Walking around on the first night, had to stop by Independence Hall. This is where the Declaration of Independence was signed and our new nations Constitution was debated.
The next morning we caught the tail end of the Sunday service being held at Christ Church. This church was founded in 1695 and boasts it has held Sunday services for more than 300 years. It was a beautiful old building and I enjoyed the service and the choir singing.
We got tickets and toured inside Independence Hall. This chair (set in the aisle) is supposedly the chair used by Benjamin Franklin during the Constitution debates. It was so neat to see the room where our country was established.
Independence Hall is a beautiful old building. And visiting this historic spot in September was perfect. The weather was beautiful and there weren't too many tourists!
The famous Liberty Bell
We got to see the musical "Hamilton" and it was really fun to watch in Philadelphia because so much of what happens in the musical actually happens in Philadelphia!
Walking around Philly at night. So many fun places to see!
Hyrum and I rented a car for a day to drive down to DC. Mostly to say hi to my brother and his wife but also to explore some new things in DC. It has been over 20 years since I visited and they have quite a few new museums. We went to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It has a fantastic display of artifacts and history.
My favorite part inside the museum was this "Contemplative Court" After walking through the exhibits, most of them very emotional and heartbreaking you come to this room of quiet with a waterfall in the center. It is very peaceful and you can give yourself time to think and process the things you have seen and learned while visiting the museum.
Lunch with my brother Del and his wife Lori. It was super nice of them to make time to get downtown DC to say hi!
The Memorial for WWII was a new one for me to visit. After so much walking around it was nice to sit down and put my feet in the cool water of the fountain.
We stopped by for a quick hello with Abraham Lincoln. This memorial always impresses me with it's sheer size and how it feels like walking into a church. You feel like you should be reverent in his presence.
A beautiful sunset at the Washington DC mall
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was also one I had never seen before. I'm glad I got a quick look before it got too dark. What a great memorial to a great man!
We ran into a good friend from Hyrum's medical residency days. Jason was one of 6 residents in Hyrum's year and we really got to love he and his wife over the 3 years we lived in Washington State.
We explored around the Reading Terminal market and got some lunch. It was fun to look at all the different food from all parts of the world.
We went to a Janis Joplin tribute show. It was an OK show but it was mostly fun to watch the audience members (mostly over 60) sing along to all the songs and sometimes even get up and dance:)
We rented a couple of bikes and rode along the Wissahickon Gorge/Forbidden Drive. This was a gorgeous dirt biking and walking trail. Another beautiful sunny day and a bike ride through the forest, what more can you want?
There aren't many covered bridges left standing anymore so it was fun to come across one while we were biking the trail.
The covered bridge from the outside
There were lots of fun little spots to explore along the trail
Hyrum posing with the famous Native American statue along the Wissahickon river. We trekked through some sketchy dirt paths and up steep slopes to find this guy who was very well hidden among the trees. The view from the top was amazing and I'm glad we persevered and found the 15 foot tall statue.
From the Wissahickon trail we biked over to Fairmont Park. You can see the Philly skyline in the background. It was a long day of biking but we got to see some really interesting things.
We took a tour of the Barnes Foundation Art Museum. So many wonderful pieces of artwork and a beautiful museum to walk around
This was a fun little street to explore. Elfreth's Alley is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country. The homes were built between 1720 and 1830. It was a fun little walk back in time to walk long this street.
We waited around a bit to get a photo with no tourists:)
Walking along the waterfront and looking across the river into New Jersey
Saw the inside of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul.
We saw a concert at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. It was a "POPS goes to Hollywood" concert and it was so much fun. Music from great movies but my favorite was a medley they did from the movie The Incredibles!
We ended our time in Philadelphia walking around South Philly's 9th Street Italian Market. It's a fun outdoor market with lots of fruits and veggies and lots of Italians;)
Had to try a famous cheesesteak "wit wiz" at Pat's in South Philly. I thought it was delicious but Hyrum didn't like the cheese wiz.
Don't mess with the Italians in Philly:)
What a great city to explore! I loved the history and culture of Philadelphia. You can tell the people here are proud to be from this city and their roots go deep in the communities. I loved learning about American history and seeing the actual buildings that stood witness to so many great moments. I loved all the fun shows we could see and the yummy food we ate. Mostly I'm just glad to spend a few days with my husband relaxing! Hyrum flew back to Portland after our trip but I went on to spend a few weeks in Europe...but that's for another post:)
