Historical Studies Tour - Day 4

First thing this morning was loading the bus, then breakfast, and then onto the bus for a 2-and-a-half hour drive to Philadelphia. I've been pretty impressed with the good behavior of this group of kids. There is the occasional need to calm one or two of them down, but they're showing a lot of respect to the teachers and adults on the trip, so it's been good.

In Philadelphia, we disembarked in the Liberty Park area downtown.

Before I go on to my descriptions of our visits, I've got to say something about our guide, Mr. Gregg Pfister. I mentioned in Day 1's entry that he walks with a great deal of energy. That was being kind. The truth is that he is a sadistic, vicious little man who loves to torture his charges by pretending to walk when he is actually running at a sprinter's pace! He went easy on us the first three days, but has now turned up the heat, and insists that we walk at his "lively and brisk" pace -- I call it "running."

Okay, kidding aside, he has asked us to increase our pace, to get ready for all of the walking we'll need to do throughout Washington D.C. the next few days. I'm not one to mosey, but his pace almost makes me look like I'm standing still! I'm glad I brought my Z-Coil shoes!

(Now back to our regular entry, already in progress.)

Our first stop was a theater in the Information Center, where we saw a 30-minute docudrama called "Independence." It was produced in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial, about the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It had a great cast, including Eli Wallach, Ken Howard, William Atherton, and E.G. Marshall as the narrator.

After that, we walked across the park to tour Independence Hall, site of the Colonial Congress, later the Continental Congress, and then the U.S. Congress, and where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and signed. On the tour is the famous assembly hall where it all happened, the courtroom next door, and the original Congress Hall, with the House of Representatives chamber on the first floor, and the Senate chamber on the second.

The rangers on the tour were very informative and well-spoken, so it was very interesting to hear some of the details of the events. But it was exciting to be in that same room where Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and George Washington spent many hours over many years, shaping the government of our country.

Before actually going in for the tour, we went into a side building, where they have copies of the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution on display. They're not the original documents, but they are early copies of them. They are protected behind heavy glass, climate-controlled, and dimly lit. They don't let you take pictures of them using a flash, because of how that might affect the documents. Very interesting!

After Independence Hall, we walked over to the Bourse Building, where we had lunch and did a little tourist shopping. The lady at the Chinese food place I got my General Tso's chicken warned me that it was VERY spicy. After having it, I resisted the urge to go over and call her a liar.

From there, we crossed back over to the Liberty Bell display. With all the kids there, it wasn't really possible to read all of the information in the five or so exhibit alcoves; I could have probably spent a good hour there, looking over all of it. The Liberty Bell itself is so iconic, it was a little surreal to be right there, looking at it! There's is a feeling of, "Yes, I've seen this in so many pictures, so it's not a big deal," and at the same time a feeling of, "HOLY COW! IT'S THE ACTUAL LIBERTY BELL, AND I'M STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT!!!"

We then walked several blocks to the site of Benjamin Franklin's house, now long-gone. The site has been rediscovered, though, and there is a skeleton of its structure, as well as that of the printing office he started, then passed on to his son-in-law. Under the frame are windows into the ground, where you can see parts of the original foundation of the house which he built there. Next to that area is a building into which you go, and walk down three long ramps into a museum about his life and work. As you go in, you see one of my favorite Franklin quotes on the wall:

Our next stop was Elfreth's Alley, a short street that dates back to colonial times, with several of the three-story, "Trinity" houses that are typical of the construction in Philadelphia. The street is narrow and cobblestoned, the houses are narrow, but in addition to being a historical landmark, most of the homes are still private residences. Can you imagine living in a landmark?

We then sprinted after Mr. Pfister back toward Liberty Park to meet the bus. On the way, we were able to see (in passing) Betsy Ross' house and Benjamin Franklin's grave, next to that of his wife, Deborah, and his daughter and son-in-law.

I wish we had better pictures, but we have lost the cord to charge up our camera, so the only thing we have to take pictures with is my phone and John's Flip video camera. It's a bit of a bummer, but we're making do with what we have.

After our walk around Philadelphia, we drove to Laurel, Maryland, to the hotel which we'll be staying in for the next four nights. The kids were all excited to find that there is an indoor pool just outside of our rooms. I was excited to find that we have Tempurpedic mattresses! Woo-hoo!

Tomorrow we start three full days of touring Washington, D.C. and its environs. I'm looking forward to it!