Catching Up: April 1-April 8... Philly

Sunday we made a day trip to Philadelphia (Philly). The drive was nice (it beat walking, hehe!) and I was surprised at the small town feel the historic district had even though it was nestled in the center of a sprawling metropolis. We were even able to find FREE parking (and out here that is a win in and of itself).

I like Philly. I like the feel and the history it had to offer. And for an architecture lover like myself, the buildings were AWESOME!!! I could live there (I think). Maybe just get a vacation home after I win the lottery without ever buying a ticket, hehe). We saw as much as we could while in town: Independence Hall (where constitution was signed), Liberty Bell, Senate Building, Philly Mint, Ben Franklin Home/Museum/Grave, and Betsy Ross's place. And though Ben and Betsy were pretty uninspiring, the rest was fabulous! I especially loved our tour guide for Independence Hall. His energy and excitement over history was captivating... he would make one heck of a history teacher!

The mint building (where coins are made and distributed to the country)

Benjamin Franklin's grave. What is it with people and throwing money onto graves and in fountains?

Ben's graveyard. I thought it looked cool.

Joe with Independence Hall in the background. It's the little building just to the right of his head.

A closer shot of the hall with me.

Stopping for lunch. Joe should NOT be allowed to have the camera. But seeing as how he has threatened to break into this blog and post worse pictures, I am voluntarily posting this one that he took. There! You are not allowed to do any more damage Mr. Joseph!

The back sick of Independence Hall. It wasn't always named thus, but once it was the name sure stuck. Don't ask me the original name because I forgot. What I didn't forget is that they actually started tearing down this building in the early 1800's with plans to build a "newer, bigger building." Then the war of 1812 started and they never got around to tearing the rest down. By the late 1800s they decided to keep the building (it being historic and all with the signing of the constitution and such) and so added back they two wings they had original demolished. Phew!

And for the movie buffs out there, here is a shot of the location where Ben Gates found Ben Franklin's secret spy glasses. Had to include it!

Inside waiting for out tour to begin.

Hanna (left) and Tina (right). Good times!

Our oh-so-awesome tour guide. Seriously... if you can, get a tour from this man! (I think his name was Mike... but I could be wrong).

I love this girl!

The room where treason became a nation.

That black cane on the desk actually belonged to Thomas Jefferson. His hand touched it! Hehe

George Washington sat in that exact chair and the books on the table belonged to John Hancock.

This room held the first congress.

And this one held the first senate.

And last but not least is the Liberty Bell... so NOT like National Treasure 2. I am learning that as long as you build BELIEVABLE fiction, the readers/viewers will go along with anything, regardless of reality.

After seeing all the awesome sites, we headed over to Jim's Steaks for the BEST Philly cheese steak EVER. Seriously, SOOOOOO good! After phillyng our tummies (hehe, get it, Philly... phillying, haha), we headed back to Maryland. Traffic was horrible on the way home, but we got back safe and sound. It was an awesome day in Philadelphia.