“First’s” are always awkward. No matter how you might prepare for it there seems to always be a feeling…
Washington D.C.!!!
I consider myself to be a life long student. I love going to the library and letting myself go in the stacks. One of my favorite past times is visiting historical sites. I feel closer and more in tune with what made this country great. This past April I was given the chance to travel to Washington D.C. to represent Oregon rodeo. Before this trip, the furthest I had been from Oregon was Florida when I attended the Silver Spurs Rodeo. To be honest I felt that this trip held more in store for me. I was so excited to be able to have this opportunity and didn’t want to spoil it with my annoyance of flying.
My flight there was 10 hrs… with three stops in between Oregon and Washington D.C. By the time I landed at Dulles International Airport I could feel the history. I was picked up by Miss Rodeo Virginia Anita Moorhead and Miss Rodeo Colorado Kasie Pigg. I was excited just driving to pick up Miss Rodeo North Dakota Tiffany Kuntz.
The first thing we did was eat. We went to a seafood restaurant and discussed what we would be doing for the next three days. We decided that after we ate we could go to the National Mall and enjoy the solitude of the monuments at night. By this time it was about ten o’clock. You might be asking yourself “My goodness, weren’t they tired?” the answer to that is a resounding NO! All of us were so excited that sleeping just wasn’t an option.
A weird fact about D.C. is that at night there is almost no one on the street. No one walking around; no one even was driving. For such a large city, it was strange to have the opportunity to walk down the street and not get hit by a cab.
The monuments were incredible! The first one we saw was the Washington Monument. All around the skyscraper like building was American flags. It was eerie and impacting at the same time. We also went to the World War II Memorial. It totally brought to life the sacrifices that were made for women like me to be able to just walk around the pillars chiseled with each states name into them. We then walked to the Lincoln Memorial. It was so quiet! Not even a pin drop could be heard… well, that was until I tripped and fell in front of Mr. Lincoln himself! But luckily there was no one else there so I falling was only witnessed by the other ladies. At about 1am we decided that we had walked around enough and needed to get to our hostesses home and rest up for the next day.
I had the honor to stay with the Bapst family. They live in one of George Washington’s old rental properties. The house was amazing! So beautiful and elegant.
My second day there was a free day. After getting dressed in civilian clothing; which doesn’t happen much anymore ;). Anita drove us to Arlington National Cemetery. I have only been to small cemeteries so walking onto the grounds was intimidating. There were hedge stones and grave markers everywhere. Some of them dated back to the Civil War. A lot of them were dedicated to the men and women who died in Afghanistan and the Iraq war. The cemetery is divided into 70 different sections; I don’t believe that in the time I was there could I visit all of them. Two of the highlights that I was able to see were the Eternal Flame which is above John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. The other highlight was watching the changing of the guard in front of Tomb of the Unknown Solider. This takes place every half hour, every day, all day. I found out that it a great honor for any young man to have the opportunity to guard the tomb. There is great precision with this undertaking. If everything isn’t perfect then the solider is not allowed to guard the tomb.
After we had taken in all the sights of the fallen, we all climbed into our rental car and headed back to the National Mall. This time were going there to tour the Museum of American History. What I didn’t realize was that the museum was huge! It literally housed everything that has made America what it is. I had the respectable honor of viewing our flag, the very first American Flag. What I didn’t know was that the flag is 34 ft by 36 ft! When the flag was being made it actually was larger than the house that it was made in. There were even bullet holes still noticeable! I also learned that when the flag was taken down from its post that pieces of the end of it were cut off and given as souvenirs for tourists! I about choked when I heard that. I also was able to see every First Ladies Inaugural dresses. Nancy Regan’s dress was my favorite. She really looked like the definition of class. The last piece of history I took in was Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers! They weren’t as red as I am guessing they once were but I was taken back at being so close to the yellow brick roadJ. The last few hours we spent in D.C. was spent walking around Chinatown. There were so many people there! Asian, African American, Indian and Caucasian nationalities all merged together to create a portrait of color and race. I totally loved every minute of it!
The third day gave way to a trail ride through Antietam National Battlefield. We were in Maryland and I felt totally at home there. It looks a lot like Oregon minus the mountains. The battle took place on September 17, 1862; it is considered to be the bloodiest battle of the civil war with 23,000 men losing their lives. I was told that it was haunted so the entire time we rode I looked for ghosts; sadly I didn’t see any. The first length of the trial ride was through Bloody Lane. This was where, when the war was over, all of the bodies were piled up. I cannot imagine 23,000 bodies being piled up on both sides thus making a trench-like lane. The whole trail ride took about 3 hours. I didn’t want it to end! When we finally got back home we had to get ready for the Twilight Polo Match and Fashion Show. About this time it had started raining and most everyone was not to happy about it. Being a true Oregonian, I felt totally at home. When we arrived at the polo fields we all were treated to getting our makeup professionally done. Fake eyelashes and all! Sadly due to the rain the polo match was cancelled but we were able to walk in our chaps and crowns in the fashion show! My favorite category is modeling so being able to walk the runway was total dreams come true!
The fourth day was sadly when we had to say goodbye to Kasie Pigg. It was sad for those of us left but we knew that we would be seeing her at future rodeos. When she was safely at the airport Tiffany, Anita and I decided to do a little shopping. It was great to get to know these ladies on a more personal level. Being that it was our last day we all spent time with the Bapst family, to whom I am very grateful to.
This was the trip of a lifetime! I was shocked at how steeped the entire state is in history and how respectful the Virginians were. They totally loved rodeo and I know that us being there made everyone we met a rodeo fan. Thank you to everyone I met there and I hope to see you in the future!
