By Zach Hoyt

1/19/09: Today we started the day out with a trip to the Washington Monument and the surrounding area, where we spent some time walking around and visiting the various memorials.

Mr. Powell at the Washington Monument

WWI Memorial

My group made our way to the World War II memorial from the Washington Monument to start with, getting pictures around the Alaska Wreath and brushing up on our World War II quotes.

From the World War II memorial, we made our way around the frozen reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial, although we could not approach it because of preparations for the Inaugural celebration.

Vietnam Memorial

We ventured from the base of the Reflecting pool to the Vietnam Wall, where we paid our respects to those lost in the war, as well as met several current servicemen who were here for the inauguration.

After seeing the Wall, the band loaded up on the bus and took a short ride to the Holocaust Museum, where the group was split in half and given the option of going to one of the Smithsonian Museums or the Holocaust Museum.

I chose to go with a group to the American History Museum, checking out the displays of old musical instruments, the Military History section and several other exhibits.

After lunch at the Atrium Cafe, we checked out the Smithsonian Art Gallery, which was really cool to see. The art gallery closed at 5, and so we walked to meet our bus to go to dinner.

At the Alaska Wreath

The crowds in DC were starting to really get hyped up for tomorrow, and many of us began to think about the parade.

We ate dinner and returned to the hotel to make our final preparations for the march. Now the cymbals are reassembled, the uniform is ready to go, and now it is time for me to say good night and get ready for the early morning trip to check in at the Pentagon tomorrow.