Day 5 - Friday May 14

We are the hottest, stickiest, smelliest group of people in DC tonight. It's been a very humid day and some of us are about to take our third shower of the day now we're back at the hotel for the night! Our day began with our visit to the Israeli Embassy where we learned a lot about the kinds of jobs that embassies do, and discovered some interesting details about relations between Israel and America.
Our afternoon was spent at the Spy Museum - crawling through ventilation shafts, learning about cryptography, looking for hidden cameras and working out whether any of us have got what it takes to be a spy...

After returning to change into our 'posh' outfits we celebrated Shabbat in the hotel and then went to a musical service at the 6th and I synagogue - services lasted about an hour and there was so much great music. The really cool thing for the chaperones was watching the students joining in and seeing them realize that they can go to temple in a strange place and find so much which is familiar.

After dinner in Chinatown we're back at the hotel now with the air conditioning turned down low and going straight to bed (after that longed for shower).a long day with lots of walking - we're definitely over the 20 mile mark now!

Tomorrow is our last day in DC before our final outing to Baltimore. hopefully some of the students will write the blog tomorrow - tonight we're so tired that there'll be no photos - sorry. We have literally hundreds of shots which you'll see eventually but tonight - the chaperones need some sleep!!
RK

Day 4 - Thursday May 13

We started our amazing day with a delicious breakfast at a coffee shop, Caribou Coffee.

After, we proceeded to the Air and Space Museum and had a blast (pun intended :D -Jenny). We saw rockets, planes, and had so much fun trying to man flight simulators. Although we are not professional pilots, some of us weren't THAT bad.

We had lunch in the original Post Office in DC (where Mrs K had a fantastic curry and is now a happy bunny!;)) and went up to the bell tower to see the city from above.

We then proceeded to the Museum of Natural History and spent hours there. The IMAX was awesome and most of us saw at least one movie. Jenny's favorite exibit was the gems which were absolutely gorgeous. Also, the museuem was quite diverse, having artifacts from every ancient time period, for what seemed like every species. It was so enlightening learning about the roots of our species, also called Homo Sapiens.

After some down time at the hotel, we finished the day with a trip to Whole Foods so we could come back to the hotel and enjoy a relaxing dinner. While eating, we looked at pictures from other days as a entertaining end to the evening. oh, and the teachers beat us (no we didn't - they're just trying to wind us up but they don't know I' m reading this before we post it!!! --RK hee hee).

-- Jenny & ALex

Hi, this is Rina,
Most random purchase of the day - Matthew's light up belt with sparkles!! Funniest moment for a chaperone - when David told the girls up front to turn right, one turned right, one walked straight ahead and one turned left!!! Why are the boys buying soft toys? Possible defining moment of the week... in the Ford's Theatre museum yesterday - Sam led storytime with a children's book about Abe, all our students sat around on the carpet while Sam read the story and showed us all the pictures. Awesome moment! By the way - this is an terrific group of students. We are so proud of how they are behaving! Thank you parents...

Day 3 - Wednesday May 12

It's late and we've sent the little children to bed - so this is your friendly neighborhood L Arts teacher reporting about today. After a good breakfast we spent the morning at the Holocaust Museum. We were there for more than 3 hours which tells you something about how much the group gained from the experience.
We walked the 'Lincoln end' of the mall, taking in the war memorials and a visit with Mr Lincoln, as well as ice cream and some serious 'hill rolling' - you will have to ask your kids about that, but I can tell you our group are champion hill rollers!!! We MIGHT let you see the recorded footage for which we received a round of applause from a small but devoted crowd of passers by...

After our first subway ride we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe before a trip to the theatre - Ford's Theatre, of course, to see Little Shop of Horrors (thank you for the tickets, Pardes Blend coffee!!!). Another subway ride and we just arrived home. We are all exhausted, so apologies for no photos tonight... you have no idea how long it takes and we all (chaperones included) need a good night's sleep.... Pictures tomorrow...promise...zzzz

[edit: Photos added.]

Day 2- Tuesday May 11

Here's a compilation posting from some of the boys and girls - about 8 students contributed to today's report! So far we've walked about nine miles on this trip - CVS did a good trade in gel insoles this evening.....

Really early this morning, the Pardes tour group dragged themselves out of bed with much help, or it could be called abuse, from our roommates, to go to the White House. After a quick scrumptious breakfast at Cosi's, we proceeded to wait in line for the tour. While waiting, an important, yet secret, dignitary drove by with much fanfare and police escorts. That was the most interesting part of that lengthy 45 minutes. We made it into the White House after a while, and the tour passed by in a flash. We were able to see into the China Room, and we also visited the Blue, Red, and East Rooms. They were very posh and decorative, so we spent some time admiring everything inside.

After a quick stop at the hotel, we proceeded to the National Museum of American History. There we saw exhibits ranging from the Star Spangled Banner to the original ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. One of the best things was the first ladies' dresses. There was a dress to represent every era and each were fashionable for their time period. It was just great!

In the afternoon we visited the Newseum, where we learned about the history of news and its importance. The Elvis exhibit was great, there was authentic memoro... stuff! There was a piece of the Berlin Wall that was on display that had incredible artwork. Also, the 4-D film was incredible. The movie was like a 3-D movie, except wind would blow at certain times and it was much more life-like. We had a great time.

On the way back to the hotel, we took a detour through a sculpture garden. Most of the works of art were up for interpretation! There was one huge, silver, metal, totally realistic looking tree. It looked amazing amongst all of the other trees.

We concluded our day with a walk to three different restaurants that we could choose from. The choices were Thai, Middle Eastern, and Pizza. Everyone had a great meal and now we're going to bed, because we're all exhausted!

Bon Soir!

Monday

We're off and running - or rather walking - over six miles and it's only day 1! After an uneventful flight (the best kind) we arrived in Baltimore to blue skies and a fresh breeze. A bus ride later, and we were checking into our hotel nice and easily by mid afternoon. After a short time to settle in we were off to our traditional first night restaurant - Italian and delicious! Everyone had a great meal and we were certainly ready to burn off some energy (and calories).

So we went for a walk down past the White House (photo op) and right up to the Washington Monument (more photo op) where a vigorous game of frisbee cleared the sinuses and reinvigorated everyone. As the afternoon moved towards evening we walked round the tidal basin to see the FDR memorial and the Jefferson Memorial (so many photo ops - thank goodness we're digital!!). By the time night fell we were walking up the steps of the floodlit Jefferson M - how beautiful!.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped for supplies (CVS ) and made it back to the hotel in time for bed at 11.

Tomorrow - the White House and the Newseum, and more.....

We're on our way!

Welcome to the PJDS Washington DC blog for 2010. You can follow all our adventures in our nation's capital. We'll be posting pictures and notes each day. Make sure you send us messages in return!