Monday, July 31, 2017

A Bittersweet Homecoming

After an amazing three weeks, yesterday it was finally time to head back home. Our flight didn't leave until around 5:00 PM, so we still had some time in Philadelphia on Sunday.

I started off my day bright and early, waking up around 6:00 AM so that I could shower and finish packing. I had to sit on my suitcase, but eventually I was able to close it. It seemed like it had more in it than it had when I left for Tennessee just three weeks ago, but felt lighter at the same time.

After all of my stuff was together, and Maddie and Joceline were ready to go, we headed downstairs to meet Evan and Jennifer for breakfast. We decided to go to our local bagel shop, Spread, again. I had a cup of coffee and a cinnamon raisin bagel with mixed berry cream cheese, it was delicious.
My yummy breakfast

After breakfast it was time to go to the historical district for a tour of independence hall and some other sight seeing. We arrived at the visitor center a little over an hour before our tour was scheduled to start, so we had time to pick up our tickets and check out some of the smaller exhibits within the visitor center. I really enjoyed reading about some of our country's early history and seeing some minor artifacts that were on display. There were also a few costumes that people could try on, it was fun to see Jennifer dressed up as a park ranger.

Independence Hall

Soon enough it was time to head over to Independence Hall as we had to go through security before our tour. The security was really fast and easy, within no time we were waiting in line for our tour to start. The tour itself wasn't very long, as it only included the two downstairs parts of Independence Hall. The first of these was the court room, it was really interesting to see just how similar it was to modern court rooms. It just goes to show how little our trial process has changed in so many years, at least concerning formalities such as the layout of the court room. Next we went across the hall, to the room where the Deceleration of Independence was drafted. There the tour guide gave us a brief explanation of how exactly the Declaration of Independence came into being, it was interesting for me to contrast her explanation with what I've learned in history class. 

The tour was over a lot faster than we had expected it to be, so we decided to go check out the Liberty Bell. This was one of my favorite parts of the day, I really enjoyed the exhibits that sought to explain why the Liberty Bell has so much historical significance. It was also interesting to read about how its famous crack might have come into existence and what attempts were made to repair it.

My delicious lunch
By the time we were finished at the bell everyone was hungry, so we headed over to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. There Jennifer gave us each some money for lunch, and then let us go off in groups of two for an hour to explore the market and get food. Joceline and I spent a while walking around the market and trying to decide what we wanted for lunch. We stumbled across a small gift shop where we each bought some souvenirs for our family and friends back home. I also bought some honey sticks from a small vendor, as I'm an avid tea drinker and also a honey enthusiast. We settled on Thai food for lunch, and each got delicious bowls of pad thai. Before we knew it, our hour was over and it was time to meet up with the rest of the group.

We made our way back to the car, stopping at a few sights along the way. And eventually we were back at the hotel and picking up our bags. We quickly loaded the bags into the car and were off to the airport in no time. 

Upon arriving at the airport we got our boarding passes and checked our bags, then headed to security. Evan and I were TSA Pre, meaning we got to go through a much shorter line and didn’t have to take off our shoes or take our laptops out. This was really nice as I, along with everyone else, really don’t like having to go through airport security. 

An obligatory wing tip picture
We then found our gate at the airport and within what seemed like no time we were boarding the plane and leaving Philadelphia. We had to fly through Chicago, so our first plane ride was relatively short, but the flight from Chicago to San Francisco was pretty long. We had about a 40 minute layover in between flights, which was just enough time to grab some dinner before we had to leave. Joceline, Maddie, and I all got paninis which we ate on the plane. Joceline and I also got some donuts as an after dinner snack, getting those was a great idea in the end. The flight was pretty late so we spent most of it dosing off, in between eating our donuts. We were all exhausted and ready to be back in California soon.

Arriving at SFO felt great, the cool air, the familiar surroundings, and knowing that my family was nearby. We quickly picked up our bags and then boarded the shuttle that would take us back to El Cerrito High School, where we had started our adventure roughly three weeks ago. 

We arrived at the school at around 11 PM, and were greeted by Don taking photos of us getting off the shuttle. My mom and Evan’s dad were waiting for us, both Evan and I ran to give some much needed hugs to our parents. We finished up with some pictures of the whole cohort, and then we were sent home.

I ran to my room as soon as I stepped inside my house, happy to be back and ready to get a nice night’s sleep in my own bed. I'm happy to be home, but also sad that the experience is over as it went by so quickly. 

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad it was a good day. I think it's really interesting that everyone picked the Liberty Bell as their favorite part of it. The Park Service did a really good job presenting it. (And I kind of want to be a park ranger now. ;))

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