Philadelphia

We hadn't planned to spend time in Philadelphia and then Grandpa said he had never been there, so of course our plans changed. We arrived at Independence Hall Visitor's Center about 10:30 and were pleasantly surprised to get tickets for the tour at 11:45.

It was a rainy, overcast sort of day and I think that kept some of the tourists away because we got right in to see the Liberty Bell. When we came last time, I just had the kids look at it through the glass; the lines were so long. Today we didn't wait at all.

Checking out the map

Independence Hall was just as amazing as I remember from before and we had a really good guide, so that was nice. We also visited the other buildings on the square before walking over to Franklin Square. Last time we didn't see the museum, so we decided it would be worth $5 each to go in. Ben Franklin was such an amazing man! I'm so glad the world has deep thinkers like him (and like my sweetie.)

Visiting with Ben Franklin

After we left Franklin Square we stopped to eat philly cheesesteak at a little diner. It was good, but didn't live up to the legendary cart we visited when we were in Philadelphia last time. (We looked for the cart, but couldn't find it.)

It was just after 4:00 when we climbed into the car. We were expecting tons of traffic, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. We were back in Sicklerville about 5:00.

Tomorrow we are thinking to run down to the beach during the morning hours. We have to be at the reception at 5:30 and we will need time to clean up. Our trip is more than half over, but we still have so many fun things to do.