Philadelphia

We drove from New York to Philadelphia, spent the day, and then drove to Geoff's brother's home in Northern Virginia.  The old Colonial part of Philly is beautiful.  But overall we felt it was/is a missed opportunity.  With its rich past, important characters and significant events the state and/or government and/or managing leadership hasn't caught on how to make it a meaningful experience to visit the sites, especially for children.  The girls were dreadfully bored on the tour of Independence Hall, the visitor center's movie was a snoozer, and the lines to see the liberty bell were long, and out in the cold.  Having been to several places from the same period of history, we felt it a tragedy that they haven't made it more engaging.  Having said that, we dragged our kids through the necessary sites of Philadelphia, ate dinner at the famous City Tavern, wished we had time to stop at Valley Forge and Geoff's dad's childhood home, and drove on.

Independence Hall

This is where freedom all started

Looking at the Liberty Bell through the window instead of standing in line?  Good enough

City Tavern

A sample of Philadelphia's great architecture