The day started on foot and, as a group of four, we set out for Independence Visitors Center to check out the exhibits there and pick up reserved tickets for Independence Hall. True to form, we arrived early (this happened consistently as we found Philadelphia entirely walkable) and took the wait time to examine the outdoor President's House exhibit located between the visitor centre and Liberty Bell centre. The exhibits, a mixture of video and interpretive sign, were excellent and we got an especially poignant insight into the relationship between America's first President, George Washington, and the laws around slavery. As a frame of reference, this was told through the slaves he and Martha held. The slave "Hercules" (escaped "Chef" of Washington) deserves more research on my part.

When the visitor centre opened Janie gathered our tickets and we crossed the street to arrive at Independence Hall. The surrounding area of green space, referred to as a mall (like the Capitol area in DC), looked winter worn but we could imagine it being very park like in late spring and autumn. Independence Hall, signing place of the American Declaration of Independence, is operated by the National Park Service. We've come to expect excellent attention to information, detail, presentation, and conservation at these sites and Independence Hall was no exception. As we entered there was the obligatory security check, then through to the enclosed courtyard to view the front of the Hall (which now seems like the back as a busy street runs at the buildings original back). Holly, the Park Ranger and guide that met us, was an excellent source of info. We had time to "chat" and got to ask her about how she became a guide and how her job works. Had I grown up stateside I could really have seen this as being a potential career choice for myself.

Luckily, our tour slipped into the building just before the first school trip of the day. Thus, our small group of 20 or so got the full attention of the guide. Our tour included the legislative branch space (courtroom), the room where the Declaration work and signing took place, as well as a special (off-season) look at the upstairs of the building. Exhibits detailing important American women were also ongoing within park spaces during our visit, being International Women's month. Holly did a great tour and after complete, we spilled back into Chestnut Street.

Directly across the street is the Liberty Bell Center, and we queued very briefly for security and were quickly admitted (free to visit). Exhibits and interpretive information on this self guided visit detail the bell's history and significance. Once again, exhibits played on the ideals of liberty, how writing on the bell became a rallying cry for abolitionists and those in bondage, as well as pictures and words describing how it has become a symbol internationally for freedom. The liberty bell sits at the end of the building, as visitors line up to catch a glimpse, take a photo, or examine the famous crack. Janie and I visited here in 1993... and although my memory fails, it seems the bell was sitting in no more than a fancy "Bus Stop" at that time... so it seems to be better taken care of now. Interesting piece of Americana for sure.

I guess some 20 years ago, Janie and I met aboard the MV Scotia Prince at the fringe of Philadelphia, Penn's Landing, during a NS Tourism marketing expedition called Sea Sell. Philadelphia was one of the stops, and Penn's Landing was one of the docking sites. It is so named because the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, docked near here in 1682. On this trip, as we strolled through the "Old City", we came upon a somewhat worn but still memorable Penn's Landing (maybe a bit like ourselves). This area provides a great view of the Delaware River across to Camden, NJ. In the summer it's a very busy area, but peaceful on this day. We strolled the pier, watched the river, and relaxed in the shadow of the city.

Also located in the Penn's Landing area is the Independence Seaport Museum.  Nearly empty, we entered the museum having the building and staff seemingly entirely at our service.  It was a great tour, with a mixture of hands on exhibits (i.e. Monica liked playing with the submersible / ring activity at the museum start and finish... Peter got more than expected when he pulled a cord on a cannon... BOOM). Included we're exhibits on the War of 1812, a tugboat art exhibit, an active boat shop, history of disasters on the Delaware, and the added bonus of a full tour of a WWII / Cold War submarine.  Totally unencumbered by any crowd, we set our own pace. Great tour!  Further, within a block of Penn's Landing we came across several other impressive monuments, being the Irish Immigrant and Korean War Memorials, where we spent a few minutes.

We had supper at Reading Terminal Market.  This train station turned market is open daily, warehousing everything under the sun.  Bread, cheese, wine, fish, candy... the list goes on and on.  We arrived conveniently between lunch and supper, and were lucky to find a table at the "Down Home Diner" inside the market.  We ordered up three Philly Cheese steaks, a pulled pork sandwich (Monica) and, as Peter says, "Nommed" 'til everyone had enough.  All hands were hungry and enjoyed the fix.  Being about two blocks from the hotel, we headed back to relax for an hour or so before the big attraction for the day, NHL Sabres vs Flyers at Wells Fargo!

At about 6:00 pm we began our commute via Orange Line on the Philly subway (a block from our hotel).  We ended up a little confused first trip under... tokens/passes in the Philly subway don't seem popular!  We thought we bought tokens from a machine... But they were American dollar coins.  In the end, we paid half of what we were supposed to and hopped the fence.  However, by the trip home we had everything figured out.  It was about 8-10 stops from the start to AT&T Station where the Flyers, Sixers, Phillies and Eagles all have stadiums and call home.

We had picked up some Upper Bowl seats at a reasonable price and got into our spot early. This is a good idea in a stadium you don't know as it avoids dealing with "people in your seat" issues. Neat looking around... It's almost an event in itself.  Retired numbers of Clarke, Barber, Schultz and Parent, championship banners from the Broad Street Bullies in the rafters... pretty fun.  It felt similar to our trip to a game in Long Island.

We were treated to a very good game.  Home team out played the Sabres and pulled off a 3-2 win, the match a bit closer than it should have been due to sloppy goaltending.  We saw power play goals, a short handed marker, a good toe to toe with Simmonds handling his opponent (much to the crowds delight), scantily clad  ice girls (which didn't quite fit with coolness of the ice surface) and pretzels with pop/beer.  Fun night listening to the crowd and watching the goings-on.  On the way out we followed the mob and hit the subway in time to catch an express train back. After a very full day, combined with a "Spring Ahead" in daylight savings time, we cashed in!