The Little People On Tour

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012:

Today, the Little People and I went somewhere I have never been! Philadelphia.

I had originally planned to take them to Williamsburg, VA for a couple days, but after researching some of the costs and realizing that the more cost-effective way to see Williamsburg is visiting for over 3 days (and not having 3 days worth of time), I opted for visiting a new place...that was only an hour and a half from my aunt and uncle's house.

If you have followed my blog for any length of time (or read a few of my past posts), you have hopefully begun to realize that I love history.

And Philadelphia...it's jam-packed with history!

We started out the day by parking under the Visitors' Center. As of this trip, I am now a huge fan of parking garage's. Leave Mr. Darcy in one place for an entire day...a place that is NOT the side of a busy street...yes, I think I will!

Since the Liberty Bell was right across from the Visitors' Center, it was the logical first stop. Thankfully, there was no line to get in (in the time it took us to leave, the line stretched around the building!), and we were able to view the bell without too many jostling people.

FYI: There are security guards here too...(which I had read on the website)...I had made the LPs empty their bags prior to leaving the parking garage!

We enjoyed strolling through the exhibits, but of course, the main attraction was the Liberty Bell.

Our next stop was Independence Hall. The LPs said they really did not want to walk through it, so I did not bother getting tickets...however, if you ever visit, make sure you obtain tickets at the Visitors' Center in order to gain access to Independence Hall.

Of course the most logical choice to stop after walking past Independence Hall is the restrooms. But following that, we voted to go visit the Christ' Church Cemetery.

Even though I had researched the Cemetery, I had not found out that one must pay to gain access! After paying the attendants $2 for myself and $1 per LP, the guy tried to point us in the direction of Benjamin Franklin's grave.

He was rather taken aback when we said we weren't here to see Franklin's grave but asked instead to see our ancestor's grave, Benjamin Rush.

We walked through the cemetery, stopping to read various tombstones and markers. The kids were very well-behaved, and we enjoyed the stroll.

On the way to the cemetery, we had been accosted by several people asking if we would like to take a tour of Philly. I had already been planning on offering the kids some options for tours, and after they heard my options, which do you think they choose?


1. A carriage ride tour.
2. A duck-boat tour.
3. A double-decker hop-on-hop-off bus tour.

My savvy little people decided to go with option number 3!

We sat on the top of the bus (of course!), and I got sunburned. The bus tour was great! They drive past multiple historic places. The tour guides are very informative and even got the kids involved by asking them questions.

And the best part? You pay one fee...then ride as much as you want, getting off as much as you want, and just hop back on at one of the 27 stopping points. All day.

Mind you, the only place the kids wanted to get off at was the zoo (which did NOT happen). But we were able to see and learn about Philadelphia...and one tour guide even showed me one of the better areas to stop off to feed the LPs!

Oh, and I introduced them to a delectable new food (to them): The Philly CheeseSteak.

All in all, the tour of Philly was loads of fun. I can't wait to go back and visit the city (and spend more time hopping on and off).

One more post to go for this trip: Are We There Yet? will wrap up the road tripping adventures of last week, and it promises to include some awesome tips about traveling with kids!
:)