UNP Trip - PART 4

PART 4
          The next morning we needed to say our goodbyes to the new friends we made from the two other buses.  It was very sad to leave them, but we had to be on our way to Philadelphia since we had a whole day planned out.  Once we arrived there, everyone was so hungry, so we went to the mall in the historic part of the city to eat.  Almost everyone got in line for a famous Philly Cheese Steak, even though it took a long time.  We were in Philly, so the sandwich was a must, and I must say that it was well worth the wait!  It was so delicious and satisfying!  Afterwards, we visited the Independence National Historical Park where we found much of Philadelphia’s Colonial, Revolutionary and Federal-period heritage.  We saw the real Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin’s grave, Independence Hall and much more.  That afternoon was very educational, but it was very embarrassing during one of the movies at the museum when many of us fell asleep since we’d been running off of 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night.  After that we drove to Washington D.C. and finally checked into the hotel; we were all so tired that many of us took a quick nap.  That night we played soccer in a nearby field and played cards to wind down before our curfew at 11 o’clock.
          The next day we went to Arlington National Cemetery, where we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution.  It was so breathtaking and peaceful there!  The perfect weather just made the cemetery even more magical.  We also visited the Supreme Court that afternoon; though it took us a long time to get in because of security.  We weren’t allowed to bring in any food or liquids in with us, so our tour guide for the day put it all in a bag and hid it.  It was very grand and serious there, so we made sure to be on our best behaviour.  We also visited Capitol Hill that afternoon and the Smithsonian Museums.  We were given a whole 4 hours to tour the museums in groups of our choice.  My group mainly focused on the Hirshhorn Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art, the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum.  Each day went by so quickly since it was so busy, but everyone still had so much energy left once we returned to the hotel that we all went swimming in the outdoor pool.  Afterwards, we all pitched in to order several large pizzas and we had a little party in one room.  The only negative was that we crammed 40 people into one hotel room, which was extremely cozy.  We were all trying to make the most of our last few nights, since the next day we were going to head back up north to Niagara Falls, Canada.