Philadelphia is a pretty important city in our nation’s history. You can visit 15 national historic sites in just three blocks! Prior to Washington DC being the nation’s capital, Philly was where congress convened, where Washington was sworn in for his second term and where James Adams took over after Washington. The country held its breath as Adams became president because nothing like this had happened before- the trading of power usually involved murder or death.
We toured the Todd house, home to Dolly Todd who later became Dolly Madison. She lived there with her husband, John Todd, and her two younger sisters. They had two sons, but one died from yellow fever as did his father. Dolly’s mother had a boarding house and Aaron Burr was boarding there. He had a friend that fancied Dolly- James Madison- and they ended up getting married and she became our country’s fourth first lady.
At the other end of the block we toured Bishop William White’s house. He served at Christ Church where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin both attended. His family was well to do and he had a fabulous house. He loved to have dinner parties and both Washington and Franklin dined there. In the kitchen the guide mentioned that women’s long dresses would sometimes catch on fire while cooking and they could end up dying.
We went into the building to see where the first continental congress met to discuss how our government would be set up. At Independence Hall we saw where the Declaration of independence was signed, where congress first met and the original printed copy of the Declaration of Independence with all their signatures.
The Liberty Bell was the last thing we saw and we were able to walk right up without a line at the end of the day. No one knows when exactly it got its first crack, but it got it’s second crack after ringing all day long to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. They stopped ringing it after that. The material they chose isn’t conducive for a good quality bell, but the symbol it represents remains strong. They had many items on display with the liberty bell image and different groups over the years that have used the symbol in fighting for freedom- suffragists, abolitionists, etc
We enjoyed a wonderful colonial dinner served by wait staff in colonial attire while a harpist strummed out some lovely music. My mom ordered a pork chop and it was the size of her head! Rick had a yummy pot pie and I had trout. They served wonderful bread- Sally Lunn and some biscuits Thomas Jefferson loved. We loved them both and have since made both in the RV.
When in Philadelphia one MUST run up the stairs like Rocky! It was dark and raining, but I had to do it. Mom was right by my side and we bounded up the four flights of a dozen stairs and then a small flight of five more at the top just for good measure. Then my family showed up with an umbrella so they could take pictures. Jacob wanted to run so he went down to the bottom and Gramma joined him part way up. I went down a flight of steps so my photo could be taken. We were out of breath, but now we can say we did it. Gonna fly now...flying high now…great now the song’s stuck in my head.
