Mike and Roxanne travel east

Philadelphia Sep 4, 2007

We hit the Delaware Turnpike at the tunnel and our toll here is $6.00. We continue on this road until the next toll sign and then get off and take U.S. 40. We have to cross the Susquehanna River into Delaware and here it costs us $15.00. This is getting ridiculous.

We find our campground and get set up. The campground is beautiful, pricey, but nice. We are looking out on a small pond complete with ducks.

We decide to drive into Philadelphia and see how much time we have to see the sights; it is only about 10 miles.

Another toll, this time $3.00 for the car. We find parking at the visitor center and are able to get tickets for Independence Hall just 30 minutes from the time we pick them up. So out the door we go.

We have to walk right pass the Liberty Bell Center, so we rush in to look at it. The exhibit hall builds you to the climax of the bell at the very end and it does not look like it is nearly 300 years old. The colors are bright and everyone seems to want their picture taken with it. It was difficult to get a picture of just the bell.

From here we zip over to Independence hall and get there just as they are letting our timed group in.

We are on a guided tour of the Hall, which starts in the East Wing, then moves into the Hall itself. Here we get to stand in the court area and then we move across the hall to the Assembly Room where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were penned. In this very room stood, Washington, Madison, Franklin and many others.

We are then invited to visit the West Wing, which houses the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

You could spend days exploring Philadelphia but we choose to do only the Bell and Independence Hall. Who knows, we may be back and then we can do some of the other things.

It is back across the bridge and return to the RV. We look for a grocery store but don't find one, will look again tomorrow. We will finish up left-overs tonight.