Philadelphia: Part 1

Old City Hall reflected in modern architecture

Given the option of a three-day away-from-home excursion to any destination within driveable distance from my home, I must admit that I was stymied. Considering the endless possibilities (NYC, DC, Toronto, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston...), I devised an ingeniously elaborate formula to determine this delightful get-away. Take a location with historical features, add in some pop culture references, then calculate in weather and traffic. In case of a tie, apply the hippo factor. According to the math, Philadelphia was the place.

Sydney's victorious shadow says it all!

Obviously, we saved our visit with Buttons the hippo as the culminating event of our mini-vacation to the City of Brotherly Love. We like to take advantage of city tours where available (another factor in my equation) so we grabbed a double-decker bus to learn about Philadelphia
(http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/philadelphia/tours.aspx). What we inevitably learn on these tours is that we won't have enough time to visit everything of interest. Our first bus was a REALLY big bus so Brad spent the bulk of his ride tackling me to prevent decapitation by tree branch. History was sacrificed for pop culture in the morning as our stops included a photo opportunity at the "Love" sculpture and a run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art's seventy-two "Rocky" steps (I energetically sang "Eye of the Tiger" until step twelve and then I just concentrated on my breathing).

The afternoon was dedicated to more historic pursuits. We waited in line for a bit to view the Liberty Bell. Our family had a spirited argument about the security surrounding this symbol of freedom. Sydney was disappointed with the lack of a metal detector to which Savannah responded, with some disgust, about the likelihood of a villain targeting a two-thousand pound broken bell with enough explosives to trigger a security alert. She also questioned the motive of a gun getting past the sensors. Would the evil-deed-doer use the bell as an over-sized shooting gallery target? For my part, I was delighted with the twirl technique required of visitors not burdened with bags. The guard made that little spinning signal like you might see on "Project Runway." I responded enthusiastically but was cut short due to a bout of vertigo. Brad and Savannah were the only two members of our family to actually learn the history of the Liberty Bell as they read the displays leading to the main attraction. Sydney and I slalomed the displays like Olympic skiers to get our picture taken by the bell.

Independence Hall was amazing. Absolutely pulsating with our country's history. Impossible to

ignore that George Washington, Ben Franklin and James Madison stood in these same rooms. We viewed a document that Washington edited ("A document?!?" Savannah screeched as I read the blog to her. "A document!?!? Mom...don't you realize what that document was?!?! It was the CONSTITUTION!!!" , saw the Assembly Room where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed and sat where members of the House of Representatives discussed matters pertinent to the development of a new nation. A visit to Independence Hall is much more thought-provoking than a school textbook lesson as you consider that act of signing the Declaration could be viewed as a courageous quest of freedom or proof of treason. Eye-openingly gratifying to recognize the unique freedoms afforded to us by our forefathers. Instead of bounding us by rules, that initial document ideally spells out our rights and limits government interference into the lives of its citizens.

Obviously, the combined effects of my rapid walk up the Rocky steps, my dizzy spell in Liberty Bell Center and the weight of history pressing down on me in Independence Hall resulted in an exhausted headache. I came to Philadelphia to see a hippo. Hippos do not give me a headache. Stay tuned to find out how I managed to screw up our goal of eating a genuine Philly cheesesteak sandwich and wonder why a woman with a clinical history of claustrophobia would decide to tour a submarine (not the sandwich).