Day 22 - 7/12

Today we spent our time in Independence National Park. There we saw many historical buildings that were part of the founding of our nation. We saw the Pennsylvania State House, or Independence Hall as it is more commonly called. This was the place where the founders signed the U.S. Constitution we still adhere to today. Many people think the process of drafting and implementing the Constitution was relatively easy. However, this idea is far from the actual events. The states had to compromise on many issues such as slavery, representation of the people and taxes. In fact, Madison, who organized the convention of the colonies, knew that he needed George Washington's presence to gather the delegates. Many of the men had great respect for Washington. This is also where the Liberty Bell is located. After playing Sousa's The Liberty Bell March in band, it was fun to see the actual bell.

For a time, Philadelphia also served as the nation's capital. We saw the rooms where the Senate and House of Representatives would meet. It was a lot less grandiose than the building they use today. Although, it was the site of where John Adams was sworn in as the second president. We also saw a tunnel and post office that Benjamin Franklin used. The post office is still in use today, so we sent a couple postcards for fun. We also saw a printing press where Park Rangers would show how it was used. They also made copies of the Constitution with the same typeset that was used when the Constitution was first printed.

We also saw the American Philosophy Society museum. This group was started by Franklin and had many objects that related to a theme of flight and dream. At first, the museum didn't make any sense at all, but after studying the explanations, I began to understand the gist. One of the objects was a prediction of the movement of Venus in the year 2004 and 2012. The book was written in the 1800's, but it was fun to see how they correctly showed how Venus would cross us. We also saw a portrait gallery of many significant figures ranging from Washington to Horatio Gates. Most of the paintings were by Charles Wilson Peale. They were excellent examples of American Portrait painting.

As a special treat, for dinner we went to Cosmi's deli and got some Philly Cheese steaks. When we unwrapped them, I was thrilled. The cheese was throughout integrated within the chopped steak. There was a lot more meat than what I was expecting. The first bite was absolutely perfect. After seeing many people on Food Network eat them and then rave about its taste, I knew I needed to try one as well. I'm glad I can now cross another item off my food bucket list.