A Quick Trip to Philadelphia
Aug. 9th, 2022 07:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gilda_eliseThe second weekend in July is usually reserved for Shore Leave. And after three years absence, we were looking forward to going to the con. But since we had waited too long to decide on whether we were actually going, we missed out on a room at the con hotel and ended up in the hotel across the street. Even worse, as the days passed, it became very evident that we would be the only two from our group who were going to be able to make it.
So after some thought, I canceled the hotel reservation. We decided instead to spend a week in Philadelphia. Of course, we couldn’t have picked a worse week, as it was stifling hot all the time we were there. But it hadn’t occurred to us until after we had bought our plane tickets that, because we were’t going to the con, we could have picked a different time. So we thought, what the hell.
July 14th
I arrived at the hotel hours before Anne, so spent the time reading and watching tv. It turned out that you could get to your own Netflix account, so there was actually stuff to watch. Once Anne got there we went out to find something to eat, and then settled in for the night.
July 15th
Hot or not, we walked the mile and a half to the city center where all the monuments and museums are.
And the grave of the unknown soldiers from Washington’s army.
After that, we headed over to Betsy Ross’ house. It’s quite interesting. So was the woman, who did so much more than sew a flag. I may have to look for her biography.
Last was the Benjamin Franklin Museum. Somewhat interesting, but a lot of stuff was dumbed down for children. After that we walked back to the hotel. Turns out that, even with temperatures in the 90s, we had walked almost five miles.
July 16th
Today we made it all the way to the harbor. Our first visit was to the USS Olympia, a protected cruiser that saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. Restored as a national icon, the Olympia is permanently docked on the Delaware River.
Cruiser Olympia rose to fame as Commodore (later Admiral) George Dewey’s flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, which marked the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Her final act of service was the transportation of the American Unknown Soldier of World War I from France to the United States in 1921. The soldier now lies entombed at Arlington National Cemetery. As Olympia was the most famous vessel of the time period, the selection served as a way to commemorate both the ship’s and soldier’s service.
Anne touring the Olympia, and then taking a break in a sling hammock.
Next to her lies the Moshulu, the world’s oldest and largest square rigged sailing vessel still afloat. She was reconfigured as a restaurant in 1975. She’s gorgeous inside, and the food was excellent. If you’d like, take a tour.
From there we walked to the other end of the pier to the Independence Seaport Museum. Of all the museum we visited, I think this was the best, as it was geared more for adults. Except for this.
I’m standing behind the wheel of a full-scale reproduction of the USS Diligence. The original, an 18-gun brig sloop was built in 1797 and saw service only until 1799 because of her small size.
July 17th
I’d had enough of walking, so the 17th was mostly staying in our room, except when going out to dinner. We made up for it on the 18th by taking in some shopping.
July 18th
Why is it that you buy stuff on vacation that it wouldn’t occur to you to buy anytime else? I went nuts at “Bath and Body Works, ” and bought three blouses I didn’t need. Oh, and three books. We rested at Rittenhouse Square before heading back to the hotel.
July 19th
We’d learned our lesson, so today we opted for a tour bus. We only had to walk a couple of blocks to where it picked us up. It drove through much of what we’d already visited, and we finally got off at the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, probably the most interesting site we visited during our stay.
Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor," Eastern State Penitentiar quickly became one of the most expensive and most copied buildings in the United States.
At the time, many leaders believed that crime was the result of environment, and that solitude would make the criminal regretful and penitent (hence the new word, penitentiary). This correctional theory, as practiced in Philadelphia, would become known as the Pennsylvania System.
Masks were fabricated to keep the inmates from communicating during rare trips outside their cells. Cells were equipped with feed doors and individual exercise yards to prevent contact between inmates, and minimize contact between inmates and guards. With time, they realized that this was only making matter worse, so the rules were relaxed, and the inmates were allowed more socialization. The cells were still somewhat bare.
Of course, there was always an exception. Your cell was a lot different if you were as famous as Al Capone.
Leaving there, our next stop was the Franklin Institute.
Again, most of the exhibits were geared toward children, though the “Scope Lobby” was interesting.
July 20th
We’d bought tickets for the Independence Hall tour, and made reservations at the Moshulu for dinner.
Independence Hall was something of a let-down. You wait in line, and then file into the building. On one side is a court room, on the other the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. And that’s it. You see the two rooms, and then you’re filed out.
July 21st
We had to check out of our hotel room by 11a, so we took a taxi to the airport and, separately, spent hours entertaining ourselves at our terminals. There was no problem with my flights, so it was first to Midway and then home to Grand Rapids.
So after some thought, I canceled the hotel reservation. We decided instead to spend a week in Philadelphia. Of course, we couldn’t have picked a worse week, as it was stifling hot all the time we were there. But it hadn’t occurred to us until after we had bought our plane tickets that, because we were’t going to the con, we could have picked a different time. So we thought, what the hell.
July 14th
I arrived at the hotel hours before Anne, so spent the time reading and watching tv. It turned out that you could get to your own Netflix account, so there was actually stuff to watch. Once Anne got there we went out to find something to eat, and then settled in for the night.
July 15th
Hot or not, we walked the mile and a half to the city center where all the monuments and museums are.
And the grave of the unknown soldiers from Washington’s army.
After that, we headed over to Betsy Ross’ house. It’s quite interesting. So was the woman, who did so much more than sew a flag. I may have to look for her biography.
Last was the Benjamin Franklin Museum. Somewhat interesting, but a lot of stuff was dumbed down for children. After that we walked back to the hotel. Turns out that, even with temperatures in the 90s, we had walked almost five miles.
July 16th
Today we made it all the way to the harbor. Our first visit was to the USS Olympia, a protected cruiser that saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. Restored as a national icon, the Olympia is permanently docked on the Delaware River.
Cruiser Olympia rose to fame as Commodore (later Admiral) George Dewey’s flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, which marked the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Her final act of service was the transportation of the American Unknown Soldier of World War I from France to the United States in 1921. The soldier now lies entombed at Arlington National Cemetery. As Olympia was the most famous vessel of the time period, the selection served as a way to commemorate both the ship’s and soldier’s service.
Anne touring the Olympia, and then taking a break in a sling hammock.
Next to her lies the Moshulu, the world’s oldest and largest square rigged sailing vessel still afloat. She was reconfigured as a restaurant in 1975. She’s gorgeous inside, and the food was excellent. If you’d like, take a tour.
From there we walked to the other end of the pier to the Independence Seaport Museum. Of all the museum we visited, I think this was the best, as it was geared more for adults. Except for this.
I’m standing behind the wheel of a full-scale reproduction of the USS Diligence. The original, an 18-gun brig sloop was built in 1797 and saw service only until 1799 because of her small size.
July 17th
I’d had enough of walking, so the 17th was mostly staying in our room, except when going out to dinner. We made up for it on the 18th by taking in some shopping.
July 18th
Why is it that you buy stuff on vacation that it wouldn’t occur to you to buy anytime else? I went nuts at “Bath and Body Works, ” and bought three blouses I didn’t need. Oh, and three books. We rested at Rittenhouse Square before heading back to the hotel.
July 19th
We’d learned our lesson, so today we opted for a tour bus. We only had to walk a couple of blocks to where it picked us up. It drove through much of what we’d already visited, and we finally got off at the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, probably the most interesting site we visited during our stay.
Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor," Eastern State Penitentiar quickly became one of the most expensive and most copied buildings in the United States.
At the time, many leaders believed that crime was the result of environment, and that solitude would make the criminal regretful and penitent (hence the new word, penitentiary). This correctional theory, as practiced in Philadelphia, would become known as the Pennsylvania System.
Masks were fabricated to keep the inmates from communicating during rare trips outside their cells. Cells were equipped with feed doors and individual exercise yards to prevent contact between inmates, and minimize contact between inmates and guards. With time, they realized that this was only making matter worse, so the rules were relaxed, and the inmates were allowed more socialization. The cells were still somewhat bare.
Of course, there was always an exception. Your cell was a lot different if you were as famous as Al Capone.
Leaving there, our next stop was the Franklin Institute.
Again, most of the exhibits were geared toward children, though the “Scope Lobby” was interesting.
July 20th
We’d bought tickets for the Independence Hall tour, and made reservations at the Moshulu for dinner.
Independence Hall was something of a let-down. You wait in line, and then file into the building. On one side is a court room, on the other the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. And that’s it. You see the two rooms, and then you’re filed out.
July 21st
We had to check out of our hotel room by 11a, so we took a taxi to the airport and, separately, spent hours entertaining ourselves at our terminals. There was no problem with my flights, so it was first to Midway and then home to Grand Rapids.
