Excitement, fear, curiosity, fatigue, the want of food and comfort with a side of adrenaline. It was the perfect concoction of uneasiness and restless that kept me yearning for more as I traveled that year. It was the middle of my 8th grade break and my mom got a goup of local students and I together to tour with EF tours to the Eastern Seaboard. Most children in my small town hadn't even gone to the Grand Canyon which considereing how much I was introduced to, I was shocked. The watered down mass-less hole wasn't hard to miss or too far to see, and since it was within our states borders I thought it'd be simple traveling. After having years of cross country travel to Nevada, Texas, and even Tennesee, I wanted to see the only part of the states I had yet to see. It was a large area with TONS of people and cultures crammed into one small area which meant I was going to have the experience of a lifetime. Little did I know, this small cross-coutry excursion would soon agitate my natural curiosity for adventure to the max. By the time we got ont he bus it was hot, muggy but I was out of Arizona and meeting new people so it was enough for me.
We hit Virginia first and I was blown away, and as much as I enjoyed the state I can't remember the details to an exactitude. what I do know is there was so much history of how our country was made and I'm sure I adapted to the lessons a lot faster with our tour guide than with my Humanites teacher back home. When we finally got to Boston we were exhausted because these tours make sure you get your money's worth of travel and discovery but there was a small piece of eagerness that kept me at a pace. I saw where the Founding Father signed the Declaration and the actual Liberty Bell. A plumber's crack is nothing compared to the huge split in this bell! The days melded together as we went to each scheduled event but I have to say that my all time favorite stop is a hard fight between Washington D.C. and New York City. NYC is full of vibrant reds, and blues, and greens, and broadway shows that you could watch all day. There is always something to discover in NYC even if you had lived there your whole life. I have always had a dream to actually see Phantom of the Opera on broadway,( and perform in it & I'll keep trying till Im ages old) and my dream came true. It was unbelieveable. The opera singer's notes soared higher than my emotions did as I watched in complete delight. Nothing felt better than that moment, or so I thought.
As I passed the bridge into Washington D.C. I was in complete awe. These monuments look amazing in National Treasure but there were actually there, right in front f my face! I'd point and say "Mom, look its the ..." and so on and so forth. It was a constant look and point the entire time. When I saw the ACTUAL documents that carried our country together, that the men in (/11 fought to defent, that the men in the war right now who are still dying to protect, I loved it. It was a complete patriotic moment for me. I was proud of my country, proud of where I came from. I always disliked polotics for the snake-like deciet of it all but at that moment I was willing to actually pay attention to government. From that moment on I was changed forever.
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