We found a tour to captivate Kate – the chocolate factory in Hershey, PA. At its end she exclaimed, “That was a tour? I thought it was a ride!” We made the detour to appease our chocolate hound, Christopher. We left with a huge bag of over-priced chocolate, including chocolate-flavored licorice and gum.
We are in toll country now. Until this point in our trip we have only had 2
minor tolls (in the Florida area). Traveling with a trailer doubles our axles so doubles to triples our tolls … it can get scary! Upon entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike we had a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs, fearing the worst – that shaving 30 minutes off our drive would come to the tune of $21. Fortunately we exited prior to Philadelphia so only had to pay $7.50. Whew! But it is only the beginning.
We are spending a quick night at Timberlane Campground in New Jersey. It is right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia – a 30 minute drive. There is not much to say about it other than it is convenient.
We spent the afternoon in Philadelphia because I felt Independence Hall and Liberty Bell were key pieces of our journey through America’s history.
Our tour was boring – I had a hard time deciphering the relevance of the ranger’s speech. Though he did say that Independence Hall, our most historically significant building, was poorly built and quite delicate. I think if he had his way, we wouldn’t celebrate our independence on the 4th of July – which he stated was historically inaccurate (nothing actually happened on the 4th). Whatever.
Our highlight in the city was our Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. You can find them on every corner, but we were given a particularly scrumptious place to eat: Jim’s Steaks. We met up with Outbacker Rick there who gave us some insight as to what it was like to grow up in Philly. Since he now lives in Lancaster, we drilled him about the Amish too. He said that they can’t have phones inside their homes, so actually install booths at the end of their property. Jeremy wouldn’t survive!
A huge thunderstorm rolled through during the night. I thought the town was recreating the Revolution, as the thunder sounded just like a barrage of heavy artillery.
We are in toll country now. Until this point in our trip we have only had 2
minor tolls (in the Florida area). Traveling with a trailer doubles our axles so doubles to triples our tolls … it can get scary! Upon entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike we had a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs, fearing the worst – that shaving 30 minutes off our drive would come to the tune of $21. Fortunately we exited prior to Philadelphia so only had to pay $7.50. Whew! But it is only the beginning.We are spending a quick night at Timberlane Campground in New Jersey. It is right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia – a 30 minute drive. There is not much to say about it other than it is convenient.
We spent the afternoon in Philadelphia because I felt Independence Hall and Liberty Bell were key pieces of our journey through America’s history.
Our tour was boring – I had a hard time deciphering the relevance of the ranger’s speech. Though he did say that Independence Hall, our most historically significant building, was poorly built and quite delicate. I think if he had his way, we wouldn’t celebrate our independence on the 4th of July – which he stated was historically inaccurate (nothing actually happened on the 4th). Whatever.Our highlight in the city was our Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. You can find them on every corner, but we were given a particularly scrumptious place to eat: Jim’s Steaks. We met up with Outbacker Rick there who gave us some insight as to what it was like to grow up in Philly. Since he now lives in Lancaster, we drilled him about the Amish too. He said that they can’t have phones inside their homes, so actually install booths at the end of their property. Jeremy wouldn’t survive!
A huge thunderstorm rolled through during the night. I thought the town was recreating the Revolution, as the thunder sounded just like a barrage of heavy artillery.
Just love your shot of the liberty bell with Independence Hall in the background: it has a great "feel" to it. I'm really enjoying the reading of your blog. Reminds me of the trips across country with my family in the '60s when my dad was serving in the Air Force.
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at your Philadelphia comments! We live just outside Philadelphia and whenever people come to stay from the UK, we venture in for a tour and I often come away feeling the same way you did. It's such an important place of US history and you do leave feeling a bit let-down by the comments. The trolley tours are generally more upbeat, informative and fun!
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