Just before the 4th of July, The Nomads met up with some old family friends – The Smiths. They are the perfect complement to our quintet. They are a family of 5 with all boys and they are the same age as our Nomadic sons. On top of that, the parents are great to spend time with and their sons are fantastic representatives of what a true friend should be. Venturing with them is fairly effortless.
The Smiths were heading this direction to go and visit family. On the way, they were going to stop off in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With us not seeing them since we departed Texas and them being about 2 hours away, we had to meet up with them. So, we trekked to Philly on July 2nd for a Philly Independence Tour.
Let me share a few things with you. First, going to Philly on a 4th of July weekend will find you in a more crowded scenario than you would commonly be in. The state that boasts Independence in its motto and which was so instrumental in the declaring of independence of the United States from Britain has a lot of visitors on the 4th of July weekend. We were there on the 2nd and it was crowded. Although, part of it may have been the free food. They were giving away free food and bottled water in downtown Philly. That always draws crowds. The rest was clearly to celebrate our independence in the state where our Declaration of Independence was signed. Oh another tidbit, parking prices are reasonable below the Visitor’s Center. That is where we parked. It is about $14 or $15 for the day.
We parked and we visited a plethora of places. These include Independence Hall, where we learned that the Declaration of Independence was actually finished by July 2nd. But, all states were not present to sign it. We visited buildings that housed Congress, the Senate and other forms of early government.
After we toured the buildings that were utilized for our central government’s functionality, we expanded out. We visited the Liberty Bell, Franklin Square, the oldest neighborhood that is still standing in the United States, Betsy Ross’s House as well as grave site of Mr. Benjamin Franklin.
The Nomads and The Smiths had a great time exploring the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence on Independence Day weekend. It was insightful, entertaining and educational. If you can adjust to the crowds, I would suggest that you make plans to visit Philly around the 4th of July. I would suspect that you will have a historically fantastic time as well. Oh, and by the way, check out Jim’s to get a Philly Cheese Steak. Tell them “1 American with” and you will be happy. Safe Travels.
