Philadelphia

Sunday morning we hopped right up and ate that chocolate cake for breakfast, and it was GOOD! We walked the block or so to the Independence Hall visitor's center and picked up some tickets for a timed tour a little later in the morning. Then we passed through the Liberty Bell building on our way over to Independence Hall. It was sort of just a regular old bell. Maybe that sounds disrespectful, but having seen the image so many times it was pretty much just the same--not really larger than life or anything. It was neat how they displayed it with a glass back wall that looked right out to Independence Hall, though.

The tour of Independence Hall was impressive to me. We were told a little of the history--which I (and any person who remembers their fifth grade education) was pretty familiar with. In the actual hall, there are two rooms. The one to the right is the courtroom, and the one to the left is the room you see in the painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It looks exactly the same, same color and everything! That room definitely gave me a little tingle, to be in the very place where three major American documents were conceived. (Well, the Articles of Confederation were sort of a dud, but they were important at the time.) I could just imagine tall General Washington up there on the podium, presiding...we learned that the painting that you always see, that's in the textbooks, was actually used to help restore that room, so that's why they look so much alike. But it was still incredibly cool. And it was also very heartwarming to hear the crowd shouting out the answers to the (albeit very elementary) guide's questions. It was like the opposite of Jaywalking. Yes, there are actually educated Americans out there! I was really glad we got to be there and experience that place, which is definitely a history teacher's dream come true.

After all that history we needed to experience some other kinds of culture, so we walked several blocks to the Reading Terminal Market. This was once a railroad terminal, now a large indoor market that reminded me of the Pike Place Market in Seattle only not open-air and not really as fun. But we waited in line dutifully for our Philly cheesesteak sandwiches (not my favorite, but I felt it necessary) and had some fantastic ice cream from Bassett's, which is apparently a local specialty according to my guidebook. It was excellent!

After walking back to the historic district, we stopped by Franklin court. This was where Benjamin Franklin's home, printing office, and post office were. The latter two buildings still stand, but his home in the courtyard behind them was destroyed by his descendants. What a shame! Archaeologists have excavated the site, and "ghost" buildings (outlines in white metal) show where the buildings once were. There are windows looking down at the excavated foundations, too. There is an underground museum with some of Franklin's items from his home and some of his inventions as well. He was a true Renaissance man, and a fascinating personality in my opinion.

We thankfully made it out of the city and into the next city without too much trouble, and arrived safely in Arlington in time to get some dinner and get settled in. Another very eventful day! It was good to get settled in one place...even if it's not home, at least it's not a different hotel every night.