Heritage Tour-Messalonskee Jr. High
April 20-26, 2008

Day 1 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

The baseball gods were watching over us on Saturday as the Yankees lost 6 to 0 to the Orioles and the Red Sox came back to beat the Rangers 5 to 3.

What a beautiful morning. A little on the cool side but dry. Everyone arrived at the Alfond Youth Center by 5:30 am and we headed South at exactly 6:00 am. We arrived at the Burger King at 7:40 am for our first stop and we arrived at Plymouth at 10:30 am. We had a good tour of the Mayflower II b ut the “Rock” was not available because they were doing some construction on it. We spent about 2 ½ hours at the Plantation having lunch and touring the Plantation and the Indian Village. We left Plymouth right on schedule and had our supper break in Madison, Conn. at 5:00 pm We left at 6:00 pm and traffic was moving right along and at 7:00 pm the traffic slowed down to a crawl. The signs said that there was a delay up ahead and it took us 90 minutes to go about 6 miles. We finally made it to the hotel at 9:30 pm and by ten everyone was in their rooms for the night. Wake up call for Monday was 5:30 am as we wanted to be at Battery Park by 8:30 am to do Liberty and Ellis Islands. We will be at the Lower East Side in the pm before we head to Penn. Hope everyone had a great day. The weather was great and so was everyone on the two busses.

Day 2 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We had an early start this morning as we had a 5:00 am wake up call to have breakfast at 6:00 am, load the bus at 7:00 am and leave by 7:15 am. By 7:00 am everything was loaded and we left for New York City and Battery Park. We made the first Ferry (A first for me) at 9:00 am but we didn’t leave until 9:30 am. We did Liberty Island first and by 10:00 am we again loaded the Ferry to head for Ellis Island. We took the 12:00 noon Ferry back to Battery Park (At least some of us did) and after a short stay in Battery Park, we all walked up to Ground Zero. Between the construction and crowds, our bus drivers couldn’t get very close to us and we had to walk to them. We arrived at the Lower East Side Tenement a little late, but all of the groups got a chance to visit the Tenement Museum and they had a great time. The program that we had made us appreciate what we have now. The walk thru China Town and Little Italy went well as we had a chance to see a different culture than ours. Some of the people tried some New York Pizza and it was super. We had supper at the Home Town Buffet before we headed to Ft. Washington and our Hotel. We had the kids in bed by 10:00 pm as we have another busy day tomorrow. We are in Philly. and the Amish Country tomorrow. I hope that everyone had a great day today as we sure did.
Day 2 Messalonskee

Day 3 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We woke up this morning to a warm, sunny day and had a great continental breakfast to start our day. We headed into Philly at 7:45 am to see where our government began. We saw the Liberty Bell first and then we toured Independence Hall with a guided tour. The groups had a two hour window where they had a chance to explore Philadelphia and see some of the sights that made that city famous. Some of us had our Philly steak and cheese sandwich in the Bourse and our last stop was the mint where we had a chance to see how they made coins. They were making pennies and quarters today and things looked a little slow. We left for the Amish Country at around 1:30 pm. We picked up our guide at the Leola Family Restaurant and we had a great guided tour thru the Amish Country and we learned a lot of different things about the area and the people. We visited the Cannery and an Amish Gift Shop and had the most incredible warm soft pretzels that you could imagine. After our tour, we had a meal of fried chicken, applesauce, mashed potatoes, corn, and drinks that was fit for a king. We arrived at the Hotel at 8:00 pm and the kids had a social until 9:15 pm. We will do Gettysburg in the am and then we go to DC and the Holocaust. Hope the weather was good in Maine as it was really warm in Philly today. Have a great day on Wednesday.

Day 4 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What an early morning. We were going to load the busses at 8:15 am but everyone was ready by 7:45 am. I had to slow them down because our reservation was for 9:00 am for the Gettysburg National Military Park. We had an outstanding session with both guides as the kids had an interest in being there. Our group went on a walking tour thru the woods and rocks where we ended up at Devil’s Den. Some of us needed help getting over the rocks but if you are a 14 year old, it was really easy. We also had a chance to visit the Civil War Museum and everyone really enjoyed it. We gave them a chance to visit the gift shop and a lot of people added to their collection of items bought on the trip. We left at 12:15 pm for DC to go to the Holocaust. We enjoyed the Holocaust even though it was a solemn place to visit. We had supper at the Old Post Office Pavilion before we did the Memorial in DC at night. The kids and team leaders went into the electronics store at the Old Post Office and had a great time. They bought a few items and they were given a few items. When it was time to leave, no one was ready to go. After supper we did the WWII Memorial plus the Lincoln, Viet Nam, and Korean Memorials. Our last stop was at the White House where we took pictures and saw the snipers on top of the roof. We arrived at the Hotel at 9:30 pm to get ready for DC on Thursday. We do DC all day and have our night on the town at Medieval Times in the pm. Our weather in DC was warm and sunny. Hope the weather back home was the same.

Day 5 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another beautiful day except the Sox lost last night and the Yankees won. The Celtics beat Atlanta to go 2 games up in the playoffs. It is warm and sunny today as we head into DC. Our first stop will be Ford’s Theater (Closed) and the Peterson House and then everyone will be on there own until 4:30 pm Our first stop was at the National Archives where the kids had a great time seeing all of the documents plus some of the kids had a chance to sign a document and print it off. The Museum of Natural Science and Air & Space Museum were the other two that we visited and some of the groups had a chance to explore the National Mall before we met at the Capital for a group picture. When we left for Medieval Times, only one bus showed up as the Blue Bus had trouble with the transmission and was still in the shop. We loaded everyone in the bus and headed for Hanover, Maryland for supper and the show. We took 47 kids to Medieval Times (and ended up with 49 as Dr. Phil & Richard P.) and they had a blast. They hollered so much they were hoarse. After the show, the kids (And Team Leaders) had a chance to spend some time with their Knight (Ours was the Green Knight) and it was a lot of fun. We loaded every one on the bus and got back to the Hotel at 9:45 pm and the kids went straight to bed. Tomorrow we go to Arlington and then to New York City and home on Saturday. This group has been a delight. They are a lot of fun and great kids.

Day 6 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another early day for the Messalonskee 2008 Heritage Tour. Breakfast was at 6:00 am and we loaded the busses (Yes, two busses) at 7:15 am and we left for Arlington Cemetery by 7:30 pm. We saw John F. Kennedy’s and Bobby Kennedy’s grave sites and then we visited the two Shuttle Disasters and the attempted rescue in Iran. The “Changing of the Guard” was an impressive site to say the least. The group visited the Robert E Lee house before we boarded the busses to head for the Maryland House and lunch. The traffic was slow today as we left Arlington to go to New York City. Because of the traffic and time we were not able to do the Empire State Building so the kids wanted to get to the Hotel to swim, eat pizza, and have a social. The kids were terrific and we got them in their rooms at 9:30 pm as 5:30 am will come early. Please watch us on NBC from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. We will be the group with the red and yellow jackets on. We should be home on Saturday night by 9:00 pm. The weather has been perfect, the kids a delight, and the yellow jackets have been awesome.

Day 7 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We were up early again this morning. Actually we had our wake up call at 5:00 am, loaded the busses before 6:00 am and had breakfast at 6:00 am. We left the Hotel at 6:20 am and we arrived at the Saturday Edition of the Today Show at 7:30 am. The kids were getting excited as we waited for the people to come out of the building. When ever a camera would come our way, they would wave and holler to get some one’s attention. We left the Today Show at 9:00 am and everyone went a different way to see as much as they could. By 11:00 am just about everyone had made it to the FAO Swartz Toy Store for the last look at 5th Avenue and the shops. We loaded up with candy and by 11:35 am we were heading North toward Bristol, Conn. And lunch. Almost everyone on the bus slept all the way to Bristol as we had some tired kids and parents. After a great Chinese lunch we headed North again. I rode with the Blue Bus to get a look at Dr. Phil and his act. And that is all it was. What a disappointment. He did not live up to his billing even though the kids on the bus were super. I was able to get some pictures of the adults sleeping and the ride was enjoyable BUT it wasn’t the Red Bus. We arrived in Kennebunk at 6:45 pm and arrived home at 8:56 pm. Jim Labbe and Lyndsay P. split $ 42.00 as they predicted that we would be home at 8:56 pm. A big thank you to the Red Coats as they were an awesome group. The Yellow Jackets did an outstanding job and over all it was the best trip that I have ever had. Our bus drivers also need to be commended as we arrive on time most of the week.