Miner’s DC Tour

*Deadline to Enroll: June 1, 2024*

EMAIL/CALL GARY (minergary2@gmail.com)801 376 3730

Meet Gary Miner

Acquiring a bachelors in Social Studies Education from BYU in 1991, Gary started his teaching and coaching (football and baseball) career at Orem High in 1992, teaching AP United States History and United States Government. During the course of his career, he also earned a Masters in Public Administration (BYU 2000) as well as Educational Leadership (SUU 2004). In 2009, he transferred to Maple Mountain High School where he continued as teacher and coach until his retirement in 2022.

It was always on his bucket list to take students to Washington and that adventure began in 1995. After working with travel companies for a couple of years, he started planning and organizing his own trips. Designed to make the experience more personal and cost effective, the trip to Washington has now become an annual pilgrimage.

With nearly a thousand students and three decades of experience he now wants to share that experience with others. Last year’s inaugural adult tour was even better than expected. His wealth of knowledge for all things history will leave you with the desire to learn for yourself and feel more patriotic towards our country.

He has been married to the love of his life, Sandi, for 36 years and together they have six awesome children, six equally great in-laws, and even better, eight wonderful grandchildren.

Itinerary

Itinerary is subject to change based on weather, interest, etc.

Thursday, Sept. 19:

  • Departure and travel to Washington D.C

  • Check in at hotel (See details below)

  • Meet in hotel lobby at 6:45 p.m. to begin tour

  • Iwo Jima Memorial

Friday, Sept. 20:

  • United States Capitol Tour

  • Library of Congress

  • Pick up bikes for afternoon events:

  • Jefferson Memorial                        

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

  • Martin Luther King Memorial                          

  • Korean War Memorial

  • Lincoln Memorial                          

  • Vietnam Memorial

  • World War II Memorial

Saturday, Sept. 21:

  • Souvenir shopping

  • Travel to Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

  • Travel to Gettysburg, PA—Civil War Battlefield experience

  • Dinner provided

  • Return to Washington with a stop at Washington D.C. Temple Visitors Center.

Sunday, Sept. 22:

  • National Police Memorial

  • Ford’s Theater

  • National Archives

  • Arlington National Cemetery/Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Monday, Sept. 23:

  • Holocaust Museum

  • Washington Monument Tour

  • Smithsonian Museums

  • Miscellaneous time to pick up missed venues/Free time for patrons

Tuesday, Sept. 24:

  • Pentagon Memorial

  • Travel to Washington’s Mount Vernon

  • Late lunch provided at Famous Dave’s BBQ

  • Travel to airport—Reagan National—end of tour

Disclosure:

This tour is designed for adults. Use of Metro and private coach is available, but participants should plan on a lot of walking and even a casual bike day.

Cost

Cost Per Person (Airfare not included):

  • Based on Double Occupancy = $1,550.00 Per Person

  • Based on Single Occupancy = $2000.00 Per Person

Details:

  • Small (about 30) group for better communication and tour experience.

  • A $500 deposit is required to register. Deposits need to be paid on or before June 1, 2024.

  • To register please call or email Gary Miner at information provided below.

  • Final payment due on or before August 15, 2024. Registrations not paid by August 15 are subject to a $250.00 cancellation fee. Cancellations after final payment are also subject to $250.00 fee.

Venmo: @Gary-Miner-5

minergary2@gmail.com

801-376-3730

Items included:

  • Guide to all sites with 30 years’ experience in the Washington area.

  • Unlimited transportation vis Metro to various D.C. destinations.

  • Private motor coach to Gettysburg, and on day of departure, to Mount Vernon and back to Reagan National Airport.

  • Five night stay at Embassy Suites Alexandria, Virginia

  • 703 684 5900

  • Entrance to all venues requiring fee.

  • Dinners as included in the itinerary, breakfast included at the hotel.

Items NOT Included:

Souvenirs, excess baggage or portage charges, personal trip or baggage insurance, room service, laundry, phone charges, food or beverages not part of the group menu, tips/gratuities for special services, expenses incurred on personal activities not included where group participation is not specified in the itinerary, etc.

Travel Info

Travel Accommodations:  Participants are responsible for transportation to the designated hotel. There are three major airports that serve the DC area, Dulles, Baltimore, and Reagan National. Tour guide will be flying to Reagan National and using METRO, which has direct access to the hotel. (Reagan National Airport to King St. on the Blue or Yellow line.) Hotel is less than a block from the King St./ Old Town Metro.

  • Tour Guide Flights: Sept. 19: Delta #820 departs SLC @ 10:07 a.m. direct to DCA arrival @ 4:12 p.m. (All times local)

  • Return: Sept. 24: Delta #683 departs DCA @ 5:20 p.m. direct to SLC arrival @ 8:11 p.m. (All times local)

If you end up booking something different, please let me know and I will do my best to help with accommodations, travel to hotel, etc. Tour will start from the lobby of Embassy Suites Hotel on Thursday, September 19th @ 6:45.

Meals:  Breakfast is included with hotel stay. Dinner will also be included as detailed in the itinerary. There are multiple restaurant options near the hotel, including grocery/pharmacy.

Participants are responsible for each day’s lunch. Time will be budgeted within the tour for lunch destinations.

General Information: Prior to departure we will have direct or Zoom conversations with all participants to walk through trip details and answer questions. TBD on the specific time and place. Feel free to reach out with questions anytime.

Educational Resources

- Iwo Jima Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/usmc.htm  -Arlington National Cemetery: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/

- Holocaust Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/ -World War II Memorial: http://www.wwiimemorial.com

- Lincoln Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/linc/home.htm -Korean Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/kwvm/home.htm

- Vietnam Wall: http://www.nps.gov/vive/home.htm -Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/

- Smithsonian American History Museum: http://americanhistory.si.edu/

- United States Capitol: http://www.uschs.org/ -Gettysburg: http://www.nps.gov/gett/

- Smithsonian Flight Museum: http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy

- Washington Monument: http://www.nps.gov/wamo/home.htm -FDR Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/fdrm/

- Jefferson Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/thje/ -National Police Memorial: http://www.nleomf.com/TheMemorial/memorial.htm

- Ford’s Theater: fords.org -National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/

- Pentagon Memorial: Pentagonmemorial.org -Tomb of the Unknown: www.arlingtoncemetery.mil

- Mount Vernon: www.mountvernon.org -MLK Memorial:  www.nps.gov/mlkm/index.htm

- Smithsonian African American History Museum: https://nmaahc.si.edu/

- Smithsonian Natural History Museum: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/

 If you are interested in learning more about the individual sights we will be visiting, here are a few web sites that will be helpful.

 Contact Gary:

Phone: (801) 376-3730

Email: minergary2@gmail.com