Heritage Tour
Sebasticook/Somerset/Warsaw

Day 1 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Today was a very long day even though the kids were super. It started to rain just as everyone arrived at the Alfond Youth Center and it continued most of the day. We headed south at 6:00 am and we were on time until one of the girls got really sick and we didn't know if it was motion sickness or the flu. As it turned out, it was the flu and by the late afternoon she felt a lot better. This set us back about 45 minutes and we lost another 60 minutes when the traffic in New York City was really heavy. We managed to get past all of this and we arrived at the Hotel at around 9:30 pm. We cancelled our pizza party because we knew we would be late and rescheduled it for Tuesday pm. Everyone was tired and by 10:00 pm every one was in their rooms for the night. On Tuesday, we do Ford's Theater in the early am and then we will see the Museum of Natural History and the American History Museum. In spite of the rain and sickness, we still had a great time and looking forward to another great day.

Day 2 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another great day for the American Heritage Tour. The day started as very dark and overcast with a definate threat of rain. We arrived in DC at 8:30 am to go to Ford's Theater and the Peterson House. From there the groups visited The Museum of Natural History and the American History Museum before we went to the Holocaust. The rain held off and the sun came out but it felt colder as we had a stiff wind blowing all day. We left the Holocaust by 4:00 pm to go to the Old Post Office Pavilion for supper and shopping. Every place we went today was very busy and the Old Post Office was no different. After supper we went to the White House to see the President (He wasn't there) and to take some pictures and then to the WW II Memorial. We returned to our Hotel for swimming and a pizza and by 9:30 pm we were all in our rooms to get ready for tomorrow. We will do Arlington in the am, finish touring DC in the pm, and Medieval Times at night before we head to Gettyburg. We had a great day in DC while back home it rained hard.

Day 3 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

The weather in DC was warm and breezy as we left the Hotel and headed to Arlington. We arrived at the Arlington National Cemetery to a huge crowd. There were wall to wall people but we still managed to stay on schedule as we saw JFK's grave sit, Bobby Kennedy's grave site, the new grave site for Edward Kennedy, "The Changing of the Guard", the 3 memorials marking the Iran recuse and the 2 shuttle disasters, and the Arlington House (Robert E. Lee's House). We went back to DC and visited the Lincoln Memorial, VietNam, and the Korean Memorial. After lunch we all went to the National Archives Museum before we ended our afternoon at the Air and Space Museum and the Botanicic Gardens. We had group pictures of the Red Coats and Yellow Jackets taken on the steps of the Capital before we boarded the bus for Medieval Times. We enjoyed a great supper while we watched the show and our Knight (the Red Knight) did not do very well. We got to our Hotel at around 11:00 pm to get ready for Gettysburg and the Amish Country. We all had a fabulous day in DC. Hope everyone back home did the same.

Day 4 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What an absolute fantasic day. The weather in Gettysburg was around 70 degrees with a slight wind that made it very comfortable. We started our day at the Military Park with a guided tour. We saw a lot of the Maine monuments and we walked up Little Round Top to see where the 20th Maine saved the day by stopping the Confederate troops fron capturing the small hill. We went to the Cival War Museum to see the show and do some shopping. We had lunch in the bus before we went up to the Cemetery to see where some of the Northern Troops were buried and where President Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. We left for the Amish Country at 1:00 pm and arrived in Leola at 2:45 pm where we picked up our guide for the Amish Country. Sandy was terrific as was Jim Clouse. She told us a lot of information about the Amish people and their customs. We had supper consisting of mashed potatoes, corn, apple sauce, rolls, fried chicken, pudding, and punch. We arrived at the Hotel at 7:30 pm and the kids had a social and swim time before bed at 9:15 pm. Tomorrow we go to Philadelphia in the am and then head for New Jersey for supper. We had a super day today and I hope that the weather back home was as good as ours.

Day 5 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a perfect day in Philadelphia. The weather couldn't have been any better as it was sunny with a slight breeze. We stopped at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and went up the steps that "Rocky" used while he was training for his movies. Some of the group had their picture taking with Rocky and they were excited. Then we went into Philly and our first stop was the Mint. They got a chance to see how coins are made. Most groups then walked around Philadelphia before heading over to Independance Hall where we had a 10:45 am reservation. We were fortunate that we had 2 excellent Rangers give us first hand knowledge of the events that took place in Philly during this time period. After that we had lunch at the Bourse where we had a Philly Steak sandwich and it was delicious. Next on the agenda was the Liberty Bell and the Buggy Rides around the outshirts of the city. Now the groups went their different ways and explored a number of sights that included Carpenter's Hall, Ben Franklin's Underground Museum, Ben Franklin's Courtyard, the Printing Press, the Post Office, The Betsey Ross House, Elfreth's Alley, the Quaker Meeting House to name a few places. We left Philly at 3:30 pm and arrived at the Home Town Buffet about an hour late as the traffic waqs very heavy. We got to the Hotel a little after 8:00 pm and by 9:00 pm most everyone was in bed. We will be in the Big Apple on Saturday and we are looking forward to an exciting day. Hope the weather back home was better than ours.

Day 6 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another great day as the weather was again warm and breezy. We started our day walking thru China Town and Little Italy before we went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Half of the group found some shops that were open and they dickered with the store owner and got some really good bargians. Everyone learned how the immigrants came to America and where and how they lived...We had lunch on the bus as we were riding to Battery Park and when we got there the line to board the Ferry seemed like it was 5 miles long. Thank goodness we had tickets for 1:00 pm and we boarded the Ferry at exactly 1:00 pm. We got our pictures of the Statue and then we went to Ellis Island were we worked on the scavengerhunt before we went back to Battey Park and some shopping. We went to Times Square to walk around and shop (especially the M & M and Hershey Chocolate store. We arrived back at the Hotel at 8:30 pm to have our pizza party and to enjoy our last night in New York City. In the morning we will do the Today Show and tour 5th Avenue before we head home to Maine. It has been a very enjoyable trip and the weather has been great but it will be nice to get home and sleep in our own bed.

Day 7 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another beautiful day in New York City. It was cool and overcast when we woke up and it became warmer as the fog lifted and the sun came out. We slept in an hour longer as wake up was 6:00 am. We loaded the bus at 6:45 am, had breakfast until 7:15 am and 35 minutes later we were at the Today Show. We went thru the Lincoln Tunnel and didn't have to stop at all. Most of us got on TV 2 or 3 times in the hour that we were there and the kids were excited that some one back home might have seen them. After the Today Show we did our walking tour of 5th Avenue and each group went their own way. There was a parade on 5th Avenue with a lot of people in their Easter hats, masks, and other things to celebrate the occasion. Everyone ended up at the FAO Swartz Toy Store at 11:00 am when it opened and the place was crowded with people. By Noon we headed out on 59th and Madison Avenue to wait for the bus to pick us up and head for Bristol, Conn. and our lunch reservation. Even though we left the city 30 minutes later than normal we arrived at the Century Buffett at around 2:30 pm and by 3:15 pm we were on our way to Maine. We didn't stop until we got to Kenebunk and we arrived there by 6:15 pm and left for home by 6:45 pm. We pulled into the drive way of the Alfond Youth Center at 6:24 pm and Kendra Underhill won the $ 16.00 as she hit the time exactly. I hope everyone had a good time because the kids and parents were excellet the whole week. Thank you to the yellow jackets for all of their hard work for the week and to the kids for being a very special group. A special thank you to Ed our bus driver for getting us to our reservations on time and safely.