Day 5 – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

We started our day with Mrs. Andresen making an inexcusable excursion back to her room while the entire entourage waited (patiently, I might add) for her to retrieve her name badge. I forget the litany of excuses, but suffice it to say, they were many and none of them were particularly good. However, being “in charge” has its advantages, so we all silenced our objections and got on with our day.

After our delayed start, we headed to the National Gallery of Art (http://www.nga.gov) to browse through their obscure collection of unknown artists – Van Gogh, Degas, Monet – and dozens of others you probably have never heard of. It was amazing to stand inches away from these priceless original paintings. In addition to the artwork, the museum was a work of art unto itself with beautiful hallways, fountains and rotundas.

We walked to the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania avenue (http://www.oldpostofficedc.com) for lunch. Many of us took the opportunity to go up to the old steeple for a commanding, open air view of D.C.

After lunch we walked to Ford’s Theatre (http://www.fordstheatre.org) to view the site of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. It was recently renovated, but it appeared they were still working on the stage area – possibly in preparation for a play. While rich with history, there wasn’t any sort of presentation, so we just kind of shuffled through and took pictures. The Peterson House, across the street, was where President Lincoln died the next morning, and we enjoyed a brief tour before heading off for a shopping spree.

Each chaperon group had the remaining 3 hours of the day to do whatever they wanted. We did a bit of shopping and then headed back to the hotel on the Metro. Other groups may have gone to the Kennedy Center to watch some Irish Dancing, and I know one chaperon was trying to bribe his group to go back to the Air & Space Museum! I don’t think he was successful – the kids are simply too shrewd at bargaining.

Pictures from today are posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/dorth999/20090317Day5?authkey=Gv1sRgCOKIt9qj8eW9jwE#