The Trip - Part 3 - Philadelphia

Day 4

We started out in downtown Philadelphia with a tour of Independence Hall - we reserved tickets ahead of time and had to rush through the city to pick up the tickets then get to the Hall before our tour started - the streets and sidewalks were extra busy since it was so close to the 4th of July so we did lots of running to get there in time.

(Independence Hall)

The tour was so worth it - we got to stand in the room the first congress sat in when they met and where they signed the Declaration of Independence, designed the American flag, adopted the articles of the confederation, and drafted the constitution. It gave me chills to think that all of these men put literall everything they had, including their lives, on the line to build the great nation that we are so blessed to live in today. The sacrifices our founding fathers, their families, the soliders and citizens that fought for our freedom at that time are un-imaginable.

We then went next door to Congress Hall where the House of Representatives and the Senate met from 1790-1800. It was again incredible to see so many amazing things and stand in the rooms where our nation was founded. Much of the building, including the floors, stairs and hand railings original.

Next - across the street to the Liberty Bell, which is the bell that was rung in the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776 calling the local citizens to hear the first reading, in public, of the Declaration of Independence.

After a long (and hot) walk across town we arrived at Penn's Tower - the capitol building of Philadelphia. The architecture on the east coast is awe inspiring - you never see anything like this out here in the west.

Across the street from Penn's tower is a little park with giant board game pieces from Monopoly, Life, Sorry, Checkers and Chess...

... and just a few steps down from that is Love park!

It was starting to get dark and we had some more places to go so we started our long walk back to the Independence Hall area and our car. That area is full of more beautiful buildings and tons of history. On our walk we saw the first Library in the US...

as well as the first bank...

don't you wish our neighborhood banks looked like that?

Benson and Bill (his uncle) were so nice to the rest of us and let us rest while they went ahead and got the cars. While we waited I took pictures of the surrounding area...

...played 'Ninja' with the cousins...

...and, of course, took MORE pictures...

Before we left the city we made one last stop at the art museum - better known as the location of the "Rocky stairs".

Next up: Philadelphia day 2 & Valley Forge