Don and I returned yesterday from a three-day trip to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was Don's first visit. He's a history buff, so we decided to go.
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| Independence Hall in Philadelphia |
He also likes trains, so we traveled by
Amtrak passenger train. We left from Richmond to have more choices on times to return. We wanted to return to the South Hampton Roads area in time for our weekly
West Coast Swing dance lessons with
Wolf and Bee Dance. We are getting ready for International West Coast Swing Flash Mob Day, but that's another story.
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| Don enjoys a relaxing Amtrak trip surrounded by gadgets. According to the GPS we traveled fast! |
We stayed at the
Club Quarters Hotel, which was nice, centrally located, and reasonably priced. From there we traveled on foot or by subway everywhere we wanted to go. We saw
Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the nearby
Benjamin Franklin Museum. The next day we visited the waterfront along the Delaware River, including
Harbor Park.
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| Don enjoys the waterfront of the Delaware River |
At the waterfront we saw two separate memorials dedicated to the Irish and Scottish immigrants to Philadelphia. They were touching and educational, especially the information about the Irish Potato Famine. We toured the
Independence Seaport Museum including two ships: the Warship
Olympia and the Submarine
Becuna. The
Olympia was famous from the Battle of Manila Bay and from carrying the body of the Unknown Soldier from France to the U.S. in 1921. Don lived on submarines, but I have never been on one before, so I found our tour of the
Becuna interesting.
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| The Irish Memorial portrays the desperation of the Potato Famine and Great Hunger |
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| Hope awaits the Irish immigrants newly arrived in the U.S. |
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| The Scots, also immigrants, are proud of their Revolutionary roots. Four signed the Declaration of Independence. |
We also caught some live jazz music at
Chris' Jazz Cafe on Tuesday night. The food was great there and just about everywhere we went.
