Let Freedom Ring

I chose Philadelphia as a vacation location because I'd never been here before and didn't know much about it. After my day today I realize just how much I don't know! It may come as a surprise to you but I'm a planner. In the weeks just prior to this trip I created an itinerary for myself. I did that in part because I needed to prioritize what I wanted to see because there are more sights than I have time. My other reason for doing it was because many tickets could be purchased ahead of time which allowed me to spread out the cost of the trip. Today's plan went exactly as it was supposed to...other than the rain of course. Here's a re-cap of my day.... (I tried to insert pictures, but I'm on my iPad since I didn't bring my computer and it doesn't seem to want to play nicely.)

Independence Visitors' Center
I left my hotel around 8:30 to head to the Independence Visitors' Center. I picked up my ticket for touring Independence Hall later in the day and looked at some of the exhibits there. There are a handful of exhibits in at the Visitors' Center that begin telling the story of Philadelphia and it's role in the creation of our nation.

Constitutional Walking Tour
I have found that all encompassing tours, such as the one I went on today, are very worth the money. You see several sights in a short amount of time and sometimes even see things you wouldn't have found on your own. That in addition to the stories and tips that you get from a good guide make the expense worth it. On today's walking tour I saw Ben Franklin's burial place, the current Quaker meeting house, Betsy Ross's house, Christ Church, First Bank, Carpenter's Hall and the Presidents' House Site,  as well as other buildings and parks along the way. My group only had four people in it, so we had some flexibility about what we could stay around and look at as opposed to just walking  by. We also had a very good guide which was nice. I decided as we were walking around this morning that Philadelphia seems to be a cross between New York City and Boston, with a little bit of DC thrown in too.

National Constitution Center
After the walking tour, I went back to the National Constitution Center. It was very interesting! It began with a live performance of the story of the creation of the Constitution then was followed by several exhibits. There were several exhibits that were interactive. They were designed with children in mind, but the teacher in me couldn't resist. One of my favorite exhibits was the one that demonstrates the voting process. You go into a voting booth, curtain and all, and press start on the monitor. The computer randomly selects two past (or the current) president to go on your "ballot." Then the computer begins showing quotes of the presidents on major issues like crime, energy or foreign policy.  You select the statement that you most agree with and at the end the computer tells you which president goes with those statements. The idea is that you evaluate issues independent of the candidate and their political party. It was a very cool exercise I thought!

When I got ready to leave the Constitution Center it was raining. I decided to have a bite of lunch while I was waiting on the rain to clear.

Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell was my next stop today. Like several of the places I went, I discovered that I actually know very little about the Liberty Bell. There were several things to read and look at before you get to the bell itself. It was a very neat stop during my day.

Independence Hall
Independence Hall is where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. It was humbling to stand in the room where some of the greatest minds in our nation, Ben Franklin, Tomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington (to name a few) worked on documents that would create our nation and our government. Like my other tours today, I had an excellent tour guide for the Independence Hall tour.

Bourse
My last stop of the day was the Bourse Food Court and Shops. Initially designed to be a center for commerce and business, the Bourse building has several souvenir shops. It was here that I bought....wait for it....a book! I'm sure you're all shocked. I will say that after hearing during the walking tour that books used to cost between $3,000-5,000 I didn't feel badly for spending $10 on mine.

I have my plan ready for tomorrow. It's much more flexible than today's schedule because those tickets have not been purchased yet, although Kayla and I will be going to a Phillies game tomorrow night. The rain has let up and tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful. I'm looking forward to day two!