East Coast Adventures: Philadelphia

After I was done reuniting with my classmates and spending time with family in Delaware, I headed up to Philadelphia for a couple of days.

Philly will always have a special place in my heart because it was the closest "big" city to where I grew up. When I was in grade school, we lived in Wilmington, DE during the United States Bicentennial, and in 1976 I took my first trip to see the place democracy started in our country. I distinctly remember the Liberty Bell, which at that time was outside just across the mall from Independence Hall.

The little Liberty Bell in the bottom left corner is a ceramic bank circa 1976! What a coincidence!

 This is the first time I've revisited the historic sites in the city, and a lot has changed over the years in a good way. The Liberty Bell is now enclosed in a beautiful new visitors center  and Independence Hall in undergoing some exterior renovation. As luck would have it, I picked a great day to do things inside, because it poured rain at one point. But wet or dry the historic part of Philadelphia is more beautiful than I remembered it.

The next day, I visited some popular tourist sites in the city for the very first time. That day the weather was hot and sunny, so Boathouse Row was the right place to start the day.

Set along the east bank of the Schuylkill River, Boathouse Row is home to all the local collegiate and social rowing clubs.  If you follow the walking path further into Fairmount Park, you get gorgeous views of the river, and if you walk far enough you get the Philadelphia skyline in the background!

After Boathouse Row, I headed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is probably most famous for the iconic steps Sylvester Stallone ran up in the first Rocky movie. They even have a Rocky statute just off to one side of the bottom of the steps and a bronze plaque at the top exactly where Rocky stood at the end of his run. More importantly, you get a great view  straight down Market Street right to City Hall.

Philly is a fantastic sports city, so I couldn't leave without taking in a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. The Boston Red Sox were in town, so the game was sold out, the crowd was great and most importantly -- the Phillies won!

I crammed a lot into two days -- maybe that calls for a cheesesteak?