Day 13 - June 18 - Abington, PA to New York City, NY

We left Abington, PA in the early morning around 6 a.m. This was our earliest morning, since we had to get to Philadelphia, PA. When we got to Philly the first thing we did was Independence Hall.

  

After Independence Hall we headed to the Liberty Bell (The Grand Mother Bell).

After Liberty Bell we went to the Philadelphia Mint and saw how money was created. For hopefully obvious reasons no pictures were allowed. Then we got lunch at the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. 

Once we were done eating lunch in Philly we headed to the Bus station to head to New York, New York.

 We dropped our bags at the Hotel and the non-senior ringers went off with chaperones to explore and get dinner.

Meantime C.P. and Jonas wandered briefly and saw a band doing sound checks then shopped a bit with Molly . The senior girls stayed in their hotel rooms before meeting up with Jonas, C.P., and Molly. The senior dinner was that night and we went to Trattoria Trecolori, an Italian restaurant near times square. The food was delicious. Then on our way back to the hotel, the seniors stopped for baked goods and gelato. 

 

Day 11 - June 16 - Slatersville, RI to Ridgefield, CT

 

After spending the night in the Slatersville Congregational Church and being treated to a leisurely pancake breakfast, we headed off to Ridgefield, CT without no clear idea of what we would do along the way.  At the suggestion of the Slatersville pastor's wife we stopped in the town of Old Wethersfield, CT where we spent several very relaxing hours visiting shops, museums and restaurants. All in all, it was a very relaxing day.

The First Congregational Church in Ridgefield, CT was, as the pictures show, another very beautiful church.  The choir played a great concert, perhaps inspired by the knowledge they would be in host homes with showers and real beds!

C.P. and his namesake food establishment.

She looks pretty innocent!

Hmmm!

Jacob and Terry discover mirrors.

We are nearing the end of the concert portion of the tour, and the ringers who will play their final concert in the next few days are beginning to consider what it has all meant.  In her own words, here are Marysia's thoughts.

Looking back on the last six years, I'm incredibly grateful for all the friends I've made, memories shared, challenges overcome, and new places traveled. WBR has truly changed my life and I'm so sad to be leaving. This year, I've gotten to know so many new, wonderful ringers ringers who have so much to look forward to. I'm excited to hear them play and see them grow in the coming years; I wish all of them the best.

If I had to give one piece of advice to future (and returning) Wesleys, I would say this: prioritize making friendships and having fun with your fellow ringers. We're all guilty of sitting on our phones and keeping to ourselves; it's those moments when we do something together like playing JackBox on the bus, destroying front of the bus in trivia, spending the day with someone you hardly know, or exploring a seemingly boring town instead of sitting in a hotel room that really stick with you and end up being the most fun.

It is so hard to say goodbye to something that has been such a huge part of my life for so long, but I am  leaving with lifelong friendships that I will treasure forever. Thank you to everyone who has made my in this choir so special - especially Molly, CP, Anna, and Katie. I'll miss you all!

Day 9 - June 14 - Portland, ME to Plymouth, MA

We were fed a delicious breakfast of muffins, bagels, fruit and yogurt at the church before packing

up the bus and getting on the road. Our activity today was a stop in Salem, MA, and it was a hit! Ringers

were able to split into groups and explore the town within boundaries set by CP and Molly. 

Some visited the Peabody Essex Museum, which was established in 1799 as a marine societyand later became a museum that features maritime art, Asian art, modern art, historic buildings,

and exhibitions including Witch Trial history.

Others walked around a historic cemetery, looking for the oldest headstone. 

We noticed unique statues along the way.

A few ringers even visited a torture museum.

And we all found lunch!

Before hopping back on the bus, some ringers even had a photoshoot!

We got back on the road and headed to the Church of the Pilgrimage Congregational UCC.

We had time before the concert to walk down to the waterfront to see Plymouth Rock and Old Burial Hill,

a cemetery with headstones dating back to 1681, and where Pilgrims established their first fort and meeting house.

We were fed a dinner of various sandwiches, potato salad, chips and hoagies ice cream cups.

They also served cranberry juice, as there are many cranberry bogs in the area. 

We also talked about Flag Day and how important our flag is and what it stands for the ringers received a

flag pin that had 250 on it, commemorating the 250 year anniversary of our Country.

The church was beautiful and the concert sounded amazing.

Afterwards we headed to host homes for much needed sleep.