New York Part 2 & Philadelphia
It's been a busy couple of days. Two days ago was New York Round Two. After our busy day before, we slept in a bit. We decided to rearrange our schedule a bit due to the forecast rain showers for the evening. We headed off first to the Empire State Building, arriving late-morning. On the way, I continued helping Edison figure out how to read the subway map and get us where we wanted to go. He really enjoyed the subway (they both did, really).
We all enjoyed learning about the building and going up to the 86th Floor observatory. We walked the whole way around the building as I pointed out all the sights to the kids. It was a good review of the day before and preview of the sights to come.
Lunch time was upon us. I had previously issued Edi a challenge that she couldn't eat more than two slices of New York pizza. We stopped in a little pizza joint and she learned her lesson ;)
Given the time, we decided to skip the Brooklyn Childrens Museum. We had wanted to go there in the afternoon but our sleeping in and based on our desire to get to bed at a reasonable time, we passed. We headed downtown and went to the World Trade Center site. They now have a visitor center and museum with artifacts from the site, models, movies, and other memories. It was there, I think, that the kids finally began to grasp the magnitude of what happened there.
We walked down to Wall St. We saw the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall. By the time we got there, Federal Hall was closed, but we got to see the outside and take pictures with the George Washington statue there.
We headed up to Times Square. It has really evolved over the years. I counted more than 25 giant TV's around the square, not including the now-color ticker tapes and other displays. We went into Toys 'R Us and enjoyed what, by some accounts, is the largest toy store in the world. Edi and the kids rode the several-story-tall ferris wheel in the middle of it.
For dinner, we hit the Hard Rock Cafe. Their new Times Square location is impressive. Among other neato things, they've got the original doors from Abbey Road. After the Hard Rock came our obligatory New York Cheesecake tasting. By that time, we were in a hurry, so instead of seeking out the very best, we just went next door and grabbed a piece. It was okay, but next time I think we ought to find something better.
We went back to the hotel and got a reasonable night of sleep before getting up fairly early to head to Philadelphia. We got on the road near the time we wanted to. We enjoyed the scenery on our way out of town, including our drive over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, still the largest suspension bridge in the United States (and one of the longest in the world).
We achieved our goal, arriving in Philadelphia in time to get tickets to the Independence Hall tour. We had several hours prior to that to explore the old city. We got Junior Ranger activity books for the kids and started with the Liberty Bell. From there, we decided to go to lunch. We had to have a real Philly Cheese Steak, including the cheese whiz! ;)
We stopped by the Market Street houses Ben Franklin built, saw where his print shop was, and enjoyed the museum there. From there, we headed to the Betsy Ross house. Betsy likely sewed the first United States flag there despite the dangerous circumstances at the time in Philadelphia.
We walked by the U.S. Mint, then by Franklin's grave, then back to Independence Hall for our tour. There, we saw the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and where the U.S. Constitution was debated and ratified. We also went to the Great Essentials exhibit where early copies of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and U.S. Constitution are on display.
I got the impression I was one of the very few visitors who really appreciated the thought that went into all of that history. I remarked, "Our ideological history is well preserved, boldly displayed in museums, but we fail to see it even while staring blankly at it before smiling for the picture." One of the park rangers seemed to relate to that thought.
We went back to the visitor center and Edison and Erin got their Junior Ranger badges. After hitting Subway for dinner, we headed up here to Allentown to rest.
Next: Crayola Factory, Hershey Chocolate World, and Hagerstown tonight... ;)
V-
We all enjoyed learning about the building and going up to the 86th Floor observatory. We walked the whole way around the building as I pointed out all the sights to the kids. It was a good review of the day before and preview of the sights to come.
Lunch time was upon us. I had previously issued Edi a challenge that she couldn't eat more than two slices of New York pizza. We stopped in a little pizza joint and she learned her lesson ;)
Given the time, we decided to skip the Brooklyn Childrens Museum. We had wanted to go there in the afternoon but our sleeping in and based on our desire to get to bed at a reasonable time, we passed. We headed downtown and went to the World Trade Center site. They now have a visitor center and museum with artifacts from the site, models, movies, and other memories. It was there, I think, that the kids finally began to grasp the magnitude of what happened there.
We walked down to Wall St. We saw the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall. By the time we got there, Federal Hall was closed, but we got to see the outside and take pictures with the George Washington statue there.
We headed up to Times Square. It has really evolved over the years. I counted more than 25 giant TV's around the square, not including the now-color ticker tapes and other displays. We went into Toys 'R Us and enjoyed what, by some accounts, is the largest toy store in the world. Edi and the kids rode the several-story-tall ferris wheel in the middle of it.
For dinner, we hit the Hard Rock Cafe. Their new Times Square location is impressive. Among other neato things, they've got the original doors from Abbey Road. After the Hard Rock came our obligatory New York Cheesecake tasting. By that time, we were in a hurry, so instead of seeking out the very best, we just went next door and grabbed a piece. It was okay, but next time I think we ought to find something better.
We went back to the hotel and got a reasonable night of sleep before getting up fairly early to head to Philadelphia. We got on the road near the time we wanted to. We enjoyed the scenery on our way out of town, including our drive over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, still the largest suspension bridge in the United States (and one of the longest in the world).
We achieved our goal, arriving in Philadelphia in time to get tickets to the Independence Hall tour. We had several hours prior to that to explore the old city. We got Junior Ranger activity books for the kids and started with the Liberty Bell. From there, we decided to go to lunch. We had to have a real Philly Cheese Steak, including the cheese whiz! ;)
We stopped by the Market Street houses Ben Franklin built, saw where his print shop was, and enjoyed the museum there. From there, we headed to the Betsy Ross house. Betsy likely sewed the first United States flag there despite the dangerous circumstances at the time in Philadelphia.
We walked by the U.S. Mint, then by Franklin's grave, then back to Independence Hall for our tour. There, we saw the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and where the U.S. Constitution was debated and ratified. We also went to the Great Essentials exhibit where early copies of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and U.S. Constitution are on display.
I got the impression I was one of the very few visitors who really appreciated the thought that went into all of that history. I remarked, "Our ideological history is well preserved, boldly displayed in museums, but we fail to see it even while staring blankly at it before smiling for the picture." One of the park rangers seemed to relate to that thought.
We went back to the visitor center and Edison and Erin got their Junior Ranger badges. After hitting Subway for dinner, we headed up here to Allentown to rest.
Next: Crayola Factory, Hershey Chocolate World, and Hagerstown tonight... ;)
V-