ Students make own way to Washington, D.C. (Optional coach transfer from Elizabethtown College campus to Washington hotel is priced separately/not included.) Washington, D.C. Accommodations: Welcome to Washington, D.C.! This is the heart of American democracy, where history, power, Courtyard by Marriott Dunn and action converge on the banks of the Potomac River. This stately city is among the most Loring Fairfax (1 of 13) important in the world, and yet, somehow, monumentally American. ▪ Make own way to accommodations and check in. ▪ Receive Metro passes to use while in D.C. Card may be used with Metrobus. ▪ Enjoy a free afternoon and evening with dinner on own. May 13 Washington, D.C. Thursday ▪ Meet your WorldStrides staff member and use the Metro to tour the city today. Meals Included: United States Capitol Breakfast at the hotel Tour one of the nation’s most recognized and celebrated buildings and the home of the United States Congress (entrance free of charge). During our guided tour of the Capitol, we will learn Washington, D.C. about America's legislative history and admire the place in which it unfolded. Classical Accommodations: architecture, interior embellishments, and hundreds of paintings, sculptures, and other artworks Courtyard by Marriott Dunn are integral elements of the Capitol. A highlight of the tour is the National Statuary Hall, which Loring Fairfax (2 of 13) was originally the chamber of the House of Representatives. In 1864, it became Statuary Hall, so named because it is the main exhibition area for the national statuary collection composed of 100 statues – two from every state – commemorating famous Americans. Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress Hear about the history and work of the Library of Congress as you tour this historic building and learn about its symbolic art and architecture (entrance free of charge). ▪ Lunch will be on own, break provided. Supreme Court of the United States Take a brief self-guided tour of the nation’s highest court. Highlights include a John Marshall statue, and portraits and busts of former Justices (entrance free of charge). ▪ Spend the remainder of the afternoon along the National Mall. You can visit any of the Smithsonian Museums, including the National Gallery of Art, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of African-American History and Culture, or the Smithsonian Castle. ▪ Enjoy a free evening with dinner on own. 4 May 14 Abraham Lincoln’s Washington Friday ▪ Meet your WorldStrides staff member and use the Metro to tour the city today. Meals Included: President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home Breakfast at the hotel On the grounds of what is now the Armed Forces Retirement Home, this national monument was once used by Abraham Lincoln as his summer residence during the Civil War. It has been Washington, D.C. called the “most significant historic site directly associated with Lincoln’s presidency aside from Accommodations: the White House.” Today it serves to educate visitors on his personality, wartime decision- Courtyard by Marriott Dunn making, and the emancipation policy (entrance included). Loring Fairfax (3 of 13) Ford’s Theater On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was in the audience at one of the most popular playhouses in Washington watching the celebrated comedy, Our American Cousin, when John Wilkes Booth crept into the president's box and shot him. The theater today has been remodeled and restored to its appearance on the night of the tragedy. A National Park Ranger will provide a talk on the history of the theater and the story of the assassination [depending upon the performance schedule at Ford’s Theatre; entrance fee included]. We will visit the Lincoln Museum on the lower level, where exhibits include the Derringer pistol used by Booth and a diary in which he outlines his rationalization for the deed. ▪ Lunch will be on own, break provided. William Petersen House Continue across the street from Ford’s Theater to the house where President Lincoln was taken after the shooting and where he died the following morning. The house is furnished with period pieces and looks much as it did on that fateful April night (entrance included). National Archives Visit the National Archives (entrance free of charge), which displays our country's most important original documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights (collectively known as the Charters of Freedom). Explore the National Archives' Public Vaults, the permanent exhibit that allows you a sense of going into the stacks and vaults of the Archives to encounter fascinating original records (including Abraham Lincoln's telegrams to his generals and audio recordings from the Oval Office). At any given time the Public Vaults exhibit displays over 1,000 documents, photographs, maps, drawings, film or audio clips, allowing you to see the raw materials of our American democracy. Learn about the preservation work that goes on behind the scenes. ▪ Spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring more of the Smithsonian Museums. ▪ Enjoy a free evening with dinner on own. 5 May 15 Washington, D.C. Saturday ▪ Tour sites on own and use the Metro today. Meals Included: Lincoln Memorial Breakfast at the hotel Visit this beautiful and moving testament to one of the nation's greatest presidents (entrance free of charge). The neoclassical temple-like structure has 36 fluted Doric columns representing the states of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death, plus two at the entrance. On Washington, D.C. the attic parapet are 48 festoons symbolizing the number of states in 1922, when the Accommodations: monument was erected? Hawaii and Alaska are noted in an inscription on the terrace. The Courtyard by Marriott Dunn memorial chamber has limestone walls inscribed with the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's Loring Fairfax (4 of 13) Second Inaugural Address and the famous seated statue of Lincoln. Due east is the Reflecting Pool, lined with American elms and stretching 2,000 feet toward the Washington Monument, with a view of the Capitol beyond. War Memorials Also visit the moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where two long, black granite walls in the shape of a V are inscribed with the names of the men and women who gave their lives, or remain missing, in the longest war in American history; and the Korean War Memorial, which honors those who served in the 3-year conflict (1950-53) that produced almost as many casualties as Vietnam. The National World War II Memorial was dedicated on May 29, 2004 and fits nicely into the landscape between the Washington Monument grounds to the east and the Lincoln Memorial and its reflecting pool to the west. Fifty-six 17-foot-high granite pillars representing each state and territory stand to either side of a central plaza and the Rainbow pool. Twenty-four bas-relief panels, 12 lining each side of the walkway, illustrate seminal scenes from the war years as they relate to the Pacific theater and panels on the opposite side are sculpted scenes of war moments related to the Atlantic theater. Inscriptions at the base of each pavilion fountain mark key battles. Beyond the center Rainbow Pool is a wall of 4,000 gold stars, one star for every 100 soldiers who died in World War II. (No applicable entrance fees.) ▪ Lunch will be on own, break provided. ▪ Spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring more of the Smithsonian Museums. ▪ Enjoy a free evening with dinner on own. May 16 Georgetown and Dumbarton Oaks Sunday ▪ Tour sites on own and use the Metro today for a full day in Georgetown. Meals Included: Georgetown Breakfast at the hotel Georgetown is the oldest section of Washington, and home to Georgetown University where we will have time to browse along the lively streets of this popular neighborhood. Follow your Washington, D.C. program leader on a walking tour of the Georgetown sites associated with the Kennedys. Accommodations: Courtyard by Marriott Dunn ▪ Stop for lunch on own. Loring Fairfax (5 of 16) Dumbarton Oaks Explore this Harvard University research institute, library, museum, and garden (entrance included). The museum houses collections of Byzantine and pre-Colombian art. The garden was named by National Geographic as one of the ten best gardens in the world. ▪ Enjoy a free evening with dinner on own. 6 May 17 Woodlawn Plantation and Hillwood Estate Monday ▪ Meet your WorldStrides staff member and board half-day coach. Meals Included: Woodlawn Plantation and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House Breakfast at the hotel Contrast the architectural and historical backgrounds of these two unique homes (entrances included), both sites of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Woodlawn was part of Washington, D.C. George Washington’s Mt. Vernon and was designed by the same architect as the U.S. Capitol. Accommodations: The Pope-Leighey House was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930’s in his Courtyard by Marriott Dunn effort to create affordable middle-class homes. Loring Fairfax (6 of 13) ▪ On the way back to Washington, we will pass through Alexandria, stopping for lunch on own and some shopping (time permitting). ▪ Continue this afternoon via Metro. Hillwood Estate Explore this former residence of Marjorie Merriweather Post. It is now a decorative arts museum known for its collection that focuses heavily on the House of Romanov, including impressive Faberge eggs. Take some time to wander the 25-acre gardens and natural woodlands.