Now, I’ve had my fair share of disasters. When I think of the word “disaster,” I don’t think about the time I created a poisonous gas out of germ-x in 6th grade science, or the time I wrote a littlest pet shop fan-fiction. My mind automatically goes to one thing- Washington DC.
It was the summer after my 6th grade year when my gifted class went on a trip to Washington DC. We had done fundraisers all year in order to save up for the trip, and we were all so hopeful that this would be one of the most amazing trips we would go on- EVER. It was that hyped up.
The day comes. We have all gathered our bags, and are waiting in front of the school for the bus to come pick us up. Suddenly, we get a call from our bus driver. Our original bus driver had fallen sick the day before, and had to be replaced.
“Hey, I’m in South Pinola- where is the school?”
We live in Pontotoc.
I won’t go into the specifics, but, we eventually found him and got him to the right school.
The trip was delayed slightly, but it made no difference. Not at the time. Driving was smooth. Everyone played cards together, and waited anxiously for our arrival in the most historical area in America. Time passed,and passed, and passed. So did that same area of land. We were going in circles, and were running out of gas.
So we stop for gas. There’s just ONE issue- our drivers card isn’t working.
Imagine being the one to tell a group of 30 6th graders that because they had to stop at a gas station for 2 hours, they would not be able to make any more food or restroom stops the entire way to Washington.
That was the most tense bus ride I had ever been on.
Fast forward- we get to Washington. Our bus driver gets fired, but still hangs around for the trip. one woman gets word that her grandchild is about to be born, and has to travel back home. We wish her farewell and check into the hotel. This is where we meet our hero-
LANCE
Lance gave us cookies and apologizes for our suffering, though he had absolutely nothing to do with it. Lance would later introduce us to our tour guide.
Our tour guide was a very sharp man. He wore a suit and tie, carried an umbrella, and told us stories from when he used to work at Disney.
The first tour we went on was dedicated to those that had died in the military. At the time we did not realize we were standing next to a “Tours Here” sign. We were all so shocked when random people started asking questions.
Our day goes well. We travel here, travel there. We get lost and see all the sides of the pentagon. The weather is nice and sunny, our new bus brakes down.
….Yeah, our second bus with our new driver, that bus broke down.
We shopped around in a gift shop while the adults tried to fix it, but, to no avail. During this incident, they turned to our original bus driver, and gave him money to take a cab to go get the old bus. We didn’t see him until a few days later.
After an hour or so, our tour guide squints his eyes, looks down the street, and says,
“Hey, you guys wanna see the white house?”
Of course we want to see the white house!
Let me tell you, the white house is not that big. It’s often glorified to be big and spacious. In reality, it’s no bigger than a college building. Still though, its beautiful. We got to bask in its glory for exactly 15 minutes before they have to clear out the area because President Obama was coming home.
By the time we had gotten kicked out of the white house’s area, someone managed to find us a temporary bus and driver. They brought us back to the hotel, and dropped off the tour guide.
Later on, that same bus would bring us to the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. I’ve never forgot the sights. We were able to go up to the top balcony and see for miles. There were so many planes flying around, which was very interesting to me! More interesting, though, was the fact that we ran into our tour guide at the theater. He ditched a crowd of old drunk people to come hang out with us. He never really quit working. I remember him rattling off the history of the place, despite him not being the one that was supposed to tour that building with us.
When it came time to go home, I was incredibly sad. I was happy we had finally gotten a permanent bus, but the fact I was leaving made me upset. I wanted to go on even more wacky adventures. Getting to see all these amazing monuments, the Ford Theater, Kennedy Center, Parks, White House, Pentagon, even the Hard Rock Cafe-it was all incredible. Just one last adventure- that was all I wanted, and that’s what I got.
4 buses and 7 drivers after our trip had begun, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for one last meal….
Guess who we saw.
yep, it was our first bus driver. The one that got us lost, got fired, and never came back for us. He asked my teacher to pay for his meal. Let me say, few people have ever seen a teacher laugh in the way she laughed. It was so hysterical, and yet, so profound.
That one last little bit really brought closure to the trip. Something about it was so ironic. It felt like I was living in a disaster movie, and this was the final scene.
Looking back on it, I think it’s the most memorable trip I have ever been on. It helped me learn so much more than a perfect trip would have taught me.
Enjoy the mistakes in life- embrace them. What would have happened if we just sat outside that gift shop waiting for the first driver? We would not have gotten kicked out of the White House area! How many people can say that’s happened to them?
Appreciate the people that go out of their way for you. Lance didn’t have to get us cookies. Our tour guide didn’t have to abandon his other group to tour the Kennedy Center with us. Their actions still remain in my mind as something that made Washington the coolest place ever.
Be in the moment, laugh afterwards. This trip was absolutely wild. It was stressful in the moment, but now its HILARIOUS. Looking back, I enjoy the experience more now than I did when it happened.
Special Thank You to my UFO (Unlimited Future Opportunities) teacher for being the most amazing trip planner. Without her, we would have never gone. Actually, we were the only class to ever go! To have such bad luck, we sure were lucky.
