Saturday, June 26

We began our day in Philadelphia with a very informative bus tour around the city. There is never enough time to see everything, so we picked a few sites to visit more closely. Curt, Yvonne, Ivan and I walked to Christ Church, founded in 1695 where we sat in the pew where George Washington worshiped. Betsy Ross also had a pew there and Benjamin Franklin raised funds for the steeple.
Our visit was not to be complete without having a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. “Sonny’s” was recommended by several as one the best so how could we not? It really was good.
A tour of the Betsy Ross House was next to learn the story of this Philadelphia patriot, believed to have created America’s first flag. We walked to the Christ Church Burial Ground, the final resting place of five signers of the Declaration of Independence, including Philadelphia’s most famous resident, Benjamin Franklin. We had a ranger guided tour of Independence Hall (built 1732-56), where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were debated and signed and we saw the Liberty Bell (crack and all).