Thursday, November 21st

We arrived in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, yesterday afternoon.  Joe lives here, another friend that has come to Colorado to hunt for years and has stayed with us at the RV Park.  We went to Philadelphia today to check out all the historical sites there.  Wow!!  Crazy to have walked where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin walked SO long ago!   We drove into the city which wasn't too bad.  Parking with the big truck was a little tough but we got into the 2nd parking lot.  We walked to the Independence Visitor Center to kind of get a good plan for the day.  Our first stop was Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created.  We saw where they all sat and worked on it in the 1700s.  Crazy!  Next was the seeing the Liberty Bell. The bronze bell symbolizes freedom in the USA.  It was first cast in 1752.  It had cracked within the first year so they broke it down, melted it, added more copper to make it less brittle and re-cast it.  They rang the bell for important events during early American history.  It cracked again in 1835.  It was great to see that big, massive, old bell! 

Then we had a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich!  Had to get one of those while in Philly!  Yummy :)  On to Benjamin Franklin's Museum.  It was very interactive and interesting for the kids (and us!)  Not only was he a brilliant man, he was very generous and kind too.  Then off to the house of Betsy Ross.  We even got to meet her!  She's aged quite well.  Amazing that at age 24, George Washington came to her in her upholstery shop and asked her to sew the first American Flag! He had a drawing of it, but she also used her own creativity by putting the stars into a circle rather than in lines and by making them five points rather than six. 
 
We drove home in a some busy traffic and had a great home cooked meal with Joe and Nancy.  Another big day under our belts!    **Sara