a new day, a new city

Everyone woke up this morning happy that nothing like a fire alarm disturbed their sleep. A delicious breakfast energized everyone for the day ahead. With our bags packed and loaded under the bus, everyone headed toward the aircraft carrier, “The Intrepid. It was fun looking down on the deck from the tower,” mentions Bobby Okereke. Just as we left the carrier, a heavy rain fell on the Scouts of 812. Unfortunately, the rain continued as we drove towards Times Square, and we were forced to just stay inside the bus as we drove through the busy city. The decision turned out to have a good result because we arrived in Philadelphia early and started touring immediately. We started touring our new city at the US Mint where we watched pennies being minted. “The pennies were so shiny; it makes me think about all those dirty pennies in the world and what they went through,” states Hayden Hall. Next, we visited Benjamin Franklin’s grave and threw coins to show our respect. “I have never seen such an interesting ceremony,” says Trevor Osaki. After waiting in a long line, 812 was admitted into an Independence Hall tour then went to take photos at the Liberty Bell. We took a few pictures with THE BRAIN, our troop travelling mascot, and headed on foot towards dinner at Dave and Busters. The food was delicious and the games were fun, but it ended quickly and we drove off to our new hotel. Upon arrival, we got dressed in our swim trunks and jumped into the pool to cool off after the long, hot day.