Walk This Way

I did more walking on Thursday than the other two days I was in Philly, at least that's the way it felt.  I should have taken a pedometer with me!  Kayla stayed over Wednesday night and we had time Thursday morning to have a nice breakfast at a sidewalk cafe and walk the short distance from my hotel to Independence Mall.  Kayla was able to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's grave and the outside of Betsy Ross's house.  It was a nice morning.

Washington Square
After Kayla left to go back to NYC I went to Washington Square.  Similar to Franklin Square, this is a park with a large fountain in the center.  There is also a George Washington statue and a tomb for the unknown soldiers of the Revolutionary War.  I sat in the park for a while I read a book.  It was another nice weather day.

Library Hall

After leaving Washington Square I went to Library Hall which was the first public library.  There were meetings going on throughout the building, so I could only tour the lobby, but it was interesting nonetheless.  There was s draft of the Declaration of Independence and the journals of Lewis and Clark.  Every stop during this trip made me want to read more about that period of history.  There are so many things to read and learn and so little time to do it in!!

Independence Seaport Museum

The Independence Seaport Museum was my major stop for the day.  The museum itself was interesting, but the highlight of the visit was being able to tour the Olympia and the Becuna.  This self-guided tour started in the submarine Becuna.  If you are at all claustrophobic I don't recommend touring a submarine.  I don't consider myself claustrophobic and I had a few moments of panic myself.  It was so interesting to see the set up and living areas of the sub's occupants.  After the submarine I was able to tour the ship Olympia which was used in the Spanish American War.  Not as close of quarters there as in the submarine, but not terribly spacious.  Both tours were so much fun!!  I enjoyed both tremendously.  In the picture below the Olympia ship is on the left and the Becuna submarine is on the right.

I was super tired when I got back to my hotel Thursday night.  I considered catching up on pictures and blog posts at that time, but I just wanted to read.  

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all of my stops on my trip and hopefully you haven't been annoyed with all of my facebook posts.  I enjoy being able to share my travels and journeys.  Thanks for traveling with me.