Liberty Bell

On Monday, March 30th, we slept in a bit so we could recover from our long day in New York City. We got our day a bit later than we expected but got plenty done. We took the train in from Mike and Alice’s apartment into town. Our first stop was a CVS to get Kristine some water. While there we saw this dude get caught stealing from the store. Welcome to Philly I thought to my self!

Liberty Bell with Independence Hall behind it

From there, we walked down to the Liberty Bell which I had not seen since I was a little kid. The new building was really nice and I loved seeing Independence Hall behind it through the glass. The building had tons of history about the Bell and it being used as an icon for freeing slaves. This was a history I did not know and found it interesting. They also had x-rays of the bell showing the work that has been done on the inside along with the supports to keep it from further cracking.

Ben Franklin's Grave... I think I heard him spinning!

We next walked towards the river and passed a few additional sites. The first was Ben Franklin’s grave. I was surprised at how simple it was for one of the most famous persons in our countries history. With everything going on in our country… I could swear I heard him spinning in his grave! All joking aside, it was really amazing to see his grave. Next we walked next to Betsy Ross’ house on our way to the shore.

Grave of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier

Once at Penn’s Landing, we could see a great view of the Walt Whitman Bridge and the the USS New Jersey. The shore was nice but very cold and windy! We walked back towards Independence Hall but made a stop at the Grave of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. This was where hundreds of soldiers from General Washington’s army died during the winter. We finally made it to Independence Hall only to realize they are closed for the evening so we didn’t get to go inside.

Freemasons Temple

We continued our tour of Philadelphia by walking towards City Hall. From there, we walked through it and on the other side was the Freemasons Temple. Never seen a church where they worship masonry freely. Our day was finally up and we took the train home so we could rest up for our trip to Washington D.C. in the morning.

On a side note, the whole time we were touring parts of Philadelphia, I couldn’t help thinking ‘National Treasures’ the whole time. I was so tempted to find the glasses hidden inside the walls of Independence Hall and then run from the Freemasons Temple.

Betsy Ross' House

USS New Jersey

Independence Hall (panoramic)

Kristine next to a 'Sorry' game piece

Joel and Kristine under the 'Love' art

Our plane made it to Philly around 1:30 am into a cold and rainy city.  We had the luck of the airport being pretty much closed and our gate wasn’t open.  We had to walk off the plane, into the rain and get our luggage then haul it up the stairs into the airport and on our merry way.

The next day we went downtown to visit the art museum which was amazing.  After that we drove around and went home to rest for our day in New York City on the 29th.  Below are some photos we took during our first day in Philly:

St. Francis Xavier Church

Joel and Kristine infront of statue of General Washington

View of downtown Philly and city hall

Philadelphia Art Museum

Joel and Kristine in front of Rocky statute

Decorated period rooms inside the art gallery (panoramic)

Ben Franklin!

View from the museum steps (panoramic)

Amazing wood sarving of Jesus and his life

"At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec of France. Painted in 1890 with oil on canvas.

Neat tunnel