Philadelphia Part Two

 Independence Hall!  

Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written here!  

It had the same reverent feeling as the Signers Hall.  We were led by a park ranger that seemed to know EVERYTHING about these two events.  In addition, he was endearing because he liked John Adams, telling how Adams was the driving force in pushing through the Declaration of Independence.  I don't think John Adams ever gets enough credit for his work to found our nation.

 Much of the outside of Independence Hall is under renovation, but here is a part we could see.  The guide said that great things happened inside the building, but the building itself was not a great structure--built cheaply so as not to overburden the citizens with taxes.

 The park service is justifiably proud of several documents they have on display.  Above: Washington's copy of the Constitution.  He made one change in it.  There was a mistake on a date and he changed it from 1708  to 1808.  I believe that would have been the date to end slave importation.

Below is Elbridge Gerry's working copy of the Articles of Confederation, with many scratchings out and changes. 

I couldn't get a good picture of their copy of the Declaration of Independence--the one that was read to the people of Philadelphia after copies were made.

We spent the rest of Wednesday afternoon in the African American museum with a wonderful docent who taught us about the African Americans in Philadelphia who struggled to earn freedom for the blacks.  An artist added the black couple to the front of John Trumbull's rendition of signing of the Declaration of Independence to show how some of the people in our country felt about their lack of freedom.  Three hundred of the 3,500 slaves in Philadelphia ran away from the homes where they were enslaved when the Declaration of Independence was written.

Somewhere in here there should be a picture of me in front of the Liberty Bell.  The batteries on my camera died just as I got my turn to stand in front of the bell.  Sometime, hopefully, I'll get pictures from my friend who took a picture on her camera for me. :)

In Macey's we listened to a short organ recital on one of the country's largest organs.  (Most people shopped, but I enjoyed the organ concert.)

 I couldn't get the picture any lighter.

 But on a "lighter note," we spend a happy half hour running up the stairs at the Museum of Art pretending we were Rocky.  Earlene and I are champions.

 Kara joins us in our triumphant pose.

 The art museum is a beautiful building.  I wish we could have seen the Rembrandt exhibit.

Rocky and me.

Wednesday was a more relaxed day physically.  We sat in a class all morning and learned about the Constitution Center's Website and enjoyed a class on political cartoons and primary sources. Our feet are marking the spot that shows when Utah entered the Union.

 We ate lunch at Reading's Food Market.  It is pronounced "redding" as is the Reading Railroad in Monopoly.  This was one of the most important facts I learned on the trip.  Reading Food Market had an amazing variety of foods, including an Amish bakery.  I abstained from treats until I found a gigantic eclair in their market on Wednesday--it had to have been 10-12 inches long.  We enjoyed our second cheese steak at the market.  Very delicious.

 In the afternoon a guide told us about the battle of Brandywine while we drove through the area.

It was a beautiful area covering 10-15 miles.

 One of the members of our crew had an ancestral home that was standing during the battle so we stopped to see the Brinton House.  The British camped out near their house and took many of their animals to feed their 11,000 men.

 Built in 1704.

 The fireplaces were huge.  This one is in the basement where the family spent most of their time.

One of the upstairs bedrooms.  I loved the lace canopy.

This house had several closets, which is so unusual for Colonial times.  I'm standing in front of one.

Dinner was at an Amish Smorgasbord.  The food was okay.  I loved the Amish quilts that were in the downstairs gift shop.  Isn't this one gorgeous? 

 We tried to see Amish country, but the sun was setting by the time we got to many of the farms.  Since they don't use electricity, the area was very dark.  Maybe some other time.