GRISWOLD 2009 - DAYS 5 & 6

GRISWOLD 2009 - "GRISWOLDS GO FOR BROKE - THE RECESSION TOUR" - DAYS 5 & 6 WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, JULY 29 & 30

We got out the door a little after 6:00 AM, hopped into the Toyota Matrix and headed for Philadelphia, PA. Going a route that swung wide enough around NYC to avoid any really bad traffic, we made it to Philadelphia a little before noon. We parked the car at a garage across the street from the hotel where we were spending the night and then headed out for lunch.

It's Philadelphia, right? So what did we have for lunch? Cheesesteak of course! Jim's Steaks came highly recommended and we had no complaints!

After lunch, we made a beeline for the Liberty Bell.

It was exciting to see a national symbol like this in person.

After the Liberty Bell, we walked around a bit, seeing things and killing a little time until our pre-booked tour of Independence Hall at 4:00 PM.

We also took the time to look around the outside of Independence Hall.


Our tour actually got under way a little early, so inside we went to see more history. Here's the room where the Continental Congress debated, approved and eventually signed the Declaration of Independence.

Here the crew looks out from the second floor of the hall.

Right next to Independence Hall was Congress Hall, where another very important act took place. The platform that you see here is where George Washington handed over the Presidency to John Adams, a peaceful exchange of power which at the time was pretty unusual globally.

After our Independence Hall tour, we went back to see more of the Liberty Bell and the building it was housed in. It's magnificent the way they have it in front of a window that overlooks Independence Hall.

After this, we headed to our hotel. We checked in and then headed over a few blocks to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Back at the hotel, everyone got a kick out of the towels folded up like a shirt and tie.

The next morning we got up, enjoyed a continental breakfast at the hotel and then left. We took this picture on the way out. Yes, that was our hotel. It's 32 units and 5 stories high, so it's a very skinny hotel. It was very nice though.

Our first stop of the day Thursday was at the Philadelphia Mint. This is where they make not only coins, but also a lot of medals that are awarded for different reasons. It was pretty quiet when we were there. They were just starting up the lines and we could see blank penny stock flowing on the conveyors, getting ready to be stamped.

We also took some time to see Carpenter's Hall, where the First Continental Congress had met.

From there, we went to Franklin Court, the site of where Ben Franklin's home was once located. After his death, Franklin's children took down the home so that they could build many homes in its place, row house kinds of things. This metal outline shows where the home was originally before it was torn down.

A little archeology on the site reveals some remnants of the house, including the old "privy" or "necessary".

After seeing this stuff and a film about Franklin, we learned how printing presses worked and saw someone demonstrate the printing of a Declaration of Independence, the type that would have been printed and then read out loud in a public place around the time of the writing of the original document.

After Franklin Court, it was time for a nutritious lunch. Ice cream counts as nutritious, doesn't it?

After lunch (?) we toured the Betsy Ross house, where we learned a lot about Betsy Ross and about the women of the times who ran the households while their husbands were off at war or politics.

From the Betsy Ross house, we visited the cemetary where Ben Franklin and his wife are buried, along with a number of signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Needless to say, Franklin lived a very full and eventful life!

We got a kick out of this squirrel who was relaxing in the cemetary, completely prone.

From here, we walked back to our car and began the process of leaving town. First we stopped at a park where the iconic "Love" sculpture is on display in front of a fountain.

Then we headed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Rocky Statue.

"Yo Adrian!"

Then we walked over to the museum's steps, the steps that Rocky ran up in the movie.

We all ran up the steps...

...some of us faster than the others!

Then we stood where Rocky stood at the top of the steps...

...and took a good, long, last look at downtown Philadelphia before hitting the road and heading home.

We got back to North Reading a little before 11:00 PM, after experiencing a few minor delays on the highway, most notably in the Newark, NJ area. (Just another reason to hate Newark!) We had a very enjoyable and educational two-day trip!