After we discovered that the Independance Hall tickets weren't available for a close enough time slot, we decided to take a Philly Duck Tour. Here are the DUKWs they use.

Here are some pictures I took along the route. The ride was bouncy and Becca took the outside seat so I didn't try to take a lot of shots. This was supposedly a colonial style street.
I thought this door was cute.
A cemetary.
I think she said this square is where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to a crowd.
There's Ben Franklin in a toga over the door.
The ride was much smoother on the water.
A ferry boat.
The battleship USS New Jersey.
The Ben Franklin Bridge.
We drove by this building. The lights were out and lots of people were standing around. Perhaps it was a fire drill.

The Philly tour isn't as goofy as the Boston version.

Weather Update

We're watching the local news and apparently there is flooding in Philadelphia and Camden. A woman carrying a child was struck by lightning. So maybe the storm we noticed this afternoon wasn't routine. We're staying in Plymouth Meeting, a ways outside of the city.

Philadelphia Freedom

Today we left Virginia and drove to Philadelphia. We got to drive through Maryland and Delaware on the way. Paid toll for a tunnel and a bridge. We eventually found a parking lot after wending through a maze of one-way streets in Philly. We went in and saw the Liberty Bell. It's cool and looks just like the pictures. It doesn't do much, so not many pictures are required. I thought it interesting how many armed rangers are around the bell.

Across the street is Independance Hall. We didn't tour the hall because the tickets available were for four P.M. and it was only 1:30.

Manassas Battlefield

Tuesday afternoon, we went to the Manassas Battlefield and walked around the area of the First Battle of Manassas. It was hot, humid, and sunny, but we managed not to collapse. Afterward, we found a market and bought some cold drinks.
Cannon.
They were probably pretty noisy.
A memorial marker.
The stone house below was significant, but I think it was more so in the Second Battle of Manassas.

The plaques make much of James Robinson, but nobody has put him in wikipedia,

Here is the ruin of the Robinson house with Becca standing there so you can see how tiny it must have been.
Becca leaving the ruins.

A nice open field when nobody is shooting at you.
A memorial placque.
Jackson's men came out of the forest.
There stands Jackson like a stone wall. And Mike like a damp sponge.
After I put in the first group of pictures I realized I didn't have many pictures of the cannons, so here are some confederate ones.

Museum Highlights

Anybody who would get in a little tin can and get blasted around the world gets my admiration for bravery.
We could have used smaller capsules and rockets by hiring midgets.
The Enola Gay, etc.

The Enterprise.
An interesting helicopter design. You think, wait, won't the blade chop each other off...
Leaders are like eagles.
La cucaracha or the flying flea. Wait, mixed languages and insects?
Something for Ash to translate.
This is too cool.
Becca and the Jets

The Enola Gay, again.
A later Wright Flyer.
Some helicopters

Observation Tower

The Museum has an observation tower that must be about seven stories tall, at least according to the elevator.
Virginia is pretty flat. The parking lot was really empty.
There are some hills in the distance looking this way.
"I think I see my father down there."
The windows lean out so you can look straight down.