Philadelphia

I’ve visited a lot of places, but I’ve never visited Philadelphia.

As we entered the city, I thought it strange because it seemed like there were joggers everywhere.  Then I realized it was Saturday and these were weekend warriors.

Our first stop was the steps of the Museum of Art which are the steps Sylvester Stallone, as Rocky, ran up and triumphantly jumped at the top like a winner.  We took our group photo there because it was one of the first times that all of us were in attendance.  There’s a beautiful view of the city from there.

We pretty much stayed in the historic district of Philadelphia with its very narrow streets – I’m always amazed at how our bus driver  maneuvers the streets and never hits anything, or runs over the toes of the clueless standing close to the corner.  We visited the narrowest of alleys – Elfreth’s Alley – with structures built in the 1720s to to 1830s.  So cute!

Betsy Ross’s house was next.  Her house was so small, you could barely turn around.  They would only let 10 people in at a time.

Then we spent a lot of time in what would be the equivalent of the Mall in DC.  It had Independence Hall on one end, the National  Constitutional Hall on the other, and the Liberty Bell in-between.

Then we walked to the other end of the mall to the National Constitution Center.  It was all about creating the US Constitution, but most of it was lost on me because it was at the end of the day, and the program was narrated by someone in a face mask whose words were lost to me.  But elsewhere in the building was Signers Hall with life sized statues of all the signers of the Constitution.  We had quite a fun time in that room.

That was all yesterday.  Today we left Lancaster, PA and drove to Washington DC and visited Gettysburg Military Park en route.  Personally, I’d rather visit an art museum.

Then I learn that the state I now live in was considered the bad boy of the Civil War, because they were the first state to cede from the union.

The National Park Service has a film detailing the days, advances, retreats and casualties of the Gettysburg battle.  Then they let you out into the Cyclorama.  It’s called that because it’s a painting in a circular room that’s 377 feet in circumference and the painting is all around you.  It’s quite impressive. “French artist Paul Philippoteaux took brush to canvas and created the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama painting. He spent months on the battlefield researching the battle with veterans, a battlefield guide and a photographer. It took Philippoteaux and a team of assistants more than a year to complete the painting.The result is a breathtaking canvas that measures 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet high. Longer than a football field and as tall as a four-story structure, the Gettysburg Cyclorama oil painting, along with light and sound effects, immerses visitors in the fury of Pickett’s Charge during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.”

I think the saddest thing about the Gettysburg Battle was the aftermath.  They left 7000 dead soldiers on the fields for the people of Gettysburg to clean up – 3 times the population of the town of Gettysburg.  There were even more who were too wounded to move and needed care.  They also ruined their fields, pastures, buildings, livestock and fields.

It’s finally getting warmer, and instead of trying to keep my RV warm enough, I’ve turned on the air conditioning.  And, oh my gosh, I got my sunglasses out for the first time since I left.

Finally, I kind of have this thing for signs, and have posted many in the past.  I saw this one in Philadelphia and I had to think about what it meant.   I’ve never seen it elsewhere.