Good Times in D.C.

Unfortunately, there are not pictures to represent all the note-worth stories, so some will be right here.

One of the most memorable stops on our trip was a dinner cruise on the majestic Potomic, which is full of real big fish. Ok, imagine a middle school dance. Now throw in food and three other schools from northern Indiana. Now put it all on a boat. Many things "went down" that night, but for a few of us little naive guys, the highlight of the evening was actually dancing with some girls! Spirits were high upon return to shore. If only we had known the trouble that awaited us the next day...

Welcome to Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington, and also the unhappiest place on Earth. It seems that everything bad that had been building up throughout the week came bursting forth that morning in a horrible deluge of bitterness and sorrow. Hearts were broken, spirits were crushed, a low point had been reached. Fortunately we soon left, and as we were released from Mt. Vernon's terrible grip, we slowly overcame the trials of the preceding few hours. Oh, how we laugh now, but ask one of us what we think of Mt. Vernon, and surely you'll hear two words: "it sucked."

On to happier memories. The first night spent in the hotel, a Holiday Inn, was the high point of good ol' crazy fun (here you see Steve diving onto one of the beds, with Brandon in the foreground). Upon arrival, Brad, Steve, Ryan, and Brandon, (Craig didn't go, and Joel was in another room) discovered that their room smelled like feet, and were ordered by the fourth member of the room to place all shoes outside the window. Several hours of free time were had that evening, and hijinx ensued. The members of one room boasted a playstation, while those occupying another somehow stumbled across a porn channel (we only heard about it). Still others found their way to the pool, our perhaps to the weight room, where one named Ryan injured his groin. However, the most humorous events, in our humble opinion, occured within the walls of the room occupied by Brad and Steve. Pizza was ordered. Pizza was eaten. Pizza was dropped on the floor by Joel. A boy named Carl laughed histerically while reading aloud a book of David Letterman's Top Ten Lists, but the best was yet to come. Later in the evening, young Ryan brought out one of his prized provisions, a bottle of Sam's Club peach flavored soda water! The boys partook of the beverage, which they observed to have a curious aftertaste (probably either the peach or the Sam's Club). Ryan, astute observer that he is, noticed the general giddiness of his roommates, caused no doubt by sugar and lack of sleep, and quickly deduced that there must be alcohol in the drink, by now dubbed peach fizz. Wasting no time in taking action, Ryan took the tainted beverage and began to pour it into the toilet. Brad and Brandon, insisting there was nothing wrong with their now beloved peach fizz, beat enthusiastically upon Ryan's back, but to no avail, the peach fizz was no more. During these procedings, Steve took it upon himself to sit in a chair and laugh.

But wait, there's more. Every night, the teachers and other chaparones would make their rounds to all the rooms, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be, and then they would place duct tape on the door so they would no if anyone dared to venture into the hallway, where, we were told, there would be someone standing gaurd. Trust is a beautiful thing, isn't it? Anyway, one evening the boys in the previously mentioned room decided it would be a good idea to attempt to sneak Joel into their room for the night. So when we heard a knock upon the door, Joel, calling upon expertly honed skills of concealment, hid behind the bed. Mr. Luken entered the room and asked, "everyone in here?" Then, perhaps sensing that something was afoot, remained silent, yet did not move from the doorway. Assuming he must have left, Joel peeked over the top of the bed, causing Mr. Luken to speak those memorable words, "who's that?" This incisive inquiry was met with Joel's famous reply, "oh, are we supposed to be in our rooms? I didn't know." Good save, that was a close one.

Here is the location of one of the most enjoyable afternoons spent on this particular trip. We were at the Smithsonian, which is a series of several different museums and such, surrounding a large, open park-like area. We had all been given several hours to roam throughout the complex and visit the various attrations, but after traveling quickly through a few of the larger museums, we(Brad, Steve, Joel, and Brandon) decided it would be more enjoyable to sit on this ledge for the remaining hours. Indeed it was. As we sat there, many busloads of students on similar trips were coming and going, and we watched them do so. Being young teenage guys, we thouroghly enjoyed certain aspects of this (that's right, we were checking out girls). We spent a good chunk of time devoting our attention to a certain bus that had caught our attention. A few claims of eye contact were reported, and attempts to make aquintence were proposed, but not followed thourgh on. Later, actual conversation was had with a group of girls that we discovered were from Northwood. After they had gone, something prompted one of us to say, "it's not like we'll ever see them again." (as i recall this was a good thing) As luck would have it, though, we ran into them at a rest stop on the way home. Humorous but in reality rather uneventful. (Yes, we realize we were extremely lame. Give us a break, this was middle school, (i.e. "the Lost Years"), the days in which we used suave pick-up lines such as "So, how's the math?")

home