Philly with Katie

I don't know how many pictures our family will have at the liberty bell, but as time goes on, our family will grow and the kids will get older.  I guess you can't really have too many pictures of the same thing.  Besides, Eliza is cute enough that any pictures of her are fun to look at. 

Katie and I managed to find a parking spot at the train station that cost only $1.00 for 15 hours of parking - almost unheard of around here.  We took the train down into the city. 

 

 

Upon arriving in the city, Katie spotted the biggest Ross store she has ever seen.  Of course, we had to stop.  An hour later (after only looking through a small portion of the store), we headed towards the Independence Hall visitors center.  We watched a few movies on the history of the area, Katie posed with a Patriot, and signed her name to pledge independence. 

Then we headed over to the liberty bell. 

 

We simply couldn't leave the city without first enjoying a Philadelphia cheesesteak.  Our tour of Independence Hall wasn't until the close to closing time, so we hopped on the Phlash bus to see the other side of the city.  Eliza was our navigator. 

We jumped in the love fountain to cool off.  Eliza wasn't too sure about getting in at first...

But... she eventually warmed up to the idea

And enjoyed the cool effect of the water (It was sooooo HOT!)

We can't leave the city of brotherly love without taking a picture by the Love statue

We also signed our names on the gigantic ball.  Unfortunately at this time I can't remember what the ball was for. 

Kiddie corner from the love statue is a tall building.  The name of the building is escaping me right now, but they have a lot of unique statues out in front.  Where else can you find over sized Sorry and Monopoly pieces??

We snagged a glance at the Holocaust memorial.

Then, it was back on the Phlash bus and over to Independence Hall for our tour.  Eliza's only nap for the day was the 30 minutes we waited for the bus to pick us up at the stop and drop us off in front of Independence Hall.  I think she may have normally slept through the tour, but our tour guide had the loudest speaking voice I have ever heard.  It was like he was yelling into a microphone, except he wasn't.  He didn't even have a microphone, and I still had to cover my ears.  Although he spoke with little expression, you can't complain that you couldn't hear him.  Needless to say, it woke Eliza up.  It's a good thing she is so cooperative most of the time - I tend to push her to her limits, especially when we have guests in town. 

 Inside Independence Hall

It was a quick day trip, but we saw what we needed to see.  Sometimes it's nice living so close to a big city that is so full of history.  I'm sure Eliza will visit many more times in her lifetime.