Thank you to all that entered the "Dream Day in DC" Contest.   

The winner of the 2009 "Dream Day in DC" Contest is:

Jim McFadden from Olmsted Falls! 

James and his younger sister, Julia will, be departing on the inagural CAK-DCA flight aboard US Airways on Sunday, Jan 25, 2009, and living out a fun-filled day in DC!

Read the winning essay below:  

A true dream day for me would be the opportunity to show my little sister our nation’s capital and hopefully inspire her to become as excited about the democratic process and rich history we have here in these United States as I am. She’s a smart and talented young lady, but she certainly doesn’t seem to have much of an interest in the importance of our political institutions. As hard as it is to believe, I doubt my sister could tell you who Sarah Palin is, let alone “Joe the Plumber.”

As for me, well, I am particularly excited about this Dream Day as my other brief experience in Washington, D.C. was strictly regulated by the overzealous teachers and chaperones of our high school class trip. For once, I will get to take matter into my own hands. Our day begins with our US Airways flight to DCA. In light of recent events, we hope to be lucky enough to land at the airport rather than in the Potomac River. Preferably, our contact with water will be limited to the National Aquarium.

Our first stop after leaving the airport is the Washington monument—fist president, first order of business of the day, right? Besides, old George is probably the only historical president my sister can name, and climbing to the top of the monument will give us an excellent view to plan our next endeavor. We can easily spot the Capitol building from here, and decide to head over there to harass our home Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, and see what sort of wacky legislative mischief he’s up to these days after the end of his short-lived presidential campaign (keep dreaming Dennis, maybe CAK will make your dream come true too).

After leaving the Hill, we head to our next stop: The Smithsonian. These days, my little sis seems to be more interested in the Jonas Brothers than the Wright Brothers, so naturally our next stop would be the Air and Space Museum to try and show her what real history looks like. Today, we’re going to see real history, not those boring factoids that she has to learn for the sixth grade Ohio Graduation Test. Ah, the pleasantries of No Child Left Behind.

Which bring us to our next mission: head to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to chastise Dubya with an eight-year-long list of grievances. Luckily for George, we’ll have missed by five days—there’s a new family living at the White House. Yes we can! …take a tour of the Oval Office and feel what it’s like to be in the most powerful room on the planet. But before we let the aroma of sweet executive power get to our heads, it’s time to come back down to Earth. For us, a dorky college kid and his naïve middle-school sister, this sort of world is a long way from slow-paced, small town Ohio. Hopefully she’ll learn as a result of this trip, however, that these two different worlds are fundamentally important to one another, hard as it seems to believe. So I ask this of US Airways and CAK: Will I have the opportunity to live my dream day, or am I just day-dreaming?

The winning dream day package for Jim and Julie includes:

• Air Fare on the INAGURAL (1/25/2009) flight to and from CAK to DCA aboard US Airways for the winner and one guest (must travel ON this date)
• $100 in cash to be used towards transportation and daily expenses.
• A FLIP video camera to document their dream day
• Your individualized, one-day itinerary - detailed by them and fulfilled by us!

Thank you to all that entered! Be sure to go to www.usairways.com to book your own flight to DC today!

**Submitting an entry automatically signifies that you agree to all terms and conditions of this contest.

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