Spring Break Vacation 2008 Day 2

We almost lost this entry from Jeanne's journal as a gust of wind blew the paper out of our van and into a puddle. Thankfully, the entry was salvaged!

March 14, 2008

Today, we stayed in Philadelphia. We returned to Independence Hall. We were able to get tickets to the 10:20 tour. Apparently, the Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 2nd but was printed on the 4th. Bob and I decided that the 2nd was a Saturday and government being government, they needed to move it to Monday to get a holiday.

10 minutes before the tour was to start, Brian needed to go potty. He had to hold it in until after the tour. I took him to a bathroom while Bob, TJ and Jason toured Congress Hall. After we reconnected, we had lunch at a food court next to the Independence Hall.

We went and mailed our post card and letter at Ben Franklin's Post Office and wend toward the National Constitution Hall. We stumbled upon the US Mint. TJ and Mom went on the tour while Bob, Jason and Brian played on the lawn.

We went into the Constitution Hall which was having an exhibit on baseball - we had to drag TJ out of it.

There was a very interesting "multi-media" presentation about the Constitution. Brian and Jason found it scary. The exhibit had lots of hands on exhibits which were interesting. Brian and Jason liked pressing the buttons.

At the end, we all signed the Constitution and left for the day.

Bob's favorite was Independence Hall and so was mine.

TJ's favorite was the US Mint

Brian and Jason liked playing baseball on the lawn.

What fascinated Bob and myself was how many National Park Rangers remembered us from the day before.

We ate at the Crossroads Diner in Delaware and stayed at the Hampton Inn in Hanover, Maryland.



TJ snapped a whole bunch of pictures that day, so I'll upload a few more. Here's a photo of Chuck, our tour guide through Independence Hall and Congress Hall:

Here's a photo of the chair which George Washington sat at as president of the Constitutional Convention. As the debates raged on, Ben Franklin gazed upon the emblem on the top of the chair and lamented that he cound not determine whether the sun was a rising sun or a setting sun. Finally, when the differences among the delegates were ironed out, he stated that he now, indeed, could see that it was a rising sun: