We headed to Philadelphia and a KOA outside of town. We asked for a spot right by the river, because that was the wooded area. The problem was we arrived during a downpour and there was no gravel only dirt, so we were setting up in a mudhole. There were several tent campers in the area, and we figured they must have had a terrible night's sleep! The next morning they moved their tents into the sun and had their sleeping bags all hanging on the pool fence. That morning we drove into Philadelphia for more history. We started with a tour of Independence Hall. We had a great guide that made the tour fun and interesting. While on the tour, I remembered I hadn't turned off my cell phone. I thought about it and decided Marcus was the only one that would call me and we were together plus the phone makes quite a bit of noise when it powers off, so I was better off leaving it on. Sure enough, it rang! The guide made some comment, and I felt a bit like a dork. It turned out it was the first day of school, and Graystone called to see why Colin wasn't in class. Too funny!
After the Independence Hall tour, we decided to have Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks for lunch. We asked a security guard where we could find such a thing and he sent us walking several blocks. We didn't even like them!!! Very sad.
Next we went to see the Liberty Bell. I thought it would be much bigger than it is. Turns out the thing broke almost right after they got it, and the attempts to fix it failed. Not sure how it got to be quite so famous, but it seems to be the symbol of choice for many causes from women's rights to civil rights...
After taking the requisite photo in front of the bell, we headed toward Elfram Alley. This is known as the oldest continuously inhabited street in the US. It was fun to see! I'm not sure I would want to live there as I'm sure it must be swarming with tourists much of the time!
At some point during the day, we found out the Giants were in town and thought it might be fun to watch the game. We spent quite a bit of time trying to find tickets online, to no avail. We ended up going to the game and buying scalped tickets. We had a great time during the first part of the game. The Giants were ahead, and we were loving it. The Phillies ended up pulling ahead, and someone behind Derek spit in his hair, so we figured it was time to go. What a disappointing way to end a fun evening!
The next day we headed to Valley Forge. We learned a lot at the Visitor's Center! A Ranger there was VERY helpful in suggesting the best way to get the most out of our visit! It was interesting to read about what the Brits were up to the same time as the colonists. We went on a road tour of the area. Valley Forge is in the beautiful rolling hills of Pennsylvania. There is a wooded hill that was a big part of the defense. We saw the house Martha and George Washington called home during that miserable winter. There were many wooden huts built in groups for regiments. When they first got there, they held a competition: Those who built the first sturdy hut, would get 10 dollars to encourage the men to work hard and fast. Still, it was a very tough winter for the army. It is hard to think that so many men died there because of illness due to inadequate supplies. It was hard to imagine so much hardship in such lovely country!
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