Heritage Tour - Waterville/Athens/Madison

Day 1 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a great day. It was dark and very warm at 4:30 am when I arrived at the Alfond Youth Center. Ed picked up some of the Madison and Athens people and by 5:30 am the bus was there and the rest of the people started to arrive. By 6:00 am we were loaded and heading South. Our first stop was in Kennebunk to have some breakfast and then we had to stop at a weigh station in Conn. which put us back about 30 minutes. We got back on schedule at supper time as we cut short some of our regular pit stops as we wanted to be at the Hotel by 8:15 pm. The kids were super all day and by the time we arrived at the Hotel they were really tired. The pizza showed up at around 9:00 pm and by 9:30 pm we all headed to our rooms to go to bed. It was a great day as the weather was beautiful.

On Sunday we'll do Ford's Theater in the am and then we'll do some of the Smithsonian buildings before we leave for Hanover, Maryland and Medieval Times. Hope everyone back in Maine had as good a day as we did. Talk to all of you Sunday night.

Day 2 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a great day today. It was warm and a little breezy in DC as we headed in to visit Ford's Theater. We visited the museum first, had the Ranger talk, and the Peterson House before we started our walking tour of DC. The Ranger talk was the best one that I have had the pleaseure to hear as she told us some things that I had never heard before. After Ford's Theater the groups went in separate ways to see the American History Museum, Museum of Natural History, the National Archives Museum, the Air & Space Museum, and the Botonic Gardens. We met on the lawn in front of the Capital for group pictures and then we boarded the bus to go to Medieval Times in Hanover, Maryland. Everyone enjoyed a great meal while watching the show and cheering for the Green Knight. Our Knight did not win and he turned out to be the bad guy as he usually is. The kids enjoyed a social after we got back to the Hotel and some of them went for a swim while the rest either enjoyed their friends or went to bed. Tomorrow we go to Arlington in the am, do the Memorials in the middle of the day, and the Holocaust in the afternoon. We will have supper at the Old Post Office and then head to Gettysburg. Hope everyone in Maine enjoyed the small amount of snow you had while we enjoyed the warm weather.

Day 3 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

We started our day at Arlington and we went to JFK's grave site, Bobby Kennedy's grave site, "The Changing of the Guard", the USS Maine, the 2 Space Disasters, and the Iran attempted rescue. The Changing of the Guard was really special and everyone was really impressed. We visited the Lee House on the way down and then we got really wet and the rain began. We ate lunch on the bus and then we headed back to DC where we went to the WW II Memorial, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, Viet Nam and Korean Memorials before we headed to the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a very powerful place and each person was affected differently. We had supper at the Old Post Office Pavilion and the kids had a chance to shop in the Electronics store and they got some really good bargains. We boarded the bus at 6:00 pm and headed for Gettysburg. The kids had a social until 9:15 pm to get ready for Day 4 as we will do Gettysburg and the Amish Country. Tuesday will be a great day for everyone. Hope you had a good day back home as we did despite the rain.

Day 4 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another great day in the life of the American Heritage Tour. We woke up in Gettysburg and headed to the Gettysburg National Military Park to begin our 2 hour tour with our guide, Jim Clouse. Jim was very impressive as he showed us a lot of things that Maine did during this three day battle to help the North win the Civil War. He is very knowledgable about History and especially the Civil War. We visited the Civil War Museum after Gettysburg and then the kids and adults had a chance to do some shopping before we had lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, cookies, and water. Then we headed to the Amish Country and another guided tour with Sandy Clark and her knowledge of the Amish Country equalled Jims and Gettysburg. We were very fortunate to have two great guides that shared their knowledge with all of us. We had supper at an Amish Restaurant that consisted of rolls, fried chicken, corn, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, drinks, and desert. We left for the Hotel at 6:00 pm and by 7:30 pm we were checked in and ready for swim time and some social time. Bed time was early tonight as everyone was a little tired and Wednesday we will be in Philadelphia in the am and by night fall we will be heading for New York and the Big Apple. We had a great day today and the weather was really super. Hope everyone back home had a great day also.

Day 5 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a great day today in Philadelphia. The weather was sunny and cool with a strong wind. We stopped at the steps where Rocky ran up the steps when he was traing for his movies Rocky Balboa. Most everyone walked up the steps and jumped up and down when they got to the top, just like Rocky did. We also had a chance to have a picture taken with Rocky's statue. We went into the City and our first stop was the Mint followed by Independance Hall. By 11:45 am we left Independance Hall to go on the buggy rides which were really terrific. We saw a lot of the City that we wouldn't have seen on foot. We had our Philly Steak sandwich in the Bourse and after lunch we went to Ben Franklins Underground Museum followed by the Printing Press where we saw first hand how printing took place in the Colonies. We then went to Elfreth's Alley which is the oldest neighborhood in the United States. We had our picture taken with Elvis and one of the Blues Brothers. We ended our Philadelphia tour by stopping into the Quaker Meeting House and received an education on how the Quakers started. We left Philadelphia at 3:30 pm and headed to Edison, New Jersey for supper at the Home Town Buffet. We were treated to a great buffet and then we headed to the Hotel in New Rochelle. The kids had time to swim for the last time and we got them in bed early as tomorrow we are in the Big Apple. We will go on a Ferry and spend some time in the Lower East Side, Time Square, and then end the day with a Pizza Party. Please watch the Today Show on NBC and see all of the Red Coats and Yellow Jackets. We all had a terrific day today and I hope that everyone back home did also.

Day 6 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

What a great day. The weather was warm with a slight breeze as we headed into New York City. When we arrived at the Ferry the line extended all the way to the road. The Ferry was completely full and we didn't get on the first Ferry and we ended up taking the 10:00 am boat to Liberty Island. We circled the Statue to get our pictures and by 11:15 am we again boarded the Ferry and headed to Ellis Island. Each group had a homework assignment to find different things in the Museum. By 12:20 most of us made the Ferry back to Liberty Island and the venders in Battery Park. The kids had a great time dealing with the various venders before we boarded the bus and headed to The Lower East Side Tenement. Everyone did the Confino program with Vivtoria and they learned how the immigrants lived when they came to America. We all did a walk thru China Town and Little Italy before we went to Times Square and did some sight seeing and a little shopping. We had a pizza party at the Hotel and by 9:00 pm everyone was in bed. We have a 4:45 am wake up call as we want to be at the Today Show by 7:15 am. You can watch us on NBC from 7:15 am until 8:45 am. Hope everyone had a great day. The Waterville/Madison/Athens 2010 American Heritage Tour had a great time today.

Day 7 (Click HERE to view pictures!)

Another great morning. Wake up was at 4:45 am and we loaded the bus at 5:30 am and breakfast was ready by 5:45 am At 6:15 am we headed into New York City and the Today Show. The weather was cold with a stiff breeze that made it seem colder. Some of us got on TV (Some more than once) and that made the group happy. After the Today Show everyone went their own way to see some of the sights on 5th Avenue and by 11:00 am everyone managed to make it to the FAO Swartz Toy Store. We loaded the bus by 11:45 am to head to Bristol, Conn. and a Chinese/American lunch. After we all stuffed ourselves we started our long bus ride to Kenebunk and most everyone took a nap that made the bus ride seem short. After a short pit stop, we started the last leg of our journey and arrrived at the Alfond Youth Center at 8:53 pm and Eileen Ronco was the lucky winner of $24.00.
I hope that everyone had a good time and saw a lot of new things and made some new friends. A special thank to all of the Yellow Jackets for a job well done an for taking a week out of their busy schedules to make this trip a great success. Also a special thanks to Ed for all of his hard work and expert driving to get us to our destination safe and on time.

And last, a special thanks to the Red Coats for their cooperation during a very busy week.

And a big thank you for Shawn Pelletier for doing the Web Page all week.