Monday, September 1, 2014

Philly Vacation-Day One

We are taking advantage of Theo's time off from school this week to take a family vacation in the Philadelphia area. Although Philadelphia is just a few hours away, we had never visited before to see where much of the United States early history happened. Philadelphia is host to many other interesting attractions as well.

The day started with a smooth take off from home as well as an uneventful drive to the city. We found our hotel, stowed our luggage, and then set off to find the Liberty Bell. The "10" minute walk, from the hotel to the historic district,  was really 20 minutes, but seemed like 40 in the high heat and humidity of the day. On the way to the Bell, we passed a line of horse and carriages that looked awfully inviting. So, up we hopped onto one for a ride to see the sights with Jess, our tour guide, and Sam, our horse. The traffic was really noisy, so we really couldn't hear much of what Jess was telling us about all of the historic buildings we were passing. (And in this area of Philly, every building is historic.)  However there was a small breeze as we rode along and shade from the carriage top. At that moment it seemed like heaven. They normally do 1 hour tours, but it was hot so they only did 30 minutes tours to give Sam and his buddies a break.

Next, we found that iconic symbol of Philadelphia, The Liberty Bell. And guess what? It looks just like it does in the pictures. Maybe a little smaller. Ward, Theo, and I found the exhibit interesting, but Wally found it very thought provoking. You see, it just wasn't an event of significance, it was a symbol of many events of significance he said. He decided that he needed to stay in the park next door to ponder this while the rest of us went off to visit something else. I wasn't sure what to make of this need for pondering. It was either that he was really paying attention in 7th grade when they did a unit on monuments and symbolism or that he was just really hot and tired and didn't walk any more right then.

The rest of us next found the Second Bank of the United States Portrait Gallery which was housed in the bank building built almost 200 years ago. There were pictures of everybody who was anybody in the early days. I didn't know if was just me, but I noticed that an awful lot of the men had very thin noses in the portraits. However, later Theodore said he noticed the same thing. I guess skinny noses were considered handsome in the 1700's and 1800's and the subjects asked the artists if he could thin out their a little. Today they would just photoshop it.

Wally eventually joined us as we visited Christ the King Church (the church of everybody who was anybody back in the day) and the grave of Benjamin Franklin and several other signers of the Declaration of Independence. We had a nice walk around the grounds and gardens, but only saw the inside of the church through the windows. It had just closed when we arrived.

By this point, we were all hot and tired, so we decided to have an early dinner at Sonny's for a cheese steak. Philly is almost as famous for cheese steaks as it is for the Liberty Bell and the Declarartion of Independence. And Sonny's is famous for their cheese steaks--at least that's what they say. But Jess told us they were good and they were.

The 20 minute walk back to the hotel took us 30 minutes this time because we were tired, but seemed like 50 minutes because it was hotter and more humid than earlier. When we got back to the hotel, everyone was happy to the see a big fluffy bed and a nice cool shower in their room.

Until tomorrow...

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Sam and Jess who gave us our much appreciated carriage ride.



The Liberty Bell that Wally contemplated.


Thomas Jefferson's picture in the portrait gallery. Maybe he started the thin nose craze. :)


Ward was particularly interested in the brick pattern of the fence surrounding the graveyard with Benjamin Franklin. The black bricks got their color from a fire.


The consensus was that Sonny's cheesesteaks were pretty good.


8 comments:

  1. Live and learn, that sounds like a wonderful family vacation destination. You're fortunate to live within a relative short drive to so many historic venues. (By the way, heat gets to me, too! I'm a weather wimp.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There certainly is a lot of early history of the US here on the east coast--founding father type history, I should say. When we visited New Mexico, we saw places that were settled the same time as Jamestown.

      Delete
  2. What a wonderful vacation! I've only ridden through in route to somewhere else so I'll enjoy your visit vicariously.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is a great place with much to see and do. You should plan a visit here sometime, but in the meantime you can see where we're going if you want.

      Delete
  3. Sounds like you've all had a great time. A trip to Philly wouldn't be complete without a cheesesteak. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wally went through a phase where he sampled every cheesesteak he could find in our area. It was only fitting that he have one that the locals here consider good. And yes, Wally thought it was good.

      Delete
  4. Having grown up in the Philadelphia outskirts, right on the train line into Center City, I cannot count how many times I have visited the Liberty Bell (first when it still resided in Independence Hall, and later in the "new" glass building), but it remains thrilling even now. Every time we had out-of-town guests, we took them to see the Bell. When I was a kid you were even allowed to touch it, which I did each visit! And in 1976 I was lucky to attend a performance of the musical 1776 featuring the original cast and performed outside in front of the Liberty Bell, a memory to last a lifetime. I am envious of your trip to Philadelphia, which I still consider my hometown although I have not lived there since 1984.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The original cast from 1776 in front of the Liberty Bell.! That must have been something.

      Delete

What do you think?