Philatripping

We drove to Philadelphia this weekend. Elvi was supposed to do a half-marathon there. We made good time till we reached Phili. My brave husband feeling his way without a map took a wrong turn and we were in a ghetto. Not knowing whether to be facinated or afraid, we grabbed all the maps in the car and worked our way downtown.

We had just a day and our itinerary was pages long. We knew we would have to edit as we went along. We had read Back in Time with Benjamin Franklin - A Qwerty Stevens Adventure. Ethan was all excited about seeing the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed/created. The family was in a historical frame of mind. We listened to our audio tour to prepare for what to expect on the historic Constitutional Trail.

I figured we'd better go hands -on first, so we visited the gift shop and picked up a miniature Liberty Bell, a musket, a book about the life of George Washington and some paper money from the time of the Revolutionary war. Ethan was all charged up now! He had something tangible to hold on to.

Philadelphia is a beautiful blend of the old and the new. Art deco skyscrapers blend in with gothic buildings. Navigating the city's One Way's is an art in itself.

Once we settled in and grabbed our IPOD tour, maps and paraphenalia, Ethan settled on his 'moving patio' (Elvi's shoulders) and we were off on our explorations. Elvi, our guide, kept skipping things that didn't interest him or if he had no clue what it was.

We walked past Signer's Walk and saw the bronze- casts of the pictures and names of all the signer's of the Declaration of Independence set in the sidewalk. Ethan was thrilled to see his favorites; John and Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. We made it, just in time (before it closed for the day) to Declaration Hall, where a park ranger told us what happened in the room on the fateful day when Independence was finally declared. Ethan answered her questions without batting an eyelid, to the amazement of some of the other visitors, who asked us how old he was! He's just a big history buff. It appeals to a boys sense of adventure and their need for heroes. Most kids latch on to something and then become experts at it. That kind of passion is so natural to kids. They're sponges.

It was a truly special moment to be in the room where history was created. Philosophical Hall with the statue of Ben in his toga was quaint. We passed by the First Bank of the United States, Signer's garden, the statue of Robert Morris who signed all the three important documents important to Revolutionary history.

We walked back to the hotel to dress for dinner. We met Elvi's greek colleague and his girlfriend at the Italian restaurant Portefino. It was nice to meet people who didn't have kids, for a change, and to have conversations that didn't revolve around kids activities and development. Crashing from exhaustion, we fell asleep the instant we hit our beds.

The next morning, Elvi woke up early to watch the marathoners doing the Philly Half-marathon from our 14th floor hotel room. He was so excited that he swept me up in his enthusiasm. Ethan was groggy from the late night dinner and couldn't share dad's excitement. All he wanted to do was curl up in his comfy hotel bed and go right back to sleep.

After breakfast at IHOP (still munching on my favorite chicken florentine crepe) we went to see the Liberty Bell. The power of a symbol (and art in general) on the human imagination is unfathomable. I saw pictures of Nelson Mandela and other famous dignitaries for peace and freedom at the site of the bell. One broken bell with a few words of inspiration! What amazing feelings it evoked!

We headed for the Constitutional Hall, but it was only going to open at noon, so instead we went to the Christ Church Burial ground to see Benjamin Franklin's grave. Talking about Ben Franklin; when I saw his wife buried next to him, I was amazed. Why men's infidelity sticks out, for me, more than their great deeds is a mystery. I love Paul Gauguin, as an artist, I have his paintings all over my walls. I look at them in admiration, yet I cannot help condemn the man who walked away from his family for glory, inspiration and fame. I hate that I cannot go beyond that. I keep trying.

We then headed to the waterfront to do something for Elvi, whose ennui with all the history was beginning to show. There was a Russian festival going on there. The boys tried out some of the dancing first hand.

My Cossaks (Click to play video)

We took a ferry ride across to Camden, NJ and saw the battleship USS New Jersey to Ethan's (and Elvi's) delight. The waterfront wasn't spectacular. It was more the grime of port. It was still nice to be on the water and to see the Philadelphia skyline. Skylines get a little jaded after you see the NY skyline. Each city has it's own character, though and I like to fight the desensitization and experience things afresh. The drive and the late night dinner had worn out Ethan, who now was functioning on automatic, so we headed back home, travel weary and glad to be home for a short respite, before we head for Atlanta on tuesday.