The grand finale of our trip lined up with one of our nation’s biggest celebrations: 4th of July on the Mall. We staked out a spot around 9AM along the parade route, then waited for a few hours for the fun to start. We saw Bolivian dancers, an Asian marching band, elementary schoolers on unicycles, various military divisions, and a few gigantic storybook balloons including Strawberry Shortcake, Paddington Bear, and Madeline. The state of Kansas seemed to have a corner on the high school marching band market—I’m sure we saw at least 4 Kansas bands.
Our view of the Lincoln Memorial
After the parade we had some time to spare until the Navy Band concert at 6PM. The chaperones took turns guarding a blanket that we strategically placed on a big field in between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. We had a great viewing spot for both the concert and the fireworks, which would be set off over the water that is sandwiched between the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Guarding the blanket seemed like an endless affair as we huddled under umbrellas for shade, but the kids got to have a few more hours to explore the Smithsonian Museums. It’s hard to say how much they actually saw, however, because the lines were terrible. Someone told me that the fireworks display was expected to attract an audience on the Mall of 700,000 people.
On The Mall
The Navy Band performed everything from 50’s and 60’s hits like “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Age of Aquarius” to contemporary favorites like “Popular” from the Broadway musical Wicked. Later the Navy Jazz Band, The Commodores, performed big band jazz charts and ballades with jazz vocalist Jane Monheit.
From afar we watched the steps of the Lincoln Memorial sparkle with camera flashes, and Lincoln himself was illuminated on his throne behind the stately Roman columns. Soon the memorial was clouded by smoke from bursting fireworks, and it was a spectacular show. Best ever, even—at least for someone with my limited experience.
The journey to our hotel at the end of the evening was a crowded venture, but the whole CHBA contingency managed to make it into the same subway car. Our students finished out the day in good spirits with an acapella performance of “Liberty Bell March” as we covered the last few blocks from the subway station to the hotel.
Day 9
Great Places: Intercourse, PA and New York, NY
The trip wrapped up with a morning visit to Mount Vernon. We took the “slave life tour” and walked through George Washington’s house and estate grounds, which are situated on the banks of the Potomac River. The view is lovely. No wonder he was so keen to retire. Poor George only lived two more years after his presidency, and we saw the tombs where he, and later Martha, were laid to rest.
We also walked through a museum on the property and our trip leader Pam made sure that we had time to view a 20 or 30 minute film on George Washington’s life. It was well-done, with actors playing George, other generals, and Martha, but the number of us who actually saw much of it was small. A weary, sun-baked audience in a dark theater can’t be expected to learn too much: An embarrassing percentage of our party later confessed to sleeping through the film, including at least one of the directors! (I’ll let you guess who.) Somehow everyone perked up on the bus ride to the airport while Lord of the Rings was playing in the coach.
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All in all, the trip was a huge success, and it was a amicable, friendship-bonded group that stepped through the Baltimore airport doors for our flight check-in. We learned a lot, we performed a lot, and we laughed a lot, and some of the students were genuinely heart-broken that the trip was over. I suppose they’ll be the first ones to sign up for our next band tour….
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