Philadelphia

We had a lot of fun in Philadelphia. It was probably the most relaxing part of the trip and the funniest. This is the place in the trip where Clifford decided that "something or someone" was going to get us. Every time we started to do something he would tell us something was going to do something to someone. It was so funny. Traci and I about cracked up. First we walked through Chinatown and it was "Some young guy" who was after us and it went down hill from there. He is so damn funny. This top picture is Cliff and I in front of Independence hall where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were signed. Like I said this part of the trip we chilled and so I had to take this picture of the cool Hookah bar for my big kids!!

This picture if the best representation of Philly yet. This girl was so funny. This is the little hole in the wall that was recommended to us for our first real Philly Cheese steak. It was called Sonny's and we were fumbling around trying to order our sandwich's when she said . Are you from out of town? And we said yes, and she said "In Philly you say give me a "SteakWhiz" She was so Philly and had such an accent. When I asked her if I could take her picture, she got all embarrassed and said "You want a picture of me?" She was so cool!
This was my Philly Cheese steak and I had it with Provolone cheese instead of Cheese Whiz so now I know it's a "white steak with" the with is cause it has mushrooms onions and peppers.
Our hotel which was really old (early 1800's) and very cool. Our room was just beautiful. They were slow so they upgraded us to a suite that looked out over this street. The only bad part was no parking anywhere so we had to drag our bags from parking garage a block away.
This is the cab that was Traci's first cab ride. Now she is a cosmopolitan girl!!
Some of the beautiful architecture in the city. There were so many beautiful old buildings and all were so ornate. Really reminded me of New York City in a small way, at least the buildings downtown.
This is an old grave yard from the 1600's. 5 of the signers of Declaration of Independence are buried here including Benjamin Franklin. There were many beautiful old grave markers from forever ago. Very humbling to walk through here and realize the sacrifice of these people. Just a beautiful city with great energy.
This flag hangs on the wall of the Betsy Ross house. She was a boarder at this house when she sewed the first flag. Since it was a treasonous act, she hid in a small back bedroom and worked on it at night. I can imagine it was very hard to see in the candle or lamp light. These people were incredibly brave to do the things they did.
This is the courtyard of the Betsy Ross house

This is the grave marker on Benjamin Francklin's grave. His wife is buried with him as she died the same year he did.
This is the chair that George Washington signed the Constitution in. They say it is valued at about 3.5 million dollars.

This is the room that they debated and signed both the Constitution and Declaration of Independence in . It is located in Independence Hall across the hall from the first federal Courtroom. They still have the cage that the accused had to stand in to be tried, That is where the phrase "To Stand Trial" comes from.
This is Constitution Hall and it is where the first Continental Congress met. The Senate on one floor and the House of Representative on the other. This is where the phrase "Upper and Lower House" comes from
Our graduation girl in front of the Liberty Bell.