2007-04-10

Philly Day 2.1

Not too much to add. I really did like the market that we trekked to solely for the cheesesteaks. Reading Terminal Market has been housed in the same building since 1893. The historic building takes up a whole block. Supposedly the cheesesteak guy, Rick, is the grandson of the guy who invented the cheesesteak. Dunno about the accuracy of that statement, but it was a yummy cheesesteak all the same. With, of course (meaning with onions).

I think seeing the Liberty Bell was very cool, but it was a bit... distracting from the whole historic experience to have it housed in such a modern building (and passing through the border patrol security check to get to it). Now Independence Hall, on the other hand (same border patrol notwithstanding) was a much different experience. Standing in the same hall as Adams, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin... wondering what was going through their heads when they tried to plot a course for a nation to take, and create a charter that might be able to change with the times and still provide a firm guiding hand... it was awe-inspiring.

Oh yes, and Bahama Breeze was very cool as well. I had some exotic tropical mixed drink with two different kinds of rum, banana liqueur, and orange and pineapple juices in it. Mmmmmm.... I do recall the rest of the meal, really. Especially the overindulgence of the key lime pie at the end. Mmmmmm.... (Do you detect a trend in my vacation blogging? Should I watch more Rachel Ray reruns?)

Have you ever wondered where the phrases "Upper-Case" and "Lower-Case" came from? Well, as the friendly typesetter at Ben Franklin's newspaper publishing shop explained to us, this was where the letters were stored: The capital letters were in the upper case, and the small letters in the lower case. How's that for trivia?

Oh and apologies to Kevin, we didn't get to swing by Tun Tavern, the birthplace of the Marine Corps. It's on the map but not nearby where we were traversing. We are going to try and stop by the Washington Crossing park and Valley Forge before we head out tomorrow.

The girls' behavior hasn't really been conducive to our getting much sleep, nor has it encouraged us to look forward to spending two more nights in hotels this trip. We're seriously considering just day-tripping back to Baltimore for Thursday's trip to the Aquarium and that night's Oriole's game. Even if we have to pay a penalty for cancelling at this late date...

No comments: