What a day in Philadelphia!!  We chickened out driving into the city and took the train.  Den just didn't want to face that traffic and above all...the parking (which was $20+ for the day).  The train only cost us $6 and was fairly stress free (until we came home at a very busy time).  We got off within 2 blocks of the historic district and the visitor's center.

The weather today is starting to cool off and a bit cloudy but we got by without any jacket (around 70 degrees) but a little blustery.  We decided to do a self-guided tour to the Liberty Bell, which was awesome!  The free tour of the Independence Hall was amazing and gives you chills to think we stood right where our forefathers wrote the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.  We had a great volunteer tour guide who really brought it all to life for us.

After that, we walked over to the Christ Church Cemetery where Ben Franklin and hundreds of other pioneers of our country are buried.

We then walked over to the United States Mint building and had a great tour which included being able to actually watch coins being made. We also saw a short exhibit of the Federal Reserve Bank and got our $100 worth of shredded currency.  They shred somewhere around $20,000,000 in old and damaged currency daily (not totally sure about that but it's a LOT).  Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed in either of these buildings.

Of course, no visit to Philadelphia is complete without a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.  The folks at the visitor's center recommended Sonny's so we enjoy an official classic Cheese Steak, which believe it or not is made with Cheese Whiz.  It was darn good too!!

We HAD to fulfill a promise to Tyler to get a picture with Rocky Balboa at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was clear across town from the historic district.  Well, the city is literally buzzing with preparations for the Pope's visit on Saturday.  Lots of the city is inaccessible because they are setting up all sorts of bleachers, fences, porta-potties, tv screens, you name it, and the buses are detouring around much of the museum district.  But, hey, a promise is a promise and we made it to the Museum of Art and got our pictures for Tyler.

The train ride home was REALLY crowded!  In fact, I was surprised they let us all in.  People were crammed in like sardines.  Thankfully, the trip doesn't last long.

Great day in Philadelphia and once again, we feel proud to be Americans!  Tomorrow we are off to see the frosting on the cake... Washington D.C.