Philadelphia

This morning started out like all the others: we were woken up by a phone call, we dragged ourselves out of bed, packed and went downstairs to eat a Continental Breakfast. We got on the bus for another long drive to our next destination, Pennsylvania. The heat was already up to a sweltering 80 degrees, so we were all very glad to step onto the nice, cold bus. During the drive we sang along to our favorite songs (not explicit, of course!) When we were about ten minutes for Philly one of the chaperones started a trivia game. He asked us questions about the previous days, like facts about Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. If you got a question right, his partner chucked a tootsie roll at your head, which you got to keep. We reached Philadelphia and disembarked the bus. The sun was high in the sky and the heat was up to 93 degrees. We were let loose in our groups to wander around Philly and see how our nation was built. My group wanted to take a buggy ride, something that Phil told us was a must. We walked for a bit to find them, but then we learned from a cop that it was too hot for the horses to work. We were disappointed, but we didn't dwell on it as there was so much more to see and do. We decided to see the Liberty Bell next. I thought that we were just going to see the bell, but I was wrong. There was so much more to learn about the history of the bell and the impact it had not just on America but on the whole world. I learned so much, like that the famous crack on the Bell happened when they rang it on George Washington's birthday and that there is a replica of the Bell for women's rights that the Pennsylvania Women's Association had made to help them gain their rights. I never knew that the bell had such an impact on America. There were also many pictures of groups of people from all over the world that had traveled there to see the bell. It was really cool to see how much that bell meant to people. After we saw the Liberty Bell, we went to go see the Constitution Hall. You had to get a ticket to go see the Independence Hall portion, but you could go see the other buildings around it without a ticket. We went into an adjacent building to look around a bit. While we were in there, we saw a sign with the same writing in many different languages talking about the significance of the Constitution to the world. My friend, who we will call L, takes French, and she wanted to try to read it in French. She couldn't get very far as she's only had two years, and she didn't realize that the English version was at the top. Another girl, who we will call M, came over and decided to mess with L. She pretended to read the French, while in reality she was reading the English. L believed that she was reading the French, and the expression on her face was priceless. We have had so many fun times like these because of the freedom that the adults give to us. After we told L that M was reading the English, it was time to meet back up with the group to eat lunch. We walked over to the Constitution Center to eat lunch, watch a presentation and view the exhibit. First up was the lunch. We were given a sandwich (we had chosen what kind beforehand), a bag of chips, an apple, a cookie and the choice of juice or water. The sandwich was dry, but I'm not complaining because food is food. After we ate we walked to the Kimmel Theater to watch the Freedom Rising presentation. It was all about the history of America. I was expecting something along the lines of a play, but I was way off. A narrator came out, and the show started out as a projection on the floor. It was a round theater, so when the projection moved to a ring on the top part of the wall it was all around us. They switched back and forth for a bit, then a round screen came down from the ceiling. It, along with the ring, had projections of the constitution and the people who signed it, as well as many other topics of freedom and independence. The music was perfectly timed and the narrator's voice fit right along with the music and pictures. The show gave me chills and held my attention the entire time. I walked away with a knowledge of America that I hadn't known before. After the presentation we were allowed to walk around for an hour. There were many things to do here, and most of it was interactive. There was a screen where you could be "sworn it" as President of the United States as well as places to "vote." To vote, you choose three topics you feel strongly about and answer questions about them. At the end it told you what percentage of your answers fall under which candidate, Obama or Romney. It was really cool to experience voting, and though it was different that an actual voting session I feel like I know how it works now. We met up in the Signer's Hall which was a room filled with statues of the people who signed the Constitution. We were allowed to pose with them and take pictures, so we did that for about 15 minutes. Some people put hats on them while others copied what the statues were doing. After we had finished with that, we set off to drive to our next adventure in Pennsylvania. We headed over to Amish Country. Along the way we saw corn, corn and more corn. Our bus, the awesome blue bus, went on the bus tour first. We drove around Amish Country while a tour guide told us facts, history and pointed out houses and farms. Did you know that the average number of children in an Amish family is seven or higher? I didn't! I was shocked to learn this, but since the Amish don't (or very rarely) let outsiders in I understand why they would have so many children. During the ride we stopped at an Amish-run gift shop and food bar. All the food was homemade, though I can't say the same for the gift items. I bought a homemade lemonade, and it was heaven in a bottle! We finished up the bus tour and switched with the less awesome red bus. They went on the bus tour and we toured the Amish house. It was really neat to see how they lived, and also how they dressed. I learned a lot about a culture I knew nothing about, and I was very interested to learn about them. After the tours were over we went to eat at a fantastic Amish restaurant called Plain and Fancy. They served us amazing homemade food, and the dessert was just as good. After dinner we went over to our hotel, which was the part of the day that all the Freedom Tour participants were looking forward to. It was the hotel with the giant pool, and we had time to swim in it! With the 100 degree weather we were all glad to jump into the cool water and soak it all in. We had a blast, and learned so much. The Freedom Tour has been a wonderful experience to this point and I can't wait to see what we do tomorrow.

Morgan