It was really fascinating being in a building where the founders of our country made many decisions and where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Some of the pieces of furniture that we were able to see was actually used by our founding fathers. We really did have a great guide, although I don't know how good the other guides were. He kept everyone interested and made the information where a adults and children alike were able to understand. This was so much better than just reading about the founding of our nation. This made it so real for all of us.
We took a quick tour of the Liberty Bell. The history of the bell is a bit of an interesting one. I won't go into here, mostly because I have forgotten some of it and I don't feel like double checking what I remember.
We were going to stop by a cemetery where many of the men who were involved with the founding of our nation. However, they were going to charge us, which I think is outrageous. So we managed a pic of one of the grave markers.
One thing that we managed to do was not pay attention to where we parked. We had a general idea but weren't sure exactly where. We basically speed-walked back the van in the light rain. We found the van with a few minutes to spare on the meter. It was a very educational and interesting visit to Philadelphia. We were quite tired and ready for our drive to New Jersey.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Philadelphia, the three hour tour, the three hour tour
Part 1:
On our way to NJ, we decided we would stop off in Philadelphia for some sight-seeing and history lessons. We drove around downtown Philadelphia trying to find a place to park our van and camper. Many parts of that drive were scary and quite uncomfortable. We looked like the only crazy people driving around that area pulling something. Many of the streets were narrow and packed. We finally find a place where we can park our camper and van all at the same place, metered parking. The day happened to be a lovely slightly overcast day, with a small amount of precipitation falling from the sky. We were able to leave the dogs in the van with no worry of them overheating. Randy put enough money in the meter for three hours, so we have to make sure we can find our way back by then. We have no clue where we are needing to go, so we just start walking back towards the town. This is our first experience going to any sort of a National Park and we don't know what to expect. With a few directions from passersby, we make it to the main area for information and to get tickets to go on a tour of Liberty Hall. What an experience just being in the building. It was so nice and full of information. There were people dressed in period costumes, a first for us. I didn't know exactly what they were there for, I didn't know if we should ask them questions or stare at them or ??? So, we took a picture or two and walked by. We had a ticket for all of us to go on a guided tour. We wandered around looking at the area and in some of the historic buildings. We made it to the line for the tour and waited for a bit. Our guide was an expert in our country's history and was quite a character himself.
On our way to NJ, we decided we would stop off in Philadelphia for some sight-seeing and history lessons. We drove around downtown Philadelphia trying to find a place to park our van and camper. Many parts of that drive were scary and quite uncomfortable. We looked like the only crazy people driving around that area pulling something. Many of the streets were narrow and packed. We finally find a place where we can park our camper and van all at the same place, metered parking. The day happened to be a lovely slightly overcast day, with a small amount of precipitation falling from the sky. We were able to leave the dogs in the van with no worry of them overheating. Randy put enough money in the meter for three hours, so we have to make sure we can find our way back by then. We have no clue where we are needing to go, so we just start walking back towards the town. This is our first experience going to any sort of a National Park and we don't know what to expect. With a few directions from passersby, we make it to the main area for information and to get tickets to go on a tour of Liberty Hall. What an experience just being in the building. It was so nice and full of information. There were people dressed in period costumes, a first for us. I didn't know exactly what they were there for, I didn't know if we should ask them questions or stare at them or ??? So, we took a picture or two and walked by. We had a ticket for all of us to go on a guided tour. We wandered around looking at the area and in some of the historic buildings. We made it to the line for the tour and waited for a bit. Our guide was an expert in our country's history and was quite a character himself.
Chocolate, Chocolate, mmmmm Chocolate
We managed to make it to Hershey's chocolate factory tour. It was a bit on the cheesy side but the kids enjoyed it. They show you how chocolate is made, starting with the cocoa bean all the way to the finished product. You should be able to see just about everything that we saw through all of the pictures that Randy took. The kids really enjoyed the tour. We also we given chocolate before the tour and after the tour, but Randy didn't get to enjoy his treat. They were giving dark chocolate away on the day we were there. He isn't a fan of dark chocolate so he gave his away, much to my delight. I was able to enjoy a double dose of chocolate. You didn't hear me complain.
We have enjoyed our stay at Hershey park Thousand Trails. The pool here is large!! It was a bit on the cool side, but the kids enjoyed it. We haven't been here very much but what we have has been fun. I wish we could extend our stay here a little longer but a very large RV show is happening in Hershey and the park is booked.
Now we are off to New Jersey.
We have enjoyed our stay at Hershey park Thousand Trails. The pool here is large!! It was a bit on the cool side, but the kids enjoyed it. We haven't been here very much but what we have has been fun. I wish we could extend our stay here a little longer but a very large RV show is happening in Hershey and the park is booked.
Now we are off to New Jersey.
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