WASHINGTON DC
1st Trip: October 16-20, 2008
2nd Trip: October
30-November 3, 2008
UPDATES:
-- We have a couple families
that need to back out of the trip due to health reasons. If you would like to be added to our
group for either trip, please complete a registration form,
note which trip you're interested in, and I'll email you if there
are any cancellations for that trip.
-- There are 100
travelers registered for our first trip (October 16-20), with
families from SC, NC, GA, PA, MI, TN, KY, IL, and OH; and children
ages 1.5 to 19.
-- There are 100
travelers registered for our second trip (October 30-November 3),
with families from NC, SC, GA, NY, FL, TN, MI, CA, OH, IL, MA, MN,
and UT; and children ages 2 to 17.
What we're doing...
We're going back to
Washington DC in October and we hope you'll be able to join us! We're
planning to tour the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War I & II Memorials, Washington
Monument, White House, National Archives, Old Post Office Pavilion
and Tower, Arlington Cemetery, International Spy Museum, US Capitol,
Holocaust Museum, Library of Congress,
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Pentagon, and Union Station.
We'll also have the opportunity to visit Smithsonian museums such as: National Air and Space
Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the
American Indian, and
others of your choice.
Our schedule is flexible, so we may not see every site listed, or we
may see more. It depends on crowd levels, the weather, and where our
travels take us. Some tours we'll do as a group; others we'll do on
our own.
If we are able to get
the White House tour, I will need the personal information of
everyone scheduled to go on the tour (social security number, date
of birth, full name). You may send your social security numbers,
and other personal information, via snail mail with your deposit if
you feel uncomfortable emailing them. Everyone in the group 15
years of age or older will be required to show photo identification
with information exactly matching the name from your registration
form that I submit for clearance. If your identification card does
not exactly match the name that you submit, you may be denied
admittance, so please type or print your information clearly.
If we are able to get
the Pentagon tour, I will need first and last names, date of birth,
and city/state of birth for everyone scheduled to go on the tour.
I plan to coordinate
some informal online courses for registered students so they will
learn about the sites we'll be visiting (and develop friendships)
before we go. My children always seem to enjoy a trip more, and get
more out of it, when they study the history of the area beforehand.
The registration
deadline is August 15. Those who register early
will have space in our first-choice hotel, which includes a good
free breakfast each morning for each member of your party. Our
overflow hotel will be nice, but won't include a free breakfast.
We must have a minimum
number of travelers to receive group discounts, so this trip may be
cancelled if we don't reach our minimum. I'll announce via this
website and our Traveling Homeschoolers mailing
list when this trip is confirmed.
How we’ll get there...
You'll make your own
travel arrangements for this trip (car, train, or plane). If you
choose to fly or take the train, there's no need to rent a car once
you arrive in DC. Our hotel is easily accessible via the metro
(whether you travel by train or land at Reagan International
Airport) or via a hotel shuttle (if you land at Reagan International
Airport). If you drive, parking at the hotel will be an extra $10
per night.
Please plan to arrive on
Thursday, October 16 (or October 30 on the second trip), by 5:00 pm. We'll have a meet and greet
later that evening, and
I'll distribute admission tickets and information about how to use
DC's wonderful public transportation system. We'll spend Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday touring, and depart for home on the morning of
Monday October 20 (or November 3 for the second trip).
Cost and what's included...
I'm estimating the cost
for a "typical" family of 4 (depending on ages) will be around
$900. (A family of 2, depending on ages, would be around $750,
and a family of 3, again depending on ages, would be around $820.) These totals reflect the use of fundraising money for some
of our group admission fees (your family will be eligible for the
reduced cost on this trip, even if you didn't participate in
fundraising). The cost for each family will differ
depending on family size and ages of the children. An initial
deposit of $450 (or half of your total if you have fewer than
four travelers) will be due within 7 days of registration,
with the balance due by the registration deadline (August 15).
The final cost will
include your registration fee, hotel for four nights, a buffet
breakfast on Friday through Monday (if you register early enough for
a room in our first-choice hotel), two lunches, all site
admissions, and any special online courses I offer for registered
students. It also includes Metro and Circulator transportation
while we're there. All other meals, a $10 per night parking fee if
you drive to DC, and anything you do on your own will be extra.
Our hotel rooms will
have two double beds and will be reserved for each family (you won't
share a room with people you don't know). Let me know if you'd like
to share a room to save money (your party consists of just one
parent and a child, for example, and you know another parent/child
team you'd like to share a room with, or would like to find one to
share with). If you have fewer than four
in your party, the cost of your admissions will decrease, but your
hotel cost (the bulk of your total) will remain the same.
Refunds...
If you need to back out of the trip after sending your deposit
and/or final payment, I'll work with you to get your money back
(less your registration fee) by trying to arrange for another family to take your place (from my
waiting list of families who register after the deadline). I
can't guarantee a refund if I have no families on my waiting list.
Last minute drop-outs were a problem with previous trips, nearly
forcing us to cancel due to dropping below the level required for
group discounts. Please be sure you really want to go before
registering and paying your fees - there's no guarantee you'll get
your money back if you cancel.
This trip may be cancelled if we
don't have enough registrations. If I have to cancel the trip,
you'll receive a refund of all payments.
Important things to know...
w Your deposit will be
due in my mailbox within 7 days of the day I send your confirmation
email. Please don't register until you're able to mail your deposit.
(This eliminates the need to send repeated payment reminders.) If I
don't receive it within one week of my confirmation email, your
registration will be deleted and you will lose any
early-registration privileges. If you decide to register again, a
re-registration fee will be added to your total.
w We'll rely on public
transportation while touring DC. It's well worth the experience, but
it does require that we have patience if things don't go exactly
according to our timetable.
w Please note on your
registration any special requests (carpooling, caravanning, room
sharing, riding the same train together, etc), and I'll try to connect you with other homeschool
families who are looking for the same.
w If we are able to get
the White House tour, I will need the personal information of
everyone scheduled to go on the tour (social security number, date
of birth, full name). Everyone in the group 15 years of age or older
will be required to show photo identification with information
exactly matching the name from your registration form that I submit
for clearance. If your identification card does not exactly match
the name that you submit, you may be denied admittance, so please
type your information accurately on your registration form.
w If we are able to get
the Pentagon tour, I will need first and last names, date of birth,
and city/state of birth for everyone scheduled to go on the tour.
Please type your information accurately on your registration form or
you may be denied admittance on the tour.
w I plan to coordinate
some informal online courses for registered students so they will
learn about the sites we'll be visiting (and develop friendships)
before we go. The courses will be conducted in a private area of our
message boards.
If your children would like to participate, please help them
register for a forum account so they'll be ready to join in.
w You'll walk a lot on
this trip. If you have problems that won't allow you to walk for
extended periods during the day, please consider postponing your
trip until you're more able.
w Start a walking program
before the trip if you don't do much walking now. Be sure to walk in the shoes (tennis shoes, walking shoes)
you'll be using for the trip - don't buy new shoes without breaking
them in thoroughly. Trust me on this.
w If you decide not to
take the trip, a refund of your payment is not
guaranteed and is unlikely. Please read and understand my refund
policy (in the section above) before sending your money!
w This trip may be
cancelled if we don't have enough registrations. If I have to cancel
this trip, you'll receive a refund of all payments.
w See our
Washington DC 2006
report for a description of
our previous trip.
w More "things to know"
will be posted as we near our departure date, so check back here
from time to time for the latest updates.
If you want to go...
To register for this
trip, please copy and paste the following form into
an email and supply the requested information (you can delete
the Second Child & Third Child portion if it's not
needed, or add more sections if you have more students to enroll).
It's important to type the correct age of each child on the date
given so I can take advantage of any age-related discounts.
NOTE: If
possible, please send your registration from the email address
you'll be using to communicate with me about the trip.
A registration deposit
of $450 will be due upon confirmation of your registration.
If I don't receive your payment within 7 days from the day I
send your confirmation and payment email, your registration will be
deleted. If you decide to register again, a re-registration fee will
be added to your total. (Note: If you lose track of time
or have a problem and know your payment will be a few days late,
don't pay high overnight or express fees - just email me and let me
know.)
A waiting list will be maintained after our
registration deadline. Please read my refund policy carefully before
registering and sending payment.
UPDATE: A
couple of families need to cancel their reservations for health
reasons. We're now accepting registrations for these openings. Be sure to note which dates
you're interested in when you email your registration.
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WASHINGTON DC
REGISTRATION
[NOTE: If we
get approved for the White House and Pentagon tours and you’d like
to participate, please also provide each person's birthdate,
city/state/country of birth, and Social Security number. You may send social
security numbers, and all personal information, via snail mail with
your deposit if you feel uncomfortable emailing it.]
Parent Information
Full Name(s) of each
participating parent (including middle names):
Email:
Home Address:
Phone Number:
Parents' birthdates,
city/state/country of birth, and Social Security number:
First Student
Student's Full Name
(including middle):
Student's age on October 16, 2008 (or October 30 if registering for
our second trip):
Student's birthdate,
city/state/country of birth, and Social Security number:
Second Student
Student's full name
(including middle):
Student's age on October 16, 2008 (or October 30 if registering for
our second trip):
Student's birthdate,
city/state/country of birth, and Social Security number:
Third Student
Student's full name
(including middle):
Student's age on October 16, 2008 (or October 30 if registering for
our second trip):
Student's birthdate,
city/state/country of birth, and Social Security number:
Other Guests
Please list the full
names of other guests in your party and their ages.
Total number in your
party:
Comments:
[Please note any
special requests (carpooling, caravanning, room sharing, etc), and
I'll try to connect you with other homeschool families who are
looking for the same.]
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Once I receive your
registration via email, I will respond with payment information and
mailing instructions. Please
email me if you have any questions.
Subscribe to our
Traveling Homeschoolers
mailing list to receive updates via email. To discuss plans for our
trips, visit the Traveling Homeschoolers forum on our
message boards.

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