The 4th in Philly!

For our family vacation this summer, we decided to take a trip to Philadelphia--and what better time to go than our nation's birthday! We flew in on Thursday morning to 75 degree temps! This was quite a change from Houston where we've been in triple digits with a heat index of 111! We decided as soon as we got there, we were going to spend every moment possible outside. Philly is a beautiful city and perfect for walking everywhere we needed to go. Our hotel was in the museum/arts district. We scored a great room on the 14th floor overlooking Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Because the hotel is round, we actually had 2 balconies, perfect for watching all the weekend festivities. We spent Thursday afternoon in the Olde City. We saw Independence Hall and the liberty bell, then went to eat at City Tavern, the same place our founding fathers met to discuss our nation's beginning! Although the building had to be rebuilt by the historical society, we were seated on the bottom floor where the original brick floor still remains! Thursday evening we took the Lights of Liberty tour which recreates the events leading to the birth of our nation by projecting images on the historical sites while the dialogue plays through your headset. It was an amazing recount that got all all 3 of us fired up. Mom cried, I yelled, and Dad was ready to grab his musket and join the fight! Friday, we got in our car and headed to Lancaster County, home of the nation's largest Amish population. It was amazing to drive through the small towns, often having to slow down due to horse and buggies on the road, and seeing their simple life like laundry hung out to dry. The land is absolutely beautiful, and we had lots of fun meandering through the small towns. Saturday night, we stopped by the Karpiaks' home to have dinner. Scott was Dad's business partner when he worked for Schwab in Orlando. We enjoyed the nice weather while we ate hamburgers outside. It was really late when we left, and I fell asleep as soon as we got in the car to head back to the city. Mom and Dad made a spur of the moment decision to stop by the most popular place to be at midnight in Philly--Pat's and Geno's to get a cheesesteak. Both of the rival stands were hopping, and while I was sleeping in the car with Mom, Dad got up the courage to order at Pat's after lots of coaching from Scott and Margie-he only got yelled at once! With a little heartburn, we all got up Saturday morning to hit the 4th festivities. The parade in Olde City was lots of fun, and we spent the rest of the day watching the thousands of people make their way into town for the concert and firework show. We had a perfect view from the balcony of our hotel room and spent most of our time watching the show from the comfort of our room. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful trip for a family that sure is proud to be American!