This morning after being treated to little sleep in we had pancakes for breakfast (Yum). We had a slight change of plans after we waited for our bus for 45 minutes and realized the schedule changed due to the pride parade. Our plan B was to walk to the White House past some shops and have lunch on our way. We got to the White House and took a photo but we’re not sure if you can see the White House for all the fences. We could still see the Washington monument clearly from there. It was so busy and we needed to get to the African American museum for our time so we continued walking.
We got there and had to divide into 3 groups so we could be in different places. The different exhibits showed history, sports, music, dance and the fight for freedom. The music display had various artists such as Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. Bo Diddley was notorious for blues and guitar solos. Jimi Hendrix is one of my favourite talents of all time. He was heavy metal before heavy metal was a thing. Without him lots of music would not be the same. The museum also had exhibits that explained how everyone rose together and participated in the Million Man March which was where African Americans fought for freedom and equality. There was also a train car displayed and the difference between seating for white people and “coloured”people. The bathrooms were different sizes, the seating was poor and the water coolers were separate. The whole museum was beautifully organized and in the shape of the crown of the Nigerian king This last fact was given to my group by our tour guide from the night tour on the bus. The museum gave us a sense of how it was to be a “coloured” person back in that time.
At 5:00 PM we boarded the bus to go shopping at 2 malls. The first one was a mini mall with 4 stores. One of the stores was 5 Below and my friend bought a skateboard for $5. Three more of my friends bought new shoes for a great price! Then we left and walked to the Pentagon Mall which is actually located in Virginia. We were given about 2 hours to shop and have dinner in the mall. We were wondering and it seems that my friends really like shoes as 2 more pairs were bought. When we left the mall there was a large group of people who had been waiting for Target and that’s where we went. Everyone wanted Chick Fil A sauce. The girls had a burning desire to go to Ulta for makeup but when they got there it was closed. They were very disappointed. We walked to the bus and headed back to the hotel. For a day that wasn’t supposed to be tons of walking our steps taken were the highest.