Day 8: Philadelphia

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We woke up starving and we carbo loaded. Between the five of us, we ate 2 bowls of oatmeal, 2 waffles, 4 muffins, 3 donuts, 3 bananas, and 2 oranges. Thank you Comfort Inn for the continental breakfast! Good thing because we had more walking to do today.

After hiking the 4 flights of stairs to Market Street (the main street through the historic section of Philly) and putting on some sunscreen, we walked towards historic Philadelpia. First, we saw the Liberty Bell which was surprisingly smaller than both of us imagined. The girls seem to just soak up historical facts--Brecklyn in particular will stop to tell us random bits of trivia from the cracks in the bell to how the Wright Brothers flew their plane (from a lecture at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum a few days ago). So cool to see the kids absorbing history and enjoying learning in the process.

Next, we picked up tickets and headed over to Independence Hall for our free tour from the Park Ranger. Our tour started at 11:15 and they required you to be there by 10:45. But Jason and I never like to be late, so we got there at 10:30 and had a good 45 minutes to entertain the kids. Luckily, Jason had his iPod and the girls watched Schoolhouse Rock--the Preamble and The Shot Heard Round the World (again). Alex entertained all of the waiting tourists by running back and forth. Unfortunately, by the time our tour started Alex was crabby so I spent half the tour taking care of him in the hallway. When we got to the actual court house where the delegates met, drafted and signed the Declaration of Indepence and the Constitution, he was happy. Between the high ceilings causing his voice to echo and his fascination with the railings he was happy. Unfortunately he was still too loud but the Ranger let me switch between the court room and the constitution room so I could still see everything even though I wasn't able to hear his explainations. The girls, on the other hand, stood at the railing absorbing the Park Ranger's talk. The building exterior was undergoing renovations but the inside brought you back to the late 1700's. If you closed your eyes, you could pictures the delegates gathering together to sign the Constitution.

After this we went to Campo, a popular phillysteak restaurant on the Market Street just blocks from Independence Hall. The food was amazing, but the service was awful. The lady taking the order never smiled once. Luckily though, they had mac n' cheese which made Brecklyn's day. She has been asking me for mac n' cheese for several days now.

Next we went to my favorite spot of the day, Betsy Ross's house. Located a few streets from the main drag, Betsy's home was open for tours. It cost us $11 but was definetly worth the cost. The house itself was small and brought us back to colonial life with the narrow staircases and short ceilings. Going through the house you were able to see her bedroom, kitchen (where kids were able to pretend to cook with colonial utensils and food), the parlor (where Betsy met with George Washington to talk about the flag's design), but best of all her quilt shop. Here the girls actually got to interact with 'Betsy Ross'. The actress took on the role perfectly and the kids were enthralled as she taught them about her shop and how to cut out a 5 pointed star (which they got to take home with them). Afterwards, we listened to a colonial actor playing his flute in the courtyard outside her house. We decided to ask for a picture with him and he proceeded to play 'Twinkle Twinkle' for us which made our like 'Twinkle' happy. Then he pulled out a Jacob's Ladder and told the kids an interactive story utilizing the toy. Some watching teenagers then asked for a story and he told them they were too old for stories and continued playing his flute. Great fun and definetly a must see if you are ever in Philly!

We walked along Archer street and came upon Franklin's grave and then the US. Mint. The US Mint was amazing. On tour, we were able to see the manufacturing lines for commemorative coins, pennies and quarters. The kids were so excited to come back to the hotel and see if any of my change in my purse had been minted here.

At this point, the kids were cranky so we headed back to the visitors center, drank some water and worked on the kid's Junior Ranger activity books. When nap time rolled around we decided to see what sights we'd find. After mailing off some postcards from Benjamin Franklin's post office and printing house (where they were then cancelled with a special stamp noting the location), we stumbled upon a beautiful colonial neighborhood. In the historic district of Philadelphia, it is hard to walk a single street without running into something important from the last 300 years. Then we ended up tired but happy back at our hotel for peanut butter sandwiches as we watched the remainder of "Yogi". Don't know if it was really that funny of a movie, or if we were all that tired, but all 5 of us were cracking up.

Tomorrow we plan on seeing more of Philly and then heading to the Big Apple.

Jessica

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