Philadelphia

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” -Declaration of Independence, 1776

Sometimes in the middle of an election year and in the same year that a wildly popular musical about a lesser-known Founding Father comes to Chicago, you need to go back to where it all began. Thanks to some of our best friends moving to Philadelphia, we had the timely opportunity to visit the City of Brotherly Love.

The vacation was fantastic for several reasons: Adaline was a terrific traveler, we had fantastic hosts, and it was new territory for both of us to explore.

We arrived Wednesday evening and quickly caught up with the Robinson’s over, what else, cheesesteaks. The next day they had work and school so we loaded up the stroller and discovered that the city was fantastically walkable. They lived near the Schuylkill River but it was a short walk to some of the oldest buildings in the United States. We saw Masonic temples, town halls (with the William Penn on top), and LOVE signs. Turns out the Liberty Bell had been rung more than once (why did Mr. Bluth think that it broke on its first ring? Did “National Treasure” say that? Beats me). Grabbed tickets to a tour of Independence Hall. Saw the building where the first Supreme Court met. Saw names from textbooks and names from the aforementioned musical all over the place: Lafayette, Hamilton, Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington.

Our tour guide gave a fantastic and thought-provoking tour of Independence Hall. We were reminded that there was a lot of doubt and uncertainty going into the creation of this new nation. Also reminded that this new nation was not a rising sun for everyone that lived within its borders. Another park ranger put great perspective on Washington’s last action in office. By leaving office peacefully, he was teaching the nation how to say goodbye. People didn’t just give up power back then. And that message was spread through the rest of the world.

I could write entire posts about food. Let’s just emphasize a few things:

-Donuts. Chicago is a donut city. The Pennsylvania Dutch donuts in Reading Terminal rival anything in Chicago.

-Cheesesteaks. Glad we tried them.

-Food carts. Why do we not have these in Chicago?? They were fantastic and so cheap. Hotdogs or chicken over rice. I’m a simple man and these carts were perfect.

-Waffles. One with chicken, one with Nutella, one with Oreo. And loaded potatoes.

You know what we did in Friday? Kept exploring! Yes Philadelphia is small compared to Chicago, but there is so much history. We met up with our hosts at their work/school at the University of Pennsylvania for some food cart lunches. Some of the buildings were older than our country. We walked up and down the central quad and avenue. The students were out and there was learning in the air.

Soon we wandered back towards the birth of our nation downtown where we found a park with sparkly, Shakespearean clothed musicians. (Or maybe they were sparkly musketeers?) We found Benjamin Franklin’s home. Strangely they also marked where his privy out back was. We found the church where many of the Founding Fathers worshipped. We remembered the sacrifice of many at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington Square. Did we go back for more donuts? I wish we had. Instead we got some blueberry bread that we used for French toast on Sunday.

Saturday: See next blog post.

On Sunday, we attended the local branch which was in a brand new building which was across from the brand new temple. There was no carpet on the walls in the church! It helped remind me why we invest in these expensive and beautiful buildings. Because it eliminates distractions and fosters a great environment for more introspection and soul-searching. After another cheesesteak, we found Rocky’s statue. The line for a picture with the statue was much longer than the line to enter the museum that the iconic stairs lead to. And after wandering the riverwalk, our trip came to an abrupt end. Too soon.

We are grateful for the opportunity to pursue happiness and we’ll be back!