America Through a Bus Window : Next to the Coke Museum, meeting President Clinton was the best part of a U.S. trip. That and new friends.

Cristina Park was tired at the end of her educational odyssey across the United States.

She had gained weight. She had lost her wallet.

But she and her roommates had become buddies, sharing laughs about things like messing up the laundry (“blue jeans in with the whites”).

And she had a special memory.

“My favorite day on the bus was the day the Korean kids told the other kids about our culture,” she recalled. “We wrote out everyone’s name in Korean. Everyone seemed so interested. Everyone was raising their hand to ask questions. There was a purpose to this trip, and that day I saw it.”

The 15-year-old Cerritos resident returned by air to Los Angeles last week after a 14-day bus trip to Washington, D.C. She was one of 69 students from varied backgrounds, ages 12 to 17, selected by the L.A. and Bay Area Urban Leagues for the first ever “America, the Beautiful Ride.”

“Some of them have never even been to beaches or different parts of Los Angeles, so we hope this opens their eyes to what’s out there,” said trip sponsor Noel Irwin-Hentschel, chairman of L.A.-based AmericanTours International. The two busloads of kids visited cities and monuments in 11 states.

Park, who is sophomore class president at Whitney High School, began the adventure with modest expectations: “I just hope to meet a lot of new people, have fun and get to see a lot of the United States. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see the difference between Los Angeles and places like Little Rock, Ark.”

She planned to do homework--English, Spanish, Geography, Algebra II--on the long bus rides. And she had another commitment, of sorts. Her 8-year-old brother, Richard, “kind of made me promise I would bring him back something from every state. I said I would get him sand and rock from every one.”

It was just a joke. But who knew what Park would collect, in her hand and her heart, from new places and people. Like President Clinton. “I was the closest one to him. I was so excited. Connie Chung was interviewing him, but we took him away from her,” Park said in telephone interview after her tour of the White House.

Here are excerpts from her journal:

DAY 1

Los Angeles to Las Vegas

272 miles

As we were going to our first destination, we could see the brush fires. On the news I heard that the fires will continue. Maybe that is why I’m so eager to leave. . . .

Land, land and more land. Oh, and a lot of Joshua trees.

Finally, the lights, the buildings and people. . . . We had arrived in Las Vegas. I saw the famous Dunes (hotel and casino) before it went down tonight. Also, we watched “Starlight Express,” Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical. It was surprisingly good. Everyone is tired and ready to sleep. End of a tiring first day.

Oh! My roommates are Soo, Kathy and Jessica, and our chaperon is Ms. Byrd. I know Soo but nobody else. But hopefully in the weeks to come, everyone will get to know one another.

DAY 2

Las Vegas to Page, Ariz.

326 miles

Today we went to two national parks, Zion and Bryce. Zion was surrounded by mountains covered with green. We had a picnic lunch and played Frisbee.

In Bryce Canyon we walked down a hoodoo trail. Hoodoos are these incredible things like caves.

DAY 3

Page to Grand Canyon, Ariz.

286 miles

We went to the Grand Canyon. I have never seen anything like it before. It was absolutely beautiful. It looks like horizontal lines, like it has been carved out by human hands. But no, it is Mother Nature hard at work.

Later: We stayed up late watching MTV. Also, I wrote everybody a letter. We’re all pretty close now. I’m really glad that out of anybody else on this trip, I got them.

DAY 4

Grand Canyon to Albuquerque, N.M.

394 miles

Today was, now I realize, a funny day. Why you ask? Life is such irony. Why, you ask again? Today our main attraction was the Petrified Forest. Petrified I was. What happened? I lost my wallet at Williams, Ariz. The Petrified Forest was pretty interesting. Why? (Dude, why all these “whys” today?) Because my best friend has a table in her living room that I see every time I go to her house. But I had no idea it was a petrified rock, a piece of wood that, through time, the minerals and other things turn into hard rocks. . . .

When we arrived in Albuquerque, I was in a glum mood, thinking about my wallet. So I stayed in the hotel and watched “Sisters” on TV while everyone else went swimming.

DAY 5

Albuquerque to Amarillo, Tex.

288 miles

Today is Halloween and as I look out my window I see the most perfect Halloweeny scenery. The full moon, the chill in the air. Today, the biggest treat for me was seeing the Cadillac Ranch. There are 10 Cadillacs sticking out of the ground. Later we toured the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum. We ate at the Big Texan Steak Ranch, where hardy men come to eat 22-ounce steaks and wash it down with good ol’ beers.

By now everyone knows one other. It’s getting cooler walking around and hearing your name, helping somebody up to their hotel room with their bags, saving a seat for them at dinner. I see some friendships forming, possibly ones that may last a lifetime.

DAY 6

Amarillo to Dallas

368 miles

I never knew that Texas was such a big state. Yup, we’re still in Texas right now. We went to see an oil rig, hosted by the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce. If there is anything that I’ve learned on this trip, it’s that I will always keep learning. It’s really weird that in my 15 years, I have seen gas stations every day. I use gas every day. But I have never stopped to think where it came from. Never. I realize now that you are ignorant for staying ignorant, that I must always keep asking questions and seeking answers. . . . There are so many facts in my head, it feels like it is going to burst, so I must rest.

OK, I miss my family, OK? I admit it. I will blow what is left of my selfish pride to admit it.

DAY 7

Dallas to Little Rock, Ark.

325 miles

Let me think of a scenario. I am in history class and as the teacher talks of the Bay of Pigs, the Clinton inauguration, I doze off. . . . I think of what I’m going to do on Saturday, what’s on TV tonight. I sit and wonder what my teacher is talking about. But when you see history like I did today in the Book Depository, you begin to realize, “There is so much I missed in history class.” And you know a feeling of regret comes rushing through your body.

We saw the sixth floor of the Book Depository where Lee Oswald shot the fatal blow to John F. Kennedy. Inside, there is a museum on behalf of Kennedy--his campaign, family, world affairs and his death. Now that I know every aspect of his life, I feel the darkness that was felt in Nov. 22, 1963.

At the McDonald’s in Little Rock, the mayor and McDonald’s owner were waiting for us. We saw President Clinton’s birthplace and toured Hot Springs National Park. I don’t think those things are important.

DAY 8

Little Rock to Jackson, Miss.

397 miles

Today was a quiet day. It seems the more we go east, the less we make stops. We had a tour of the Little Rock Capitol Building in the morning. One good thing I got out of this visit is that I never, never want to be a politician. Politics is dirty.

Continuing on, we arrived at the Vicksburg National Military Park. I cannot lie, I have to tell you that sitting on the bus I was as bored as heck. . . . All I infer about what we saw is that states gave the park monuments to put in the park.

That was about it for today. We had dinner at a mall. A mall . . . ahhh!

DAY 9

Jackson to Atlanta

409 miles

I was woken up at 5:30 this morning by our wake-up call. I don’t know how long I can take this, I mean waking up this early. We were taken to Atlanta to see Martin Luther King Jr.’s memorial, his birthplace and church. He truly was a great man who fought for the civil rights of all. It is unfair that he had a cruel death before his dream was found.

Late at night, we were taken to the Coca-Cola museum. It was one of the most interesting things I have seen on this trip. A museum solely dedicated to one soft drink--it was amazing. But hey, this is the real thing. We saw the time line of Coke, Coke everywhere else on the Earth, commercials. Everything you ever wanted to know about Coke. I went to bed with Coke bottles dancing in my head.

DAY 10

Atlanta to Durham, N.C.

441 miles

Today we went to the CNN building in Atlanta. I was amazed to see so many people, so many computers. Also, I learned that when I am watching the weather on the news, there is no map behind the man at all, but instead only a blue wall.

Finally, we arrived in North Carolina, where we ate pizza, watched “Candyman” and curled Soo’s hair. It is funny how you can get so scared watching a movie. Can you imagine us all sitting on one bed grabbing each other’s arms so hard that they are turning purple? We didn’t even answer the door!

Oh! I forgot to put this in. Yesterday, Mark, Soo and I had Korean culture class on the bus. Joost (the bus trip tour guide) had asked us if we wanted to tell the other kids on the bus about our culture, traditions at home. At first I was nervous--what would they think. But once I was up there talking, everyone seemed interested, asking questions, seeking answers. I saw the purpose of the trip yesterday. Getting to learn about one another, trying to understand each other. That’s the beginning of peace.

DAY 11

Durham to Williamsburg, Va.

200 miles

It is so cold. No. No. It is freezing. I feel like my nose is going to fall off. And my ears, what ears? I can’t even feel my ears. Anyway, that’s what kind of day it was. I like it. Really. Bundling up and drinking hot chocolate makes me feel old. And mature (hee-hee).

It was really interesting to see colonial Williamsburg, the slaves and how they lived, the masters and how they lived.

Everyone asks if I’m homesick. Honestly, I’m not. I thought about the reasons why, oh why, I could be feeling this way and this is what I came up with:

1) too busy having too much fun

2) used to leaving on vacations now

3) This is really the reason: I have grown mature. Heck, I have reached the end of my adolescence.

DAY 12

Williamsburg to New York City

353 miles

Today we traveled from Williamsburg to New York City. There were so many lights, so many different “weird” people walking around on Broadway. I could see the “Miss Saigon” signs, all the stores, steam coming from the ground, the bread carts on the street. We went on a tour to see Harlem and other parts of the city. It’s exactly what I thought it would be, exactly like in the movies. We went up the Empire State Building. It was so beautiful from the top, so many lights. I have never seen anything like it.

DAY 13

New York City to Washington

248 miles

Yeah, yeah. I feel like a big loser. I didn’t go all the way up on the Statue of Liberty. No, no, it’s not that I got scared. No, no, it’s not that I got tired. No, no, it’s not that the person in front of me smelled bad in the small area going up the stairs. It’s because our group thought that we were late for the ferry, so we were running like fools only to see nobody else standing there. . . . I didn’t know we had to climb that thing until we got there. Hello! Where is the modern technology here? Where are the elevators? Just kidding.

Finally, we arrived at our nation’s capital, our final destination. We were given a tour in freezing weather of the Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial.

DAY 14

Washington, D.C.

We visited some of the capital’s most famous spots today. The Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the White House, and we met the President. Gasp, gasp. I didn’t even think he would talk to us. As a matter of fact, he walked past the door (of the room we were in), then walked back. What a tricker! He didn’t say a long, inspirational speech. It was very impromptu. We told him we visited his birth home in Arkansas. That seemed to get him excited. Then we told him about our trip, and he said he would come to Los Angeles to visit us. I can’t believe I was so close to him. He looked taller than I thought. He seemed really nice and sincere. Oh! And his voice--the same!

I don’t even think I can write down what I feel at this moment. I have just come back from the reception. It was a wrap-up of everything that we did in the two weeks. I can’t believe that we have seen and done so many things. There was a slide show that put tears in many eyes, recalling everything that we had been through.

Itinerary

Day 1: Leave Los Angeles; Calico Ghost Town; Las Vegas, Nev. Day 2: Zion National Park; Bryce Canyon National Park; Page, Ariz. Day 3: Glen Canyon Dam; Grand Canyon National Park; Williams, Ariz. Day 4: Petrified Forest; Acoma Indian Pueblo; Albuquerque, N.M. Day 5: Cadillac Ranch; Panhandle Plains Historical Museum; Big Texan Steak Ranch, Amarillo, Tex. Day 6: Fort Worth; Dallas, Tex. Day 7: Clinton’s birthplace; Hot Springs National Park; Fordyce Visitor Center and Museum; Little Rock, Ark. Day 8: Little Rock Capitol Building; Vicksburg National Military Park; Watersway Experiment Station; Jackson, Miss. Day 9: Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace and grave site; World of Coca-Cola Museum; Atlanta, Ga. Day 10: Cable News Network; Crabtree, N.C. Day 11: Williamsburg, Va. Day 12: New York City Days 13-15: Harlem Renaissance Tour; Statue of Liberty; Independence Hall; Washington, D.C.; Air and Space Museum; Capitol Building; White House to meet the President; fly home to Los Angeles or Oakland

Times staff writer Rose-Marie Turk contributed to this report.