We thought it fitting and proper that the beginning of our sightseeing be Arlington National Cemetery. This place is truly sacred. You feel it the moment you enter. We heard stories about heroes and saw final resting places for many notable Americans. But it was the unknowns that moved me. They have an entire section of headstones for those whose bodies were not recovered in order to bring home to their families. This section made me incredibly sad for all those mother's who did not get to set their eyes upon their child one last time. I was moved to tears at the tomb of the unknown soldier. We were able to witness the changing of the guard and also a wreath laying service. It was on this day, 20 years ago, that Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia was bombed by a terrorist. 19 U.S. servicemen were killed and 498 others wounded. We saw and heard other things while at Arlington but this was what the day was all about for us. After leaving Arlington, we headed to Chinatown and had a great lunch at Chinatown Express. We watched the dumpling maker making the dumplings in the window and just had to go in for a bite. Afterwards, we went to the Spy Museum. That was interesting and I will just leave it at that. Pretty much too tired to do anything else at the end of the day, so we returned to our own Capitol Hill neighborhood and ate at a great little burger joint called "Good Stuff." It was good stuff but I'm still thinking about that pizza!
Friday, 6/24/16, we set out in our Saturn Vue to view the wonders our journey would hold. As usual, with any good road trip, there were bumps. Our route, that had been planned months before, was no longer accessible as it would take us through West Virginia. I want to pause here for a moment and say a prayer for all those in WV that are affected by the flooding and devastation. The scenes are truly horrific. With our course changed, we headed toward PA. Of course, we also have to forget something and for me it was a rain jacket. I have a beautiful rain jacket at home, in the closet, waiting to be taken on this trip. Oh well! Amazon ships everywhere and right from my phone! Now, back on track and rain jacket crisis averted. I hope that by purchasing the aforementioned rain jacket, this will be an insurance policy against the forcasted rainy days in the coming week. The remainder of our travel day was thankfully uneventful. We arrived safely to our hotel in DC. We decided to take a walk to shake off the sitting all day feelings. As we walked, this wonderful smell met our noses and we followed it right into a tiny pizza place called "We the Pizza." So, we had a slice and a sasparilla and boy was it good. Now I will be thinking about that pizza all week long. It was a great day and we are so happy to have arrived safely.
My journey to become a wandering teacher librarian began in January, 2016. It actually began years ago, but for purposes of this blog, it began when I decided to transform a dream into a reality. It all started with two emails. One, from the Library of Congress (LOC) telling me the application for the summer teacher institute was open. The second, from my school principal forwarding information about a grant opportunity for teachers who wanted to create their own professional development and needed funds to make it happen. Thus began the transformation of a dream. I have always wanted to attend the summer institute at the Library of Congress. I mean, it's the mothership to all librarians right? But a stay in Washington, D.C. can be costly, so I never even considered attending a reality. That is until I received word of the Fund for Teachers (FFT.) What an amazing opportunity to be able to create your own professional development anywhere in the world and have the travel and expenses provided! Upon further research, I decided to go for it. I worked diligently on both the LOC and FFT applications. I requested editing assistance from my school district's grant department, peers, my husband and even some brilliant students who I consider my groupies. I kept telling myself that the sun, moon and stars would have to align exactly for this to work out. I had to be accepted into the LOC institute and my FFT fellowship funded. What would I do if I got one but not the other? The waiting to hear was unnerving. I received the congratulatory email from LOC first and was delighted that I had been selected. However, I was still very tentative about being excited due to the funding issue. I had to wait two more weeks to receive word from FFT. The email was delivered on a bright day during my spring break. To say I was completely blown away by the news is definitely an understatement. The rest of the day, my husband kept saying "You're going to DC!" I really didn't believe it. I kept reading that email over and over. Well it was, and still is, true. I leave tomorrow for DC. I can't wait to see what this journey has in store for me. My goal for this blog is to memorialize my journey for proof that when you set a dream into motion it can become a reality. I hope that you will come back and read about my adventures.
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