By pilgrim foot and knee!

Note: I returned Sunday afternoon from the NSDAR 2010 Schools Tour. I blogged daily about the trip on the KSDAR website, and decided to cross-post them here, too, just in case any non-KSDAR folks were interested in hearing about the trip. This is the tenth and final post of the trip, but you can read all of the posts in chronological order here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here!

Day Ten, October 17, 2010--Home!

Greetings!

Well, 1,550 miles and nine days after leaving Washington, DC, we arrived in Abingdon, VA, this morning for a farewell brunch at the Martha Washington Inn. The brunch was absolutely amazing, and it was so nice to sit down one last time with the amazing women I have met or gotten to know better this week.

Our leaders, both at the National level and across the states, are an incredibly diverse group of women who all hold our mission of commitment to Historic Preservation, Education, and Patriotism dear to their hearts. While our State Themes and Projects are varied, I learned this week that our hearts are not. As Daughters, we are all united in our love for the children served through the various programs of our DAR Schools.

Our National Schools Chairman shared an interesting analogy with us on the bus the other day. She said that knowing about our DAR schools is like being a grandparent—you can be told how great it is, but until you experience it for yourself, you cannot really know. Our schools are a bit of the same—it takes visiting the schools to really know them. I hope that I have been, and will continue to be able to share with you a bit of my experience, but I urge you each to consider making your own trips to our schools. While our trip was planned, the staff at each school stressed that we (all of the Daughters) are welcome any time!

As I noted at the beginning of this trip, I am available at any time to answer questions you might have. If I didn’t learn the answer this week, odds are our State Schools Chairman already knows it! Call, email, or catch me at the Fall Festival or Fall Board of Management next week!

Title: America, the Beautiful