Tuesday, May 18, Day 69, Philly

After some research we found that there was a parking lot downtown Philadelphia that would take an RV, right in the middle of things. So downtown we went, just like we knew what we were doing! Going downtown in a huge city with an RV is always an adventure. We were able to find a spot, and did not smash any cars, run over any pedestrians or anything! Just had to deal with elevated heart rate and a few close calls.

After going to the visitor center to get tickets, we went for our tour of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights were signed. Then we took a tour of Congress building, when it was in Boston.


The Liberty Bell was cool, and we beat most of the school bus hoards that came later. In the picture of the bell, note Independence Hall in the background.

After looking at Carpenter House, and the area around Ben Franklin's house (not still standing), we went to the house where Jefferson stayed when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. We all easily connected this to the actual desk it was written on that we had seen at the Smithsonian in DC, and the actual Declaration copy we saw at the National Archives as well as the visit to Monticello.

The visit to the post office near Ben Franklin's house, and the printing press brought back memories of "Liberties Kids" TV show, which has proven to be a great teacher of early American History.

Grant pointed out that the US mint was nearby, and so we headed over there for a self tour of the stamping facility where coins are minted. No pictures of that! (Wanted to stay out of jail).

For lunch we had the required Philly Cheese steak sandwich! Even though it was lightly raining it was a fun visit to Philly.



Although we were talking about skipping New York City, we found an RV spot just across in New Jersey so we landed there for the night. And yes we could actually see the state of liberty from the window of our RV! That was a blessing because some of the kids really wanted to go to the statue, and we had decided it was too much to try to fit in. Especially since we did not book tickets for the crown in advance.

To cap the day off, Hope lost one of her front teeth! The picture is a self portrait by Hope.