Philly

A few weekends ago, our coordinator took us on a road trip to Philadelphia. In my ignorance, or memory loss from high school history, thought it would be a boring trip. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, lots of stuff went down, namely signing of important documents and it being the hometown of a one B. Franklin. Here's what we saw:

We walked through a museum all about the Liberty Bell and its history. I had no idea it went on a tour throughout the country before being retired. Right after I took this picture, an Asian tourist went up to the bell and touched it for his friends to take a picture. Everyone was yelling at him and he so didn't get the message. Dude, don't you see the crack? Very fragile!

This is Independence Hall, where the Declaration and the Constitution were signed. Also, where Benjamin Gates removed a brick and found a pair of B. Franklin's bifocals and then solved an American mystery and found treasure. Oh wait, you say, that was in a movie? Darn, I blurred the lines between reality and fiction again.

The actual room where the meetings were held in a hot, hot summer with no A/C that decided the fate of our country. Pretty impressive, considering I get antsy walking for a few minutes outside in the 90% humidity.



We went through this museum dedicated to the Constitution that was so amazing. The depth of the information there was overwhelming and there were really cool interactive displays, like videorecording yourself being sworn in as the president. There was a presentation in a theatre with speakers, videos and music that had me in tears by the end. I'm such a sucker for people triumphing over insurpassible odds. Oh, and this is a replica of the signing of the Declaration with bronze statues of everyone there. Once again, B. Franklin



Everyone wanted to go to the art museum and run up the steps and I so didn't get it until I saw this statue dedicated to a character in a movie? Someone had to explain to me how Rocky was a big deal movie for some people, something about an underdog and whatnot. Sorry, but I was either not born or doing more important things like taking my first steps when that flick came out. For all you sports buffs, this is my one and only picture devoted to Sly.

Oh, and I met Obama. Highlight of my year. Let's all pretend that he is a three dimensional real person and that we had a wonderful, eye-opening discussion. Also please applaud me on my wardrobe coordination. Truly stellar.

We also watched a short film about B. Franklin, but it was so appallingly cheesy that I refuse to write more than a sentence about it. We did get to see the original foundation of his house and listen to Walt Whitman, George Washington and various other important figures tell us about the man that was. Overall, very educational and fun, if only for a day.