DC '13 DAY ONE

Day One of our 16th annual Washington DC trip began bright  dark and early at 2:30 am when we loaded the buses to head off on an adventure. We were loaded and ready to leave before 3:00 am. We drove until about 6:45 am when we stopped for breakfast at Shoney's in Charleston WV. We were not sure we were ever going to get to eat, but we finally did. We may have taken up the entire restaurant and we may have had way too much to eat, but it fueled us up for our big day ahead.

After breakfast we drove on towards our big city destination stopping once we exited the state of West Virginia and entered the state of Virginia. We were greeted with snow and of course we had to take a quick restroom break ( well as quickly as 101 people can make a restroom break) and take a few photos.

Have no fear. These guys have the trip all mapped out.

We loaded the buses again and made our way to our first official stop!! We might have made a few wrong turns but we found ourselves at the home of Thomas Jefferson- Monticello by lunch time. We hopped off the bus, enjoyed a nice sack lunch on the chilly grounds and then toured the plantation, home and museums. We watched a movie about his life and enjoyed the afternoon immersed in history.

We spent most of our day at Monticello enjoying it all before getting on the bus to head to dinner. We stopped for dinner in Glen Allen VA at Golden Corral. It was a good thing that  they knew we were coming because we were a hungry bunch and there sure were a lot of us.

Yes, we all ate our vegetables! :)

After dinner we found our way to our hotel. We got all checked in, got our journals and instructions for the next day. After paragraph writing, showers and a little visiting it was time for lights out and we all rested up for our day two adventures!

Journal writing teamwork.

Day one was memorable, filled with lots of learning, laughs and exhausted us all. Come back a read all about the rest of our week. I have over 500 pictures to share as I recap our trip. Thanks for stopping by to hear all about our week in The Nation's Capital. 

Mrs. Snyder