Here's a 11 second video shot in Independence Hall. Shown is one of the upper committee rooms. Who knows what kinds of decisions were made here? It was used as the meeting room for the Pennsylvania Assembly, plus a storage room and library for the Second Congress.

We started out our second day in Philadelphia with a bus tour of the city. We saw a number of historic and famous sites, including Wannamakers, one of the first department stores in the country, the Rodin Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and City Zoo. We got off the bus in the historic district and, upon the advice of DeeAnn's cousin, and visited the National Constitution Center (and incredible museum--highly recommended).

After the museum, our hungry button stated to kick in, so we walked down to Jim's Steaks in South Philadelphia to enjoy a wonderful cheesesteak sandwich, DeeAnn'e first. Very good!

It was fun to wander the streets, and make note of some of the plaques here and there commemorating some historic event, place or person. There is a certain charm to the various neighborhoods around the city.

After some more walking around we made a quick trip through some of the American Library Association exhibits, and ended back at the hotel followed by a delicious dinner at the Melting Pot. We highly recommend the spinach artichoke cheese fondue.

Mondays was mostly spent seeing the exhibits at the American Library Association conference.


We walked over to Chinatown and found a nice little restaurant to enjoy a very authentic Chinese meal. After that, we went back to the motel, gathered up our luggage and departed for the airport. For the most part, the flight was uneventful.

It was fun to spend time in this city, to appreciate the history and food of the area. We look forward to returning someday.

We made it to Philadelphia!

We left on a Friday from Salt Lake City and flew to JFK airport in New York. Expecting an hour layover, it ended up being about four hours. And there were lots of people that made people watching lots of fun. Listening to the public address system and where different flights were headed was enlightening, flights leaving for nearly anywhere in the world. We didn't see much, but were able to catch a nice sunset.

Well, we finally made it to Philadelphia, got checked into the hotel (very nice), and grabbed a late night dinner. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott, which was very conveniently located near the convention center, Reading Terminal Market, and not too far from the historic district.

Our first day: We started off our adventure with an Amish breakfast in the Reading Terminal Market. The fresh sausage was wonderful! It was interesting to note some of the architecture in the city, such as the beautiful City Hall.

After breakfast, we ventured off to visit the Mutters Museum. This museum includes all sorts of medical oddities and strangeness. It was very informative but a little disturbing at times. It was located next to a very intriguingly church.

Speaking of architecture, there are a number of very tall buildings in the downtown area. This picture captures the feel of the streets.

Next, we went to the Franklin Institute. Ben Franlin's inventions and other science-related exhibits are showcased here, in a very-hands on museum geared toward children (of all ages).

There was a very cool Lego model of the city! Gee, gives me some ideas.

Not to forget the historic element of the city, we next turned to visit some historic buildings such as Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell.

The tour was not exactly wheelchair accessible, so these pictures were from the rooms upstairs.

And the historic Liberty Bell is displayed in a new building adjacent to the new visitors center. It's free to get into see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, but tickets are required. Fortunately, tickets were not required during January and February.

As we wandered the city, we ran across the Free Library of Philadelphia, the oldest public library in the country, lots of fountains and sculptures, and the site of Benjamin Franklin's home.

We also stumbled across the cemetery where Benjamin Franklin and his wife were buried. His headstone is recognizable, but unfortunately, most of the headstones in the cemetery can no longer be read due to the raves of time and weather. Oh, and we also stumbled on the home of Betsy Ross.
We finished our evening off with DeeAnn's cousin and his family. He found us a little German restaurant that met our criteria--they had room, and food.