Up and out this morning.
Headed to Philly, or Phil's-adelphia as we have been corrected by Metro-Phil.
Not much waiting around today, actually
meandered off the bus then into a conveniently placed restroom. Bathrooms are
novelty on this trip, but we continue to hand out plenty of water. Good
thing we do not hand out fruits and veggies or things could really be
disastrous.
Getting back on track, the day started with sprinting to the
Liberty Bell hoping to reach the queue before it wrapped around the building.
Standing, walking, shifting, standing - finally at the bell. I could not
help but think about National Lampoon's Vacation when they drive all that way
to the Grand Canyon to admire the view for two seconds. Yup that's the bell,
and there is the crack. Does not help that the area was filled with
tourists who all had to pose with the crack.
Off and running to the horse and buggy ride. The Sassy
Seven was divided and I boarded with three. The buggy drivers were all a bit of
local color. Our driver was named Wick and had lived in Philly since the
bell cracked. As he began his speech we all paused and look quizzically
at each other, questioning if any one actually understood. I could see
disappointment in the girls faces, so the moment had to be saved. We
talked about how important savoring the moment was to making a memory. Although
we enjoyed the ride immensely, we never really understood a word he said.
Getting off the buggy the girls posed with the horse Smokey. As we
walked away giggling, I heard one girl comment that we could not have paid for
a better experience and now we had a great memory.
This was only topped off by the storyteller that was working
the crowd at the We the People Center. The kids loved listening to his
stories. He was animated and pulled volunteers from the group. To
demonstrate freedom of speech, Analise had to argue the value of cauliflower,
or lack there of. Then Holden, Jeremy, and Adam replayed the first
interracial baseball game. We then watched a multimedia presentation to
define "We the People", followed by a walk through the interactive
Constitution Center.
Back on the bus heading to Amish country. Let me
explain by day three the sleep deprivation is slowly affecting everyone
differently. On Bus 1, the kids get on the bus and use their time wisely
to sleep. Yeah not so much for the team leaders... We have enjoyed
getting to know each other and found that our bus is very compatible. So about
45 minutes into the ride and numerous laughs later we try to get the kids
engaged by playing music. No one seemed to rally, so we decided to play
our old music and one-hit-wonders until they complained. Still no real
response, then finally one of the boys braved the walk up the aisle and
introduced country music to the bus. For better or worse, it took a dance
up the aisle to change the song.
Bus 1 was unbelievable well-behaved on the Amish tour,
listening and asking excellent questions about the Amish teenagers. I should
have seen the warning signs, because when we hit the restaurant all hell broke
loose. After not seeing each other all day the buses converged at a
family style Amish restaurant. The laughter and level of conversation
exceeded all my expectations of teen behavior. Knowing they were wound
up, we decided to forgo the radio on the short ride to the hotel. What do
you think happened...NOW they wanted to dance up the aisle to request a song!!!
The kids were so excited to get to the new hotel with the
pool that their energy, and BO, was thick in the air. We reviewed the
procedure to get everyone quickly and efficiently to the pool. Yup as
luck would have it, before we unloaded an ambulance pulled up in front of our
bus for a woman who fell in the front lobby. I hope at this point you are feeling our pain.
The pool party finally started! All the kids happily participated in one way
or another; Splashing, giggling, joking, happy sounds, smiles, and a great big
collective release of pent up energy. Now
we can continue onto Gettysburg in peace.
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