Someone (I think Eric) had a great idea... let's go to Philadelphia for the day, over the 4th of July weekend. Since Philadelphia is only 100 miles south of us, we figured... what a perfect day trip!

I really should have paid more attention in History class (I literally zoned out History in my grammar school days & so regret it now!!), because Philadelphia is the place where all the history of Independence Day comes from! This is the city where the delegates from the 13 colonies came together to make the decisions for the people of their colony, this is where they voted on the Revolution & Independence from Great Britain, this is where the Declaration of Independence was written, by Thomas Jefferson, voted on by the 13 colonies delegates & SIGNED... This is where John Adams & Benjamin Franklin so soulfully fought for the United States of America!

On Sunday, July 3, 2011 we stood in the actual room where these arguments took place, by our founding fathers - we stood in the actual room where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the delegates & eventually signed... 235 years later. Some of the furniture in this room, was some of the same furniture from 235 years ago - it all blew my mind! Garrick & I, so enjoyed it that we actually came home & researched the Revolution, the Revolutionary War, all the events that lead up to that date of July 4, 1776 & the pursuing war to freedom.

It's funny, when I thought of us all going to Philly for the day, I thought of Philly Cheese Steaks - we had planned on eating at both Geno's & Pat's (the two birthplaces of the Philly Cheese steak) & also, seeing the Liberty Bell. Little did I know, that as delicious as the Philly Cheese Steaks were (& yes, we ate at both places - one for lunch, one for dinner), I didn't realize how much I would enjoy learning about our country's rich history.

Of course, since we had kids tagging along with us, we decided we had to also do some fun stuff for them, like playing in Franklin Square park, riding the carousel, eating ice cream, checking out the local markets, and just enjoying family time together!

Our day in many, many pictures....

The famous "Geno's" for lunch.... was delicious! :)

 Their rival, just catty-corner, Pat's

(these two places aren't in the best area of Philly)

 Pretty basic... but the bread was delicious & the meat was sooooo tender, no fat!

 The kids even enjoyed it too!

 The Philly Fanatic... Preston thinks it's Albert.

 Benjamin Franklin's grave site... This guy was amazing, he did so much!

 Franklin Square park... a break from all our walking!

 Liberty Bell...

 Ice Cream (Mister Softee - the best!) & nap time for the little guy....

 This park is a grave site for all fallen solders of the Revolutionary War (thousands of them!)

 This indoor market was so cool...

 The house (on the second floor) is where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence

 Me pregnant & my little guy!

 The courthouse...

 Where the whole Declaration of Independence was read for the first time & signed a few days later, on July 4, 1776

 Garrick always has stacks of $2 bills in his wallet (it's just his thing... haha!)... and look at the picture on the back! Right where we were standing!

 And for dinner, Pat's... I think we all agreed that despite all the options at Pat's - the Cheese Steak was better at Geno's BUT the fries were MUCH better at Pat's!! Next time, sandwiches @ Geno's - Fries @ Pat's, that's the perfect plan! :)