My daughter's class had their field trip in Washington DC May 3-5, 2019. We left the day after we got back from Charleston WV for the championship of the WV History Bowl . The last week of April and first week of May was a tiring time for us physically (physically and mentally for my daughter). I went together with other parents as chaperones. It was exhausting but fun and educational. It was my daughter and I's first time visiting Washington DC so we were excited.
We left Weirton by bus at 6 a.m. and was suppose to arrive around 11:45 in DC but the driver missed one exit and we had to deal with some heavy traffic so our scheduled tours got delayed. We arrived at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception past noon so we missed to attend the 12:10 mass that we were suppose to attend.
The front exterior of the shrine is beautiful.Our tour lasted for an hour. There is so much to see and learn inside the church.
I wish that the tour guide that was assigned to us was a little lively so we could understand what he was explaining but he was old and the voice was very low. It was putting me to sleep almost.
Anyway, these are just some of the photos I took inside the Basilica.
The Basilica of the Shrine is designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a National Sanctuary of Prayer and Pilgrimage. This great Basilica is our nation’s preeminent Marian shrine, dedicated to the patroness of the United States, the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception.
I can tell the kids were feeling it to have their photos taken as the sun was shining in their faces but we managed to take some.
It would have been nice if we could have catch the noon mass, it would have been a memorable experience aside from the tour.
On the positive side of us missing the exit was that it might have protected us from some sort of accident because there was an accident where we suppose to exit so it was a blessing in disguise. God works in mysterious ways so I always look at the bright side of things. Anyway, if you are in Washington DC and looking for some things to do, try to see the Basilica Shrine, it's beautiful!