Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Capital Hill

What a day! After our marathon day yesterday we had to be ready to head to Capital Hill at 6:45 am this morning. I'm pleased to report I had all 18 students make it down. Almost all on time and all dressed beautifully! Nice to see! We had breakfast with the Nebraska Congressional Delegation and then met with each of the members individually. Great meetings and the kids asked great questions. Senator Nelson even tweeted about our visit SenBenNelson

It was a hot hot day on the hill. Thank goodness we had all of our meetings in the Capitol Visitor Center.

There has been a fierce competition to collect the most state pins. Big award tomorrow.

The final dinner dance with all 1500 kids was tonight. What a great way for the kids to cap off the week. James and I got a free pass tonight. NRECA chaperones the dance so all the state chaperones and tour directors can have a quiet meal. We were able to have dinner in the rooftop restaurant with the Montana chaperones. Nice and quiet!

I'm letting the kids sleep in tomorrow. We don't meet til 9 am!



Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Washington DC

Too Busy To Keep Up

I missed posting last night. We were on the go from 8am to Midnight last night. As I write this post I see that my posting from the day before did not make it on to the blog. No time to try to figure out why. We spent our entire day outside yesterday...starting at Mount Vernon in the morning. Visiting the estate our of first president is always a highlight to me. So much to see and unfortunately so little time. "Da boys" indicated that the time they spent at the Pioneer Farm made them feel at home. I don't know about the kids, but being inside the mansion is a bit awe inspiring.

From Mount Vernon to Old Town Alexandria for lunch. I have to apologize right now. I think most of the kids have discovered the beauty of fresh seafood, It took very little encouraging the second time around at at seafood restaurant to get them to be a little adventurous with their meal selections. They might not be satisfied with chicken fingers and fries anymore!

We took a quick tour of Christ Church, George Washington's church. The church survives in almost original condition. Simple yet beautiful.

It was a sobering experience in the afternoon. We spent three hours at Arlington Cemetery taking reverence in the sacrifices made by the men and women that are buried on that holy ground.

Honoring the Marines was our next Stop, The Sunset Parade at the US Marine Corp Memorial can bring out the patriotism in anyone! Handsome young men in uniform seemed to be appealing to the girls!

A highlight of the day was taking a private tour of the US Capitol Building with Congressman Adrian Smith. We entered the Capitol around 9:15 and didn't leave until after 11pm. We were able to spend a significant amount of time in the House Chamber visiting with the Congressman. I was amazed at the questions your young people posed to the Congressman. This is a group of smart, socially aware young adults, that I am going to feel comfortable with leading our nation when our generation moves on! This was a great honor for all of us. We got to go to and see things the public does not have access to.

I am going to let the kids post later about Monday's events, this is the day we spent on the National Mall. I think it is better they tell you about their days than me trying to re-create that mysteriously missing post.

I do want to announce that after a very difficult decision making process we did select as our National spokesperson--our YLC Representative, Ivy Prater from Elgin! Congratulations Ivy!

More later about today!



Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Washington DC

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Sunday...not exactly a day of rest

I'm taking a moment to write a few lines while We are at the Kennedy Center listening to solo performances by some of the most talented young musicians from around the United States and the World. What makes them more amazing is that each of the performers has some form of disability.

We started our day looking for Darth Vader before attending church services at the National Cathedral. You might ask the kids about that!

Brunch, at the Cactus Cantina provided enough food for the entire day, but we all still managed to find room for some fabulous cupcakes provided by our amazing bus driver Ms G.

While it was a sobering experience, I guarantee you the 2.5 hours the kids spent at the Holocaust Museum will never be forgotten. It is an aspect of Youth Tour that will always be part of our itinerary. It is just too important to miss.

After visiting Fords Theater and the Peterson House, many of the participants were able to snag some great deals from the discount souvenir shops near the theater.


The August 2011 earthquake near Washington Dc prevented us from ascending the Washington Monument, but we were still able to stand at the base of the impressive memorial to George Washington.

We plan to eat at the top of the Kennedy Center following the performance and before we head to visit the Lincoln, Korean, Vietnam, World War II Memorials... It will be late when we get back and we will all be exhausted, but what a day!
Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Access Youth Tour Photos


2012 Youth Tour Photo Gallery Instructions



  1. Go to the YT Photo Gallery http://youthtour.smugmug.com/ or http://photos.youthtour.org
  2. Click on the 2012 Youth Tour Gallery. (The Youth Day 2012 Gallery will be where NRECA Youth Day photos will go).
  3. Scroll down to “Nebraska” and click on the state name or the picture.  This will take you to the picture gallery

Click on 2012 Youth Tour




Click on Nebraska

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Getting Ready to Go

There are just 23 days to Youth Tour! If you haven't already checked it out, visit the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour webpage. You will see just how big this event will be!
Family and Friends can tour DC with us by following this blog. We will post pictures and a provide a rundown of  each day of tour. 
Even more photos will be posted on the Nebraska page of the SmugMug photo site. Details on how to view those pictures will be provided later.
Be sure to contact me if you have any questions! Kristen email.