Philadelphia

Decided to go to Philly yesterday to take in the sights. Instead of driving all the way in, we took the train which was really nice. It was about a 15 min. drive to the station and about a 20 min. ride on the train. Dropped us 2 blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell! We walked to the Visitors Center and grabbed a couple tickets for the tour of Independence Hall. It was really inspiring to walk through the same doors as Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and all the boys used more than 200 years ago! From 1775 to 1783 this was the meeting place for the Second Continental Congress. It was in the Assembly Room of this building that George Washington was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. In the same room the design of the American flag was agreed upon in 1777, the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, and the U. S. Constitution was drafted in 1787. All the things that we learned in our 8th grade history class and have mostly forgotten definitely come to life in this building! The National Park Service does a tremendous job of keeping the building looking like it did in the late 1700s. Over 90% of the brick and 70% of the wood are original as are many of the furnishings including preserved militia rifles.

After finishing that tour we walked across the street to view the Liberty Bell. They have a very nice museum and as you pass through it tells you everything you would ever want to know about the bell. By the way did you know that the bell did not ring on July 4, 1776, and numerous attempts to fix the crack have actually caused more damage. This icon of liberty and freedom truly rings loudly in reminding us of the rights and privileges we enjoy.

Next we headed to the Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank of the United States. Original paintings from the 1700s of all the patriots that you've heard of and many more that you haven't made this a worthwhile stop. Each portrait was accompanied by a small plaque highlighting the accomplishments of each person. The amazing thing to us was that most of these people were already of wealth and standing but were willing to sacrifice all they had to help in the birth of a new nation. Kind of makes you step back and wonder if we would be willing to make the same sacrifices today.






It was now time for a snack and across the street from the Gallery was a rather plain diner called Benny's Place. Russ wants to mention that he had the Philly Cheese Steak and does so because no matter where we've traveled, when he sees one on the menu, he is likely to order it. Once finished he always says the same thing "they don't know how to make 'em." Last week Bill and Terri got takeout and Russ ordered the cheese steak. Although good, he still felt something was missing. Alas, after taking two bites out of his sandwich at Benny's, with grease dripping down his wrist onto his forearm, he finally remembered what a real Philly Cheese Steak was! Meat, cheese, onions and grease! He was in artery clogging heaven!!

After lunch we went by Carpenter's Hall, where the First Continental Congress met. As a homebuilder for the last 20 years, Russ marveled at the detail and fit and finish of a building 230 years old. This building also housed many original furnishings including the chairs used by Congress in 1774. So that there is no confusion, the one that Russ is sitting in is a reproduction. From there we went to Franklin Court, which houses Ben's Underground Museum and the Market Street Houses where Franklin's original print shop and a post office are located.

We had the chance to watch a page of newspaper actually being printed and found out that the paper was not made from trees during that time period but rather through recycled clothing. We also found out that instead of printing on the paper, the process actually imbedded the ink into the paper and takes up to 24 hours to dry.

From there we walked over to view Benjamin Franklin's grave at the Christ Church Burial Ground and also visited the Free Quaker Meeting House, where a blind lady in colonial attire was playing one of Franklin's inventions called the Glass Armonica. If you go to this website (http://library.thinkquest.org/22254/armonica.htm.thinkquest.org/22254/armonica.htm), you can see a picture and find out more about this truly unique musical instrument.




Temperatures reached 97 degrees in Philly while we were there so about 1:30 we decided to pack it in and head back to the train station. Everything we saw was free of charge and under the direction of the Park Service. To see all these things for only $9.40 (the cost of 2 round trip train tickets) plus $15 for lunch is hard to beat!

With the Johnson family still on vacation, our plans for the rest of the week are to play it by ear. It rained this afternoon and calling for more rain on Thursday and Friday. We are still moving things around in the RV as it seems almost daily that we decide a different location for a particular item will be more convenient. Russ has hung the electric can opener, the spice rack, the wine glass holder, and a rack for my necklaces, and we turn on our martini happy hour light everyday at 4! We have also started to watch some of the DVDs we have bought over the years. It seemed like we never had time to both sit down and enjoy a movie. Being Star Wars fans and having all 6 movies on DVD, we decided to start there with Episode I and work our way through. We'll let you know how it ends when we finish!

Russ' nephew, Billy, came upon an extra pair of tickets for the St. Louis/Philadelphia baseball game for Sunday so we do have that on our schedule!! Look for us on TV six rows behind the Cardinals dugout wearing our Cardinal red and pounding some Budweisers!

And that's all from the Folly!