You could tell that the much anticipated Washington, D.C. trip had arrived by the buzz of conversation in the Beit Midrash after davening. Many questions could be heard ranging from, “How could you not plan on making the 40 minute walk to Krispy Kreme?” to “Would you rather go to the Holocaust Museum or the Air and Space museum first?” Eventually we were able to put our money where our mouths were because, after a short bus ride, we were actually standing in the great capital city itself. From the beginning, the camp was split into three groups. One group went to the Holocaust Museum, the second group went to the Air and Space Museum, and the third group wandered around the city aimlessly, possibly looking for a nonexistent mall. I, along with many of my peers, started off in the Holocaust Museum. It was a chilling, but meaningful experience for all of us, and it was interesting to start off the trip with such a serious attitude. The Holocaust Museum gave me a more historical outlook on the Holocaust from what I usually encounter, and the up close feeling I had within the Holocaust Museum was an unprecedented one for me. One of my fellow NCSYers said to me the following about his experience there, “I think it’s really important how crowded it is today, all these people came here on a random weekday just to learn about the Holocaust.” After the Holocaust Museum, we walked around to many famous sites such as the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, White House, and Capitol Building. There was also an array of interesting museums in an area called the National Mall, which surprisingly is not a large building with many cool stores. We then boarded the buses and drove off to a nice park along the Potomac River, where we were able to chill after a long day and enjoy a BBQ dinner. To close off this fantastic trip, we went to Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park, and we were able to test our skills at dunking, flipping, and for the kids less accustomed to trampolines, embarrassingly falling. If you ask any advisor, the highlight of the evening were the many rounds of advisor dodge ball from which the campers were strictly banned. After Sky Zone, we headed back to Camp Sports and, to Rabbi Green’s relief, fell asleep fairly quickly from a long tiring day. The Washington D.C. trip definitely lived up to all the hype and I’m glad I didn’t randomly get the flu and miss it!
-Asher Stein, Memphis, Tennessee