HAMILTON, ILL. -- President Barack Obama's second inauguration drew huge crowds to the National Mall Monday afternoon.
A group of Hamilton High School students were in attendance ... an event they called a once in a lifetime opportunity.
We spoke with several of the students before they left for the east coast last Wednesday.
"I'm a little bit of a history buff, so I think it'll be great," Carley Fulluo, a senior said.
"We'll spend the afternoon going to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and sights in Philadelphia," David Artman, Hamilton High School's PE and health teacher said.
This is Artman's third trip to the east coast with Hamilton High School students. He organized two others back in 2005 and 2009. Getting 29 students and 15 adults on a plane to to visit the nation's capitol is no easy task. This trip has been in the works for the last two years.
"I'm really excited about Gettysburg, because that was the turning point and with this being the 150th year of the Emancipation Proclamation, they're really excited about that one," Linda Hardy, Hamilton High School's art teacher said.
"I heard the Holocaust museum is really cool and the Smithsonian has all the historic documents," Sydney Metternich, a sophomore said.
"It really feels like we're just doing everything when we're out there, packed into a really short time," Fulluo said.
"I'm looking forward to everything, should be fun, the whole round trip," Kolbie Schilson, a senior said.
These students will mark the end of their journey with an event that will go down in history.
"January 21, we will go to the inauguration. We will get up at 4 a.m. and go to the inauguration and go to the parade," Artman said.
The cost to witness history is $2,000. Fundraisers held throughout the last year helped ease the financial burden, but these students can agree it will all be worth it in the end.
"It's a chance of a lifetime," Schilson said.
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