A group of thirty-seven juniors and seniors from Gaffney High School departed for Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 27. Continuing the tradition, the group stopped at an outstanding family owned and operated restaurant in Virginia after seeing the beautiful scenery on the way up the east coast.

Starting out bright and early Thursday morning, the group headed to the Capitol Hill for a photo session, then inside for a tour. After the tour concluded, we walked through the tunnels to reach the office of Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Representative. After this tour and meeting time, we traveled to the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum where we walked through to learn about and honor what the victims went through. We were blessed to be able to meet three Holocaust survivors, listen to their stories about the concentration camps, and ask them about their experiences. For lunch on Thursday, the group traveled to Ollie’s Trolley, a world re-known burger joint. This joint is a D.C. local favorite, where we all devoured a delicious, juicy cheeseburger and fries. We walked off all the grease by touring the National Mall shortly after finishing lunch.

Friday morning, we got to sleep in a little later than the morning before when we had to get up at 6:30. The schedule was very flexible that morning until around ten, when we had to be at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we got to see the Changing of the Guard and the Changing of the Wreath ceremonies. After Arlington, we traveled to the White House, one of the most exciting things we got to do on the trip. It was truly an once-in-a-lifetime experience. Junior Sierra Richardson quotes, “Touring the White House was very interesting and exciting! I loved the simple elegance of every room!”

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were fun-filled days. On Saturday, the group got to go to the Opening Day Washington Nationals game versus the New  York Mets, eat ball park food, and watch batting practice. After the game, we traveled to Smokey Bones to enjoy wings and things. On Sunday, we traveled to the Triangle Quantico to tour the Marine Museum, and enjoyed the dinner cruise down the Potomac. Though Monday was the day to travel home, before heading home, we went to King’s Dominion, an amusement park similar to Carowinds.

Senior Abby Mardis shared that her favorite part of the trip was the baseball game, while junior Carter Barnhill noted her favorite part was the dinner cruise down the Potomac River.

Hyriam Wood, senior, noted that he liked the White House and the Holocaust Museum the most. Anna Kathryn Jolley says she loved the baseball game the most because she loves baseball. She notes that “I grew up watching baseball and almost all the men in my family have played, and I have just loved the game since I was little. Getting to watch the major league game was so interesting to me. I loved the atmosphere.”