Where we were on January 20, 2009

People keep asking where our brave band of Bonny Eagle bloggers stood to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama.
We were near the front of the first long quadrant -- between Madison Drive and 4th Street -- across from the National Gallery of Art West Wing. We were positioned near the porta-potties, behind the first and closest Jumbotron on the left, but with a good view of the Capitol dome in the distance.

This photo gallery of aerial and satellite shots really gives a good sense of where we were on that incredibly cold, but wonderfully momentous morning. Photo #20 gives a good sense of how close we got, relatively speaking, as well as the size of the crowd. The photos can be accessed here

Favorite Moments

Now that we are home, the members of the Bonny Eagle staff will be recording their memorable moments on this blog. (Most of them will wait until they've had a good night's sleep or finished their finals today and tomorrow.) This first one was recorded by Steven Murphy as we sat in the BWI terminal waiting to go home Wednesday night. So, keep reading our blog as we wrap up our impressions of this historic week. J.L.

One of my favorite moments was the morning of the Inauguration when we were walking towards the mall and the capital. Our tour bus was forced to drop us off about six blocks away from the mall. The time was 5:30 a.m. and we had already had a long two days, but our exhaustion was wiped away with the excitement of what we were about to witness.
As we began our walk we were met with hundreds of people herding through the dark streets, making it feel like we were in one of those movies where the world is ending and everybody is trying to make there way out of the city. As we continued the crowd became more and more compacted as it filed into the mall. Soon it got to the point where people were so packed together that you didn't have a choice to move in your own direction, the crowd just moved as one.

Steven Murphy

Day 2: Jan. 19: Dancing the night away

By Shannon Jacobson


We had an early breakfast in the hotel. We sat with members of the Florida group from Palm Bay. We also shared a hotel floor and the bus that drove us into the city every day with them. Once we ended our breakfast, we headed into DC. Our first stop was the Korean War memorial, and then the Vietnam War memorial.
We walked past the Lincoln Memorial, which was still blocked off because of the concert the day before. Then, we went on to visit the Smithsonian museums. One group was with Mrs. Lannin and the other was with Mrs. Minton, Jessica Minton's mother. Mrs. Lannin's group headed to the Museum of Natural History while our group went to the Museum of Art.
At the art museum, we were amazed by the architecture. As soon as we walked in, all around us were large marble pillars. In the center was an enormous fountain with flowers all around. Above us was a glass ceiling that lighted the room perfectly. We were able to see the only Da Vinci painting in the nation. We also saw Monet and Van Gogh paintings.
After we left the museum we walked many blocks to the bus. Then, we boarded and headed to Mount Vernon, the home of our nation's first president, George Washington. We had two hours to do with what we wanted, so we headed up the hill for a tour of his mansion.
There was a long line, about an hour's wait we were told. So to keep us entertained, Stephanie Lombardo had the great idea to get everyone doing the wave. We were at the very end of the line and so Eliot and the rest of our group called ahead to the others and asked them to join in. After approximately 20 tries, we had the whole line doing the wave. I would estimate that there were at least 200 people in line, from states around the country, joined together doing the wave! Our group was in line for an hour and forty five minutes. During that time we did the wave, took pictures, cracked jokes, and listened to Jess and her bottlenose porpous imitation.
After touring the house, which was interesting for its brightly colored, tiny rooms, we headed to the hotel where we got ready for the ball.
We arrived at the "Camelot" reception hall, girls dressed up in cute dresses and the boys in suits. Since the weather was so cold, the boys graciously gave up their coats for us on the bus because we'd been told we couldn't bring our coats because we wouldn't be able to check them. We danced with students from all around the United States, including our famous Flannel Gary. That night was long and tiring, but full of fun and excitement. It was a night that all of us will never forget.

The Final Morning

By Jessica Minton

After Tuesday's activities and chaos, there was nothing Wednesday could bring that we could not handle. Looking back on our first day of long walking tours and information overloads, we had all come a long way in four days. Wednesday morning we were allowed to sleep in. That meant we did not have to get up until seven. Compared to three am. wake up calls, it seemed like a treat. The morning was just like the other two, except this time, we wouldn't be returning. We packed our suitcases and loaded the bus for our routine journey into D.C. We passed by monuments that had once been so new, but now seemed so familiar. We dispersed from our Florida friends, as we both went on to explore the many things the city has to offer.
Our final museum was the Newseum. A place dedicated to the first Amendment only seemed fitting to finalize this patriotic trip. Inside this six story building were exhibits dedicated not only to the news and people who provide it, but also to the people who have fought for that right. That would be the right to freedom of speech. There were sections dedicated to Supreme Court cases that argued the first amendment. We saw the actual black armbands from the Tinker v. Des Monies case along with other artifacts and stories.
Other sections of the museum are dedicated to specific events in history and the way they were covered. The 9/11 exhibit contained the front pages from newspapers throughout the country and the world. Not only are there papers, but video from the attacks are streamed with commentary from reporters who were there. A part was dedicated to a photo journalist who had died while trying to capture the moment. All that was left was his camera that was found in the rubble and the photos that were on he film. Just below was an area containing giant pieces of the Berlin Wall. Being able to see the actual wall that separated that country for so long was something I didn't even know people could still do.
A big piece of journalism is photography. The pieces we saw were important moments in history that were captured by people who risked so much to show the world their first hand accounts. A section held all the Pulitzer Prize winning photos. Some pictures were recognizable, well others were new. All were breath taking.
On the day after the Inauguration, the neatest display was the headlines from newspapers all over the world. Some ranging from small town Gazettes, to national newspapers in writing we could not read, but we could understand. They all spoke of the change that was coming, or not so much coming, but happening. Looking around at all of the events that had been covered, and the events that were significant enough to be on display, made us realize something. We were in the midst of a major event. Just like the displays in the museum, the inauguration we had just witnessed is a defining piece of history. And like the journalist we had just learned about, it is our job to report to those who could not be there, just how important this event was.






Here's a link to the Newseum's wrap-up of its own inauguration coverage.

Inauguration Day at last!

Our group of 11, plus two chaperones, headed into DC at 5 a.m. to stake out a spot on the mall as close to the historic event as possible. We had a scary moment of being swept off our feet with the crowd in the dark, but we were able to stay together as we snaked our way to a primo spot close to the second Jumbotron, but also as close to the Capitol as we could get without a ticket.
"We had a great spot beside the Jumbotron," said Shannon Jacobson. "We could see the figures at the Capitol with our cameras."
"Running toward the Capitol was something I'll never forget," said Steven Murphy."
We waited five hours for the inauguration to begin. Jess Minton killed some time by making a flag out of pebbles in the dirt around us. She was interviewed by a couple of local TV stations about her art work.
The crowd was pumped and so were we, as Barack Obama took the oath and gave his speech.
"It was moving and fun to be in the crowd, waving our flags..." I really liked Obama's speech." said Jessica Meservey.
"The one liner about war; his stance on American military conflicts impressed me," said Eliot Douin.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in DC, some of us watching the parade from the auditorium of the Museum of Natural History, while others shopped or explored the mall area.

Tonight, we celebrated at ESPN Zone, in the NW section of the city, passing many inaugural ball goers on our way.
The whole day was an incredible experience, an uplifting day that we'll remember for the rest of our lives.

Observations compiled and recorded by Ms. Lannin as we rode the bus out of DC on Inauguration Day

Our own inaugural ball at "Camelot"

By Stephanie Lombardo
We went to an all Smithsonian Student Inauguration Ball on Tuesday, January 21, 2009, the night before the Inauguration. We were all really excited to meet more new people, so we arrived at the dance, all dressed up, and found seats at the round tables around the hall. The room was a big reception hall, decorated with red, white, and blue balloons. The group before us was leaving soon, so we ate dinner while they finished dancing. After dinner we met up with the Florida group we were with and hit the dance floor.

There were tons of people on the dance floor, so it was hard to move and it got really hot really fast. We danced with our Florida group friends, and other random people we had just met. It was really fun to dance with people your own age and not know a single thing about them but still have a good time with them. We met some people from California who were really nice, and one guy whom Jess and Jasmine, our friend from Florida, named ‘Flannel Gary.’ We stayed at the dance for about two hours and danced most of the time. When it started to get really hot, we would step out and get a soda or water, but then get right back on the dance floor.

As the intercom announced at 8:30 that our groups had to leave, we really didn’t want to. But as we got onto the school bus we sang songs most of the way home. That night we went to bed early since our wakeup call for the Inauguration was going to be at 3:15 a.m.!

Governor Baldacci: Your Average Man

The snow was drifting outside while we were getting ready to board the plane at six in the morning. We were discussing our trip when Eliot and Katie asked, “Is that our governor?” All of us looked behind us, Eliot, Katie, Angel, and I, and realized that it certainly was Govenor Baldacci. Halfway through the flight, Angel went up to the Govenor and politely asked him some questions that he was glad to answer. The Governor’s plans includes “the first lady and [his] son attending the reception at the Lincoln Memorial Maine reception to renew America’s promise.” The Governor is excited for reestablishing the beacon of guiding light as a nation.” When we made it off the plane the Governor was kind enough to pose for pictures with our group. After the photo shoot Governor Baldacci expressed that “this is so exciting. This is going to mold your generation.” As we departed Governor Baldacci ended by saying, “Bonny Eagle rules, and not just at football.”

At Arlington National Cemetery: a personal connection

Arlington National Cemetery
Steven and several other Bonny Eagle students look for a gravesite
Steven kneels beside his great-grandfather's grave, down the hill from John F. Kennedy's grave.

By Steven Murphy
We arrived at Arlington National Cemetery around one o’clock and began our tour of the 800-acre graveyard. As we stepped out of the bus, we Mainers were relishing in the warmer air with our jackets in our hands while the Florida group started to bundle up, face masks and all. Next we were given a tour guide and sent on our way. The sheer size of Arlington is astounding: row after row of white graves for as far as you can see.
Visiting Arlington was personal for me. My great grand-father, Joseph Ready is buried amoung the many souls resting in Arlington after leading a battle in World War II as a brigader general. Finding and then standing in front my great-grandfathers grave was truly surreal. I took great pride in knowing that my ancestor is honored at Arlington.
The atmosphere in the cemetery was more than anyone could ask for, grey skies and a slight breeze was a perfect mood for my trip to Arlington.