last day, final thoughts

Unfortunately, I was unable to blog yesterday (on the actual last day), but today seems more appropriate because I've really had time to step back and think over my time spent in DC.
Yesterday, our group visited ATF. It was very interesting, but, in my opinion, the tour and lectures seemed to drag. The building itself was constructed in a way that it itself is prepared for any number of problems that the 'company' itself is trained to fight against. It was very clever on their part. I wish that we could have seen a little more of the building. The lectures, I'm sure, were very educational, it just seemed to drag on and on. It wasn't until the last person (the firearm expert) began his discussion that I really was able to focus and pay attention. It wasn't the fact that he was in firearms, because the previouis lecturers had given us a history of the ATF and an explosives expert talked about his job. He was just energized and to-the-point. I think it was the fact that he was in the military. He always got to the meat of the discussion and cut everything else out. I also found it interesting that our tour guide had been a part of the INS like my father before he moved on to work as a special agent for the ATF.
After that, we all ate lunch/dinner and went to the airport. The flight was very fun and the pilot was SO much fun. He was cracking jokes left and right and I loved it!
I had an excellent experience in D.C. and I hope that classes in the future are able to go there again!