I'm going to attempt to catch up on all the activities we have done since our last blog entry. Back in August, Jay had a meeting with a vender in Philadelphia. The vendor had grown up in that area and wanted to treat us to a real "Philly Cheesesteak" and, of course, a baseball game. He took us to a place the locals like, Jim's Steaks, which was really just a "hole in the wall" kind of place. As we were standing in line, and there was a HUGE line, we became aware of the way customers were behaving when they ordered. Visions of the "Soup Nazi" came to mind. I was very thankful when our vendor friend offered to do the ordering. He very quickly placed our order and stepped sideways. He told us that once he brought another friend to this same restaurant and he was denied service for having the nerve to order french fries with his sandwich. I thought that was silly, but I was glad he ordered for us nonetheless.
I had no clue what ingredients were in a cheesesteak. You can order it with all kinds of toppings like onions, peppers, etc, and various cheeses, including Cheez Whiz. Mine was pretty basic, a roll, provolone, and lots of thinly sliced beef. Not so much a girlie lunch. Although it was tasty, it was just a bit on the large size.
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| Jim's Steaks |
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| What they do to people who order fries with their cheesesteaks |
Next, we went to our first ever Phillies Game. It was another beautiful ballpark with the coolest mascot ever. I don't know what it is...they call it the "Phanatic" and it looks sort of like a bird with a cylindrical shaped beak. It was love at first sight, I tell you. I wanted to take him home with us. He was so much fun to watch since the Phillies weren't very exciting that night. Right after the 3rd inning the wind began to blow and the clouds began to swirl. The ground crew rolled out the tarp to cover the field just in the nick of time. We actually saw lightning hit in the stadium! They made everyone take cover and wait out the rain. After 2 hours of waiting we decided to call it a night. We needed our rest because I had a full day of sight-seeing and shopping planned for the next day. Oh, for those of you wondering how the hot dogs were at this park, we were too full from the cheesesteak to try them. I guess we'll just have to go back next year.
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| The Phillies! |
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| The bell rings when the Phillies hit a home run |
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| The Phanatic. So cute! |
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| Lots of rain |
The next morning we woke up to a beautiful day. Our first stop, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. If you have never been, I highly recommend it. You have to go to the visitor center first to get pick up tickets for Independence Hall. The tickets are
free, but you must have one if you want to tour the inside. We had a little time before our tour of Independence Hall so we went to view the Liberty Bell first. We walked through the building which was very informative as to the history of the bell. Then in the back, surrounded by a crowd of people, stands the bell. I know I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to history, but seeing it for the first time brought tears to my eyes. It has become a symbol for so many people, past, present, and future. I couldn't help but wonder at all the foreigners there taking pictures, some of whom got in trouble for trying to touch it. What exactly does the bell mean to those who don't share the same freedoms we have? I would love to spend a day there talking with tourists about just that. Geek, I know.
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| Jay likes me to do this silly wave everywhere we go :-) |
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| The Liberty Bell |
The outside of Independence Hall is under renovation. Jay and I both enjoyed seeing the inside very much. This is known as "The birthplace of the United States" It is where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were adopted and signed. George Washington was named commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in this very place.
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| Independence Hall |
For a short time the British took over the building for use as a prison, hospital, and barracks. They used the furniture for firewood and left the building in shambles. The tall chair with the sun on the back located in the back of the Assembly Room is the original chair used by George Washington. Benjamin Franklin always wondered if the sun that was engraved on the chair back was rising or setting. On the day of the Constitution signing he was heard to say that it was indeed rising.
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The Supreme Court-Only lawyers who passed their exams were permitted beyond this bar,
thus the term-"Pass the bar" |
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Defendants had to stand in the little box in the center,
thus the term, "Stand trial" |
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| Independence Hall has beautiful architecture |
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| The Assembly Room- |
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| George Washington's chair |
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| Beautiful stairway-details are everywhere! |
We also went to Christ's Church Burial Ground where Benjamin Franklin is buried, the Philadelphia Mint where they were making pennies, the Todd House where Dolly Madison lived, the first post office in the U.S., and we walked by the Betsy Ross house.
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| Benjamin Franklin's Grave |
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| It was a little spooky when I met up with Mr. Franklin at the cemetery |
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| Post Office was cool-still functioning |
There were many other things that I would love to do, but they will all have to wait until we visit again.
