School ended and we grabbed our luggage and headed to the band hall.  Mr. Chapman gave us one last speech about conduct and the situations in Washington. He didn't have to worry about us being around cameras because that is something we have had enough of. We loaded on the bus and waved goodbye to some of our families and friends. And then the Channel 25 video camera was turned on...and stayed on till we got home.

We were already tired from the school so we slept most of the way to Hooks, Texas where we ate at a restaurant. Most of us didn't eat since the only thing they served was Sloppy Joes. We hopped on the bus again and hit the road. Early the next morning, we arrived in Little Rock. About five hours later, we hit Nashville where we ate the breakfast buffet at Shoney's. That was interesting, fitting us in there plus the regular crowd. We then drove and drove for what seemed like an eternity. Then we saw the sign for the city of Roanoke, Virginia where our dinner was scheduled. We jumped off the bus and ran to the restaurant. We were met with an unprepared staff, non-tasting (supposedly German) food, and very, very, slow service. We all agreed it was a rip-off at $11.99 a person. We were all ready to get out of there. We get on the buses. Less than thirty minutes later, we find out there was something wrong with the computer in the bus. All the adults and bus drivers tried to fix the problem, which took three hours! We found out it couldn't be fixed so we called a bus company in town and to get a new bus. We unloaded the old bus and loaded the new bus and headed for our hotel. We arrived about 3 a.m. and got less than two hours of sleep.

The next morning, we went and toured the Capital. We went through security and were met by Representative Chet Edwards. Rep. Edwards led us to the House floor and gave us a 30 minute history of the capitol.  Then we went to see the Rotunda and the other rooms on the left side of the capitol. We then went to the Smithsonian. We toured the National Air and Space Museum first and saw the Spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Brothers' plane. Then it was off to the Natural History Museum where we saw the dinosaur skeletons and the Hope diamond. Then, the American History Museum where a mysterious package believed to be a bomb was found and everybody was sent to the basement. That did give us more time in the gift shop though. We then took an illuminated tour of the monuments. We visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Korea Memorial, and several others.

We spent several hours going through security. When we finally did get on stage, we were just in time to see the Black Panthers march down the street behind us. We were at the corner of 13th and Pennsylvania Avenue, right in the middle of 20,000 protestors!!! By the end of the performances, we were cold and tired. But, the great part was seeing George W. Bush go by as the new President. Then, it was time for the party.  We went on a night time cruise and dance on the Potomac. We met another school from New Hampshire and made some new friends. That was enough for that night. We were dead tired. 

It was a lot quicker getting home since there were no bus problems. We were entertained by our stewardess, Emily Gimble. She decided that she would be our stewardess and get whatever we wanted to drink or eat. She even taught us how to eat chips, lean back the chairs, and use the emergency exits. She showed us how to take care of "Our Home", also known as Bus #2. We were all shocked when we got back to school to see all the news stations and all the families and friends. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had and I believe everybody feels the same.