ME: 8/4/07 Philly before Lunch

Getting to Philly from New Jersey looked so easy on the map, but the exits on the New Jersey Turnpike are not marked with numbers for roads that match anything on the map, so it was pretty tricky. We finally just took an exit labeled with a city that was waaaaaay south of where we wanted to go, crossed over a bridge ($6 toll) that took us into Pennsylvania, and then drove north and north and north some more to get to where we really wanted to go. Thank goodness for my iPhone to help double check where we were and where we were going. Too bad I didn't pull it out earlier.

We arrived in Philly, phinally, and parked under the new National Park Service Welcome Center. Wowser! What an information center!!! Marty got a map of everything we could possibly want and some nice directions from the ranger and we headed off to see the Liberty Bell.

But wait! On the way was a cool place to see. Archaeologists are digging down underneath what was once the President's house (back when the nation's capital was Philly not DC). It wasn't much to look at (it's was literally a hole in the ground), but it was fascinating to think about what they were finding and learning.





When I was a kid, we came through here and saw the Liberty Bell. It was sitting out in the lobby of Independence Hall (or one of those buildings). Now it has its own building. In the displays telling history and background, they had souveniers from different eras. I need to find the miniature Liberty Bell I got when I was a kid. I think it's nicer than what they had on display. Maybe I'll donate mine to the National Park Service.