Spring Break Part 2

Welcome to Philadelphia! I met one of my old roommates Carolyn in Pennsylvania for an adventure. It was cool to travel to a place that neither of us had been before, but that had so much history it kept us busy. I would say that we probably could have spent another 3-4 days and not seen all that there was to see. So I will probably go back again. We had a hotel that was right in the middle of it all so we did not have to drive which was nice because after about 2 minutes neither of us wanted to drive in this city. We were content to walk and explore.

We just explored the city on our first afternoon and we got down to serious touristing on Thursday. We had talked to someone that was working in a gift shop, and she helpfully circled all the things on our map that we just HAD to see. So we went with it. That meant that the first stop the next day was to the Second National Bank. This was a beautiful building that is only open to tours twice a day. Carolyn and I were the only people on the tour, and well it was more like a wander. The tour guide was not really very helpful, or friendly, and well he just kind of followed us around until I asked questions such as, "Is the pink color authentic?" The inside of the bank was pink, and well it was a good question. As it turns out it is authentic as is the clock which is only right twice a day. The bank itself is modeled after the First National Bank, and so I feel like we got to see both even though one is closed. One thing that I thought interesting is that all of the historic sites we went to are declared National Parks and so the guides are all park rangers. Odd huh? Anyway, on Saturday we went to the display called "Money in Motion" at the Federal Reserve building, so it was kind of like money then, money now. Interesting.

What do you get when you put two people in a gift shop with odd things? Carolyn and I could not resist trying on the "Ben Franklin glasses." We had a couple of flashbacks to "National Treasure," and were a little disappointed that neither of us thought to bring a copy to watch while we were here. Oh well, what do you think of the glasses? I felt a little like I was back in the 7th grade, but the frames were not pink...

Standing in the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed was incredible. We took a tour of Independence Hall as it is now known, and except for the grumpy tour guide it was more than I imagined. This is the actual room, and if you believe everything I heard, the chair is original. It is the same one that George Washington sat on to sign both historic documents. I have taught United States History to my 8th graders this year, so it was cool to know the history before I saw what was in the building. I never realized how much history there was in Philadelphia before going. I do not think that I saw everything that there was to see, so I might have to go back sometime so that I get to explore some more. I did not take pictures of some of the places that we went, but we also went to Carpenter's Hall which is where the First Continental Congress met and sent their petitions to King George so that they would not have to go to war. I am sure that Carolyn was tired of the history lesson, but at least she listened which is something that I am not sure my 8th graders did. When I told them where I had been, they had no response. Oh well, someday when they visit perhaps they will remember that I tried to teach them how cool this place was.

While visiting the Liberty bell I was extremely grateful for the liberty that I have. It was one of the artifacts that I had not realized was in Penn. This bell has been the symbol of liberty for more than one cause, and just reading a history of the bell makes me think of what our ancestors must have sacrificed to bring us Liberty and Freedom. I was even more grateful when I thought of all the people that do not have the same privileges. We visited a museum dedicated to liberty called the National Liberty Museum. I kind of hate to admit that we went in because it had a display of jellybean children. Once we got in the museum however, we were able to learn about all of the rights that we have and all the people that sacrificed so that we could maintain those rights. It was interesting, and yes the jelly bean children were there although I did not take any pictures.

We visited the grave of Benjamin Franklin. It is in a beautiful cemetery that is one of the oldest in America. It was in Christ Church Cemetery. Along with Franklin there are 3 other signers of the Declaration of Independence. We enjoyed walking around. Weathering and a weak marble means that you can not read most of the grave markers impossible to read, so we spent some time speculating on the people that must be buried in that location. We did ask who was the last person to be buried in the cemetery and were interested to learn that they still use it for family vaults. And they are building a crematorium on the grounds. I do not think it will work well, but hey.

To please Carolyn's brothers, we walked to the Rocky statue. I have never seen the movies, nor have I any desire to do so, but I figure, I walked 2.5 miles to see this, I better take a picture. So I did.



Show your love.

Okay because it takes forever for pictures to post, I think I will just give you some brief highlights on the rest of trip. We visited what seems like everywhere. We went to the Betsy Ross home, the congress hall where John Adams was inaugurated 2nd President of the U.S., the National Archives, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the home of James Madison (we didn't go in someone lives there), the Independence visitor's center, City Hall, Welcome Park, Penn's Landing, Sonny's (home of a delicious Philly Cheese stake), and Darling's Cafe and Cheesecake Boutique (home of the original Philly cheesecake--YUM!!!!). In short, we had an awesome time and it was amazing how much we were able to see in just three days.

I am fully converted to spring break. Who knows where I will be next year at the same time.