Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
     Let Freedom Ring

Day 22-23:  Weren't we just in Boston? How did we get to Philadelphia so fast? Yes, New York City is in between, but Greg really didn't want to go into Manhattan. I insisted we at least view the Statue of Liberty from the New Jersey shore, until it became apparent that we wouldn't be able to see it through the downpour.

Can you tell it's daytime?

My sister says I take bad weather with me when I travel, but that's just because we got caught in a hurricane in Mexico once. I mean, that could happen to anyone, right?

Anyway, after several miles in a veritable monsoon on this trip, Greg and I decided to turn west and drive inland. We circumvented most of the worst weather and made it to Philadelphia early enough to do some sight-seeing.

Philadelphia skyline

I loved the murals covering whole sides of buildings.

Click to enlarge or for slide show

 

And how about this fantastic arch in Chinatown?

But the main reason for stopping in Philly was to soak up some history--I wanted to see the Liberty Bell! So after checking into our hotel--a tall, narrow building squeezed between others of the same ilk only a few blocks away from Independence National Historic Park--we strolled over to see the sights.






The tower on Independence Hall was being restored, so they had put up this screen with a picture on it. Kinda cute. This is the building where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and approved.

Did you know that Philadelphia served as the temporary U.S. capital while Washington D.C. was being built?

Greg, outside the Visitor Center where the Liberty Bell is housed (you can see it in the background). The building was closed for the evening, but there was a lot to see outside.

Garden outside Visitor's Center

Old City Hall

As the light failed, we enjoyed the fine summer evening in Independence Square Park, where I tried in vain to get a good picture of the fireflies.  The flowers, fountain and memorial were more cooperative.

Memorial to unknown soldiers of Washington's Revolutionary War Army

Then we strolled back to our hotel with a plan to return the next morning.

View from our room

Sculpture near our hotel

 


Next morning, we were
back bright and early--before the Visitor's Center opened.

Greg posing with John Barry, "Father of the American Navy"

            Patriot Robert Morris helped finance the American Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence.

 














Finally, the doors to the Visitor Center opened, and we got our close up view of the Liberty Bell. This bell used to hang in the tower of Independence Hall when it was the Philadelphia State House. The famous crack is shown here, but is not visible from outside through the windows.

By noon, we were headed out of town toward our next major destination, Washington D.C.. We got lost on the way out, but the up-side was this great view of Philadelphia's City Hall before we said good-bye with some final snapshots outside of town.

Crossing the Delaware River

Next week we visit Arlington National Cemetery and Washington D.C., where we find sunshine and fair weather!