8th Grade 2015 East Coast Trip
Each year, RCS 8th graders spend the school year in anticipation of the annual East Coast Trip. Over 50 students and parents from Riverside Christian School, as well as some of our friends at Ellensburg Christian traveled across the continent to explore, learn, and take in our country’s history. Throughout their twelve day journey they were able to see A LOT including Washington D.C. and all major monuments, New York City, Amish Country, Virginia, Baltimore (where they caught an Orioles game!), Gettysburg, Boston, and more!
We asked 8th graders, now incoming 9th graders, Zach Bethel and Sara Immel to share a little bit about their experience and what they learned from this incredible trip:
Try to summarize your East Coast Experience in one sentence.
Zach: “Fun with friends, amazing sights, great bus driver and expectations exceeded.”
Sarah: “The East Coast Trip was a really unique, immersive experience; we not only learned a lot but had a lot of fun, as well.”
What were you most looking forward to seeing on the East Coast Trip?
Zach: “Capitol Hill, Mt Vernon & Monticello, Boston”
Sarah: “I was most looking forward to seeing not a specific place, but all the different cultures and history that shaped all of the places we went into completely different environments from those we are familiar with here.”
What monument, location, or experience moved you the most on this trip?
Zach: “Monticello”
Sarah: “I really enjoyed seeing Amish Country; it was a window into a very different peaceful lifestyle (not to mention that it was a much-appreciated break from big cities on the trip).”
Favorite thing you ate on this trip?
Zach: “Amish peanut butter & Amish soft pretzels”
Sarah: “Amish mashed potatoes and cannolis from Quincy Market”
What was the most interesting thing that you learned?
Zach: “The Union soldiers buried their dead soldiers in Robert E Lee’s rose garden, thus establishing Arlington.”
Sarah: “I learned a lot about the lives of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams while touring their homes; it was interesting to be able to see the presidents as people rather than names in a history book.”
What was your biggest takeaway from the trip?
Zach: “I don’t want to live in NYC.”
Sarah: “My biggest takeaway from the East Coast Trip was the freedom of being away from home and being able to stop worrying and just enjoy the trip. Living from a suitcase for two weeks was new to me and not easy, but it taught me to enjoy things day by day, moment by moment.”
Funny story – favorite memory from this trip?
Zach: “McKord likes Cassie” prank by Brian the bus driver & the Hersey song.
Sarah: “One of the boys in our class had a birthday on the trip, on the day that we did laundry, and we threw him a little party. There we were, almost 30 junior higher, in the tiny children’s play area of a laundromat, with a piñata hung on a laundry cart. The confused looks we got from some of the people there were priceless.”
