Vacation Trip Part 1- Phillidelphia

David and I were able to take a Great trip together this past week.  David had work in Philidelphia so I was able to meet him there and begin our next adventure.  I had never been to Philly before so I was very excited to go check it out.  I flew out on Wednesday and the adventure began.

The first thing we learned was Pennsylvania has a lot of toll roads aka turnpikes.  In California you have an option when a toll road is coming up. If you want to take the toll road (expressway) you take that exit. But in Philadelphia all must exit to get your ticket for the road.  You can drive around if you have a pass, then at the end all cars pay according to your ticket, the amount of time on the turnpike.  David did not understand that and thought he was driving around avoiding the toll road, but that is not the case.  As he exited he had to go through the checking point and he had no ticket. They were going to charge full price but the lady had grace on him as he had his ticket to prove he had just flown in from out of state. Lesson learned.

Thursday David had to go to work and I was able to go exploring with my cousin, Chris.  I hadn't seen my cousin in over 19 years, so I was very excited. She looks great and just like I remembered.  We had a wondful day as we explored all the historical sites.  Most of the sites are free, as the cashier explained we had already paid with our taxes.  You have to get a ticket to go into Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence, the Article of Confederation and the Constitution were all written. So we got that ticket and then walked to see the liberty bell.  It really is a bit surreal to go see these sites that I have read about since I was a small child.  We explored all we could in that area, grabbed a bite, then went to see Betsy Ross house (there was a five dollar fee for that).  An actress did a great interactive reenactment of Betsy Ross .  It was fun.  Then we went to see Benjamin Franklin's museum .  Outside the museum in a separate building, they had a working printing press similar to what Franklin would have used.  The Park Rangers showed us how it was used and printed us a copy.  Then we went into the museum. It is also five dollars but has a lot of interactive displays.  Unfortunately, we got there late and didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked. We then met David for dinner and Chris's husband was able to get there in time for dessert.  We had a great time catching up.  It was hard to say goodbye to Chris, but I hope it isn't another 19 years until we get together again.

Chris and I at Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell

The room set up as it was when they signed the Declaration of Independence

Cute little sandwich shop in Philadelphia 

Betsy Ross House