The City of Love - Philadelphia

After an overnight stay in New York, we headed to Philadelphia. Once there, we went to the Franklin Institute. Like Ben Franklin, this museum was dedicated to the exploration of science in a very hands-on environment. It quickly found a special place in the hearts of my children as they raced from exhibit to exhibit to experience it all. We capped off the day with Philly Cheesesteaks. Pat’s and Geno’s are the rival cheesesteak diners that are conveniently across the street. We bought one of each, then left the “hot zone” to taste test them for ourselves. We all agreed the winner was: Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, regardless of origin!

Tuesday we headed to the City Hall first. It was an unscheduled stop on our tour, but one that we were advised not to miss. Originally they split us up because they were afraid the elevator to the top of City Hall couldn’t sustain 6 people plus the operator. But they decided to give it a whirl. That was a very strained elevator ride as it shuttered and creaked all the way up 44 floors. But we couldn’t have seen a better view of the City of Brotherly Love than from atop William Penn’s perch on City Hall. Our favorite sight was the blue fountain. The water had been dyed a brilliant teal blue, so naturally it was our next attraction!

My favorite attraction was the Independence Hall. There the foundations of our county and government were laid. It was very inspiring to be there. Equally inspiring was Valley Forge where the Continental Army wintered during the war to bring about the ideals set forth in Independence Hall. The kids loved climbing on cannons, and yelling “The British are coming!!” while shooting their guns (sticks that they had collected). Then they would be blasted by cannon and die ignominious deaths. It was quite entertaining.

We continued with our theme of armies and battles and visited Gettysburg the next day. We were amazed at the extent of the museum in the Visitors Center, we could have spent all day in the maze of artifacts and movies that were offered there. We were lucky to escape in just over an hour. We drove around the field, making stops at Devil’s Den, Little Round Top and the sight of Picket’s Charge. The field once littered with human casualties is now littered with monuments of all sizes, shapes and characters. We couldn’t even attempt to read them all. The kids enjoyed playing battle against a different foe at Devils Den, as they brought the area to life with shouts of “The Rebel’s are coming!”