Second day in Philly or Sep. 12

We left Valley Forge pretty early and got to Philadelphia before nine. We went over to see the Liberty Bell first of all. It was okay. Mostly just a bell with a crack in it.

We toured the Constitution Center, a new multi-media museum in Philly that is AWESOME. My only complaint is that they didn’t let us take pictures (if we wanted a picture taking the oath of office, you had to pay for it. Lame.) There were videos, touch screens, audio telephones, and many other things chronicling the history of the constitution and how it applies to us individually and as a people. It was very well done. I imagine that more new museums will be structured like this in the future in order to satisfy the A.D.D. video game generation too restless to read paragraphs on the wall.

We toured Independence hall next, the building where they signed the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution. It was cool to see the building even though the only thing that was original is Washington’s famous chair with a “rising sun” on it. And the fact that National Treasure filmed a bunch of scenes there. Our tour guide looked like Benjamin Franklin, but told us that he actually impersonates John Adams. (Apparently there are a lot of Ben Franklin impersonators in Philly. Whoda thunk?)

Then we had a few hours of free time. We went to go get real Philly cheesesteaks at a place called “Jim’s.” We heard that really Philadelphians had their steaks with steaming hot Cheese Whiz instead of slices. Being fearless, I accepted the challenge. It was very good and greasy. See the picture below.

We wandered back and see a few other historical sites. Benjamin Franklin’s grave, the tomb of the unknown soldier of the American Revolution, the old town hall, and the first house of the Supreme Court. We went back to the visitors’ center and leisurely perused the gift shops (something that was actually very refreshing).

As I was ordering a yogurt parfait with fresh raspberries to keep my blood sugar up, (I had almost fallen asleep in the History Channel documentary we went to.) I heard a woman scream behind me. I turned around just in time to see a large black woman face plant on the cement floor and start seizing. She was with a group and it sounded like she has had seizures before, but it was still chaos for a few minutes. I decided to stay out of it. I told the clerk behind the desk to call 9-1-1 and in about four minutes the paramedics were there and she had relaxed a little. I won’t forget the sound of her hitting the floor. The most terrifying part of the whole thing was how powerless and shocked everyone was. It took a second for everyone to figure out what to do. At first we just watched her, and then realized that we needed to help. The question was, how? What is there to do, but call for help and wait for them to come. She already had people around her, holding her on her side, and people directing traffic away. I felt a responsibility, but I also felt that sticking around would have been less helpful. So I left.

After a great, greasy pizza dinner, we got on the bus and our professor’s nine-year-old son announced the movie we would be watching on the ride home with an acre-long grin on his face: “National Treasure.” The bus exploded! We have all been aching to see National Treasure since we got here. N. Cage cavorts all around D.C. and Philadelphia and we have been almost everywhere he goes! We saw independence hall and the liberty bell today, but it was almost cooler to see them on the movie again! Because we’d just been there!

Independence Hall. The building in which they (the founding fathers) signed the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution.

Ind. Hall after messing on my computer.

Abby and I in front of the great American symbol of freedom, the Liberty Bell.

This picture is hilarious, so I left it in. Scroll down to see what it was supposed to look like.

Chatting with the lifesize statues of members of the Constitutional Convention.

Waiting to go into Independence hall. (l-r Mark Williams, Prof. Goodliffe, Elder Ellsworth)

Prof. Goodliffe's adorable son, Ben. He was sharing all of his goldfish with the starving college students.

These two college students decided to reward Ben for being so generous. They ate their goldfish like synchronized raptors/dinosaurs. Ben loved it.

Our tour guide who looked like Benjamin Franklin but actually impersonates John Adams.

In the room where the Constitution was written.

Sepia version of sitting-on-a-bench-in-the-building-where-the-Supreme-Court-first-met

My genuine Philly Whizsteak

My traveling buddies. (l-r Rachel, Jennifer, Leslie, Abby)