Historic Sight Seeing in Philadelphia

Back in August-- I know, I know I'm incredibly behind-- we went downtown to check out some historical sights.

Here we are standing across the street from Independence Hall.

When we first got downtown we had to get tickets for the tour of Independence Hall. The soonest we were able to go was 2pm so we found some other things to do while we waited.

First up, Liberty Bell:

The line to see Liberty Bell was pretty long, but it moved quickly so we really didn't have to wait long. The Liberty Bell originally hung in the steeple of Independence Hall and cracked the very first time it was rung. When the Declaration of Independence was read, bells all over the city were rung. However, I was a little disappointed to find out that more than likely the Liberty Bell wasn't even rung when the Declaration of Independence was read, but apparently it remains the symbolic bell of our country's independence from Great Britain or any other country for that matter.

We found this statue of some guy named Commander Barry, the kids wanted to take a picture in front of him.

 After googling his name (thanks iphone) we found out he is credited as being the "Father of the American Navy."

Next, we decided to go to the cemetery where Benjamin Franklin and a few other Founding Fathers were buried. When we got there the church that owns the cemetery gave us a scavenger hunt to find several headstones of some of the Founding Fathers.

 There was a really neat feeling in the cemetery. Some of the headstones were so old that there was no longer any engravings on them. Some original markers had been replaced with new ones so people could see who was buried there. Below is a picture of us next to Benjamin Franklin's grave site.

We found all the headstones for the Founding Fathers on our scavenger hunt that were buried in the cemetery but there were a few that were buried a few blocks away on the church's grounds so we walked there next to find the rest.  I'm glad we did because the church was really neat (I just wish I remembered the name of it).

When we first got to the church we walked around the outside and found the remaining sites for our scavenger hunt, then went inside so Kobe could get his prize.

It was a cool pencil and a flag pin, well worth the effort! Then we walked into the church. 

 It was beautiful inside!

 Thanks to a wonderful volunteer, we found the pew that George Washington sat in every Sunday.

The lady then showed us the bell that hung in their steeple in the late 1700s.  This bell definitely rang when the Declaration of Independence was read and still works today. Lilian was able to ring the bell to test it out!

After some lunch it was finally time to tour Independence Hall. 

A view from the back.

First we went into a room they used as a court room.

 Check out that black cage in the middle. That's where they kept whoever was on trial.

After the courtroom we went into THE room.

THE room where the Founding Fathers met, deliberated and eventually wrote and signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. It was really awesome to be in the same place that so much good happened. I know that those men were chosen inspired by God, and I could feel that in this room.

A family picture to help us remember our great day!

It really was a great day spent seeing some things that are at the foundation of this great country.  If only everyone could remember the amazing things that happened to help form our free country!