The Music Trip

This post is a make-up post for the one I missed last week. On the night we arrived in Philly we went to a performance of the Philidalphia Orchestra, and it was incredible. We were seated up in the balcony, as those were the only affordable seats, and looked down on the orchestra from afar. The theater had fantastic accoustics though, to carry the sound...and speakers. I only took one photo of that. The following day we went to the Franklin Institute where we watched an Omni Theater IMAX film. Each of those 45 minute long film reels are 3 miles long and can weight up to a thousand pounds. Pretty incredible. After the film we just explored the museum, though my group didn't get too far before finding the gift shop. At the shop I purchased a cool, space themed...and overpriced, stainless steel water bottle that is good for both hot and cold beverages. I also purchased a fennec fox plush to add to my collection. There's a picture of that too.

After that we went to an art museum. The friends I was with and I found the section of ancient artifacts the most interesting. They had several rooms that used pieces of old cathedrals and temples including ceilings and doorways. There was also a section with a bunch of old Japanese tea sets and art scrolls. The art was incredible, obviously. I was tempted to buy a box of charcoal pencils at the gift shop there because those pencils are great for shading, but it was like twenty dollars for four. I could get them for less on Amazon if I really wanted them.

On Saturday we gave our performances and hung around the school that the festival was at.

On Sunday we went to the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier and Museum for the award ceremony and to explore the ship. This ship was incredible and they had flight simulators that we rode that were quite fun. When the steering joystick was moved, the entire cockpit rotated. It was possible to do barrel rolls in any direction. The ship itself contain many different aircraft, old and new. There was also a pathway that wound up through the navigation systems and other military instruments from the Cold War. I took too many pictures there to put here, so I just picked a few; including the scale model made entirely of LEGOs.

When we were done at the Intrepid we went to Times Square where my friends and I ventured to a hat shop. I got a custom hat there, as seen in the picture. The W stands for Whisp, if that wasn't obvious. Then my friends and I found a pizza shop where we could get two slices and a soda can for $3, or a whole pie for $8. Pretty cheap. Following lunch we saw Hello Dolly, which was perhaps the most hilarious musical I've ever seen.

After that, the fun unfortunately came to an end. It was time to go home. I wish I could do it again...but with my own bed.