Again, we are singing for our veterans! 

A day off,  to visit museums,  relax,  go to the Capital Fourth concert or whatever you choose.   We did a short Smithsonian Air and Space museum visit, (unfortunately under remodeling ).

We enjoyed a trip to Alexandria for lunch with Rebecca Lee , Joel Welch. And son Owen! 

Restful afternoon,  few rain showers, and very humid temps,  so we have decided on watching the concert on TV, instead of on the mall!  We can see fireworks from a park very close to the hotel,  so no need to fight traffic into DC.

Our concert was spectacular!  Thanks to Bob Lynne Halley for sharing from the audience perspective! 

What a thrill and blessing to sing with 300 of these wonderful Christians,  2 famous  gospel singers and several songwriters,  led by 6 great worship pastors,  and 14 of our closest Coastal California Chorale friends!

So happy daughter Rebecca and son in law Joel and son Owen joined us to enjoy our concert!  So great to have them there!

We began with a drive by tour of several monuments

First  we passed the Air Force missing man memorial,  then the Marine memorial,  the Iwo Jima memorial

Our next stops were memorials in and around the Mall

The Korean memorial

Martin Luther King memorial

The FDR memorial is a park setting

Our visit to the Lincoln memorial next

We sang our first concert at the Jefferson memorial

We also drove by,  or walked by,  several other sights

Our visits to Arlington National Cemetery and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.   Video of that is in another post

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Capital Hill Club and then a tour of the capital with Rep Mark Walker.  We were beyond amazed to be able to sit in the seats is our nation’s House, the Peoples house. And then to sing and read scripture in the rotunda of the capital. 

We’ve had so many spectacular experiences, on this trip!  Several today were experiences we won’t forget or probably ever get to repeat! 

Our group,  officially the American Festival Choir,  laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers today and our director,  Dr Melton was chosen to be part of that honor.  

Today we had the fabulous experience of a VIP tour of the Museum of the Bible.   There are way too many pictures and details to share,  even in our personal blog!  We saw ancient manuscripts,  history of the scriptures,  the impact of Bible in world history,  and amazing artifacts.   Having a private guide made this a very great tour.

Parts is the longest tapestry in America

There are interactive sections and videos,  all excellent experiences! 

We finished our day with a welcome dinner with 290 of our group,  and an hour of rehearsal of the music we will be presenting in our outside concerts,  beginning tomorrow!  I will try to get some video and of course some pictures of our concerts coming up!  Tomorrow will be a full full day! 

We are on a short but very unique adventure!  Emmett and I, with about 16 members of our Coastal California Chorale,  are joining voices in a 250 to  300 voice choir at the Kennedy Center on July 3, a Salute to our American Veterans!  We are backing up 2 great gospel singers,  Sandi Patty and Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Bros. 

6 is us flew in together today and others are joining us over the next 24 hours.   Those of us who came early are getting a VIP Tour of the Museum of the Bible tomorrow morning before our whole group gathers for a opening dinner and then a 2 hour rehearsal.  And this is just the beginning

Over the next 5 days, we will be singing a couple concerts at 2 memorials, praying and maybe singing in the capital rotunda,  visiting the Arlington National Cemetery, laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown, and visiting a couple museums on our day off!!  Of course,  the Capital fourth and the fireworks are right at our doorstep,  if it isn’t too hot,  muggy,  or rainy too go… time will tell.  We can see them from the hotel,  if we are inclined to see them that way!    So watch for photos and videos in the upcoming days.

Our capital is impressive even from the air,  isn’t it?

Our next stop,  Imperial, Nebraska, for grandson Walker’s graduation!  Family is gathered and having a fun weekend on the farm

Graduation ceremonies and party

Busy weekend but such fun to have everyone together! Especially fun for the 3 little ones too enjoy some cousin time,  since now they live in different states.  

Lunch and a day of visiting St.  Augustine where we had lunch with great friends,  Vicki and Ted Jackson!  We met them on a cruise in Japan several years ago and got it off!  We’ve been blessed to visit them 2x since! 

St Augustine’s old Spanish town,  with its Fort and lovely old homes along St George Street. 

You do see interesting sights along the street,  like mosaic manakins and pirates

Constitution square and the cathedral of St Augustine

We arrived into Port Canaveral early Thursday morning and, since we couldn’t get into our timeshare until 4 anyway,  we decided to use the time in a fun way!

We had a Great day visiting the Space Center! we enjoyed the exhibits on the Gemini, Apollo, and space shuttle programs.  

The first manned launch of Artemis,  the next moon missions, named for the sister of Apollo, is scheduled for Monday night at 10:35!  We are hoping to witness that!  Stay tuned!