10/23/17

A Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

As I mentioned in my last post, we spent our second day at French Creek State Park sight-seeing in Philadelphia, a little over an hour's drive away. The traffic was pretty typical city traffic...in a word, awful. It was a good day, however, despite the traffic, and we were glad we went.

It's always a trick finding a place to park our pig of a truck. There was on-street metered parking, but no spaces large enough. After driving several blocks, we noticed a public lot, and just a block on, metered parking where we could fit. Mike had already circled around to the public lot, but then we noticed the price...flat rate of $20. Yikes. So we circled back around to the metered parking where we could purchase four hours for $6. Ahhhhhhh. Still expensive, but the $20 lot calibrated our expectations. From there, we walked to the object of our desire, Elfreth's Alley. The article that put me onto this place was this one, from Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. It was everything I'd hoped it would be.

Along the way, we noticed this sign. Ha! Philadelphia, you're so punny!


As it turns out, we were in the historic part of Philadelphia. The streets were cobblestone and the sidewalks were old brick. It was hard walking on this stuff because of the uneven surface.


It was just a few blocks, and we were there. Here's an information sign, but I encourage you to read the article. The place has a storied past...which makes sense because it's nearing 300 years old.


From one end, it looked like this.


Walking through to the other end, we looked back to see this:


As I mentioned yesterday, it was a paradise of windows and walls. I only wish the light had been a little better for taking pictures. I might have photographed every single residence.



This next one is going into my sketchbook.


My one word for this One Word Wonder: "Venerable."



It was lunch time by then, and so we found a restaurant nearby. We were hoping for Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches, but what we really wanted was a restroom. We found one here, and the menu looked good. 


It was a deli that specialized in cheeses. It was such a beautiful day, and so we sat outside. To get to the outdoor portion of the dining room, one had to go down this alleyway to the left of the front door.


Once there, we were in a cozy little alcove.


Looking up, we saw this:


It was a breakfast and lunch kind of place. Folks there were having breakfast on a lazy Saturday morning. We were in the mood for their sandwiches, which featured their own cheeses. Mike had the French Melt.



I had the Daryl Hall...yes, named for the musician, who happens to be from Philadelphia.



It was delicious. The restaurant was small, and with friendly service. From there, we realized we were just a few blocks from the Betsy Ross House.


This is ordinarily the sort of thing we'd avoid as a tourist trap, but it turned out to be great fun. It was just $4 each to go inside, so what the heck?


Inside, we learned that Betsy Ross was a Quaker, but she was being shunned by her Quaker community for marrying a man three times her age. She was also an upholsterer by trade, not a seamstress as I'd always thought.


And whoa! There's Betsy now...working away. We had a conversation with her! She was quite charming, and she looks amazing! I'm thinking Botox was involved.


Upstairs was her bedroom where the flag was in progress.



I forget where I saw this quilt there in the house, but I knew you'd want to see it.


Downstairs was the laundress. We talked with her too. She told us about why these folks would hire someone to wash their clothes. It was because most folks had just two sets of clothes, which they wore for around six months before washing them. The paddle there in front of her was used to beat the dirt out of the clothes when they came.


Our laundress didn't want to brag, but she said she could have a suit of clothes cleaned in three days!


Opposite her was this very steep set of stairs. Did you ever wonder what it looks like when you open those cellar doors on the street side of a house? Wonder no more. Just a few very steep steps down...a ladder, really.


This was in the kitchen area.


After leaving the Betsy Ross house, we realized we were just a few more blocks away from the Liberty Bell. Along the way, we passed the grave of Benjamin Franklin. He lived to a ripe old age for a man of his time.


The grave was modest.


Just around the corner was Independence Hall National Historic Site. The Liberty Bell could be seen here, but the line just to get through security was about 50 people deep...and then there was the whole security thing, which discouraged us. We've both seen the Liberty Bell before. Instead, we explored a few of the nearby structures. This is Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were both signed.


To its left was Old City Hall. We went inside here.


It was where the very first constitutionally-created Supreme Court sat with the original six justices. From the left side, it looked like this.


Walk to the right and look back, and it looked like this:



From there, we started our trek back to the truck. The architecture is so old and interesting in this part of Philadelphia.


On our way, we passed a structure that was the Second Bank of the United States. I couldn't get back far enough to get a good picture, and so I encourage you to click on the link I've given you to see how it looks. Inside was a portrait gallery. The usual characters are pictured inside: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Merriweather Lewis, and many more people and names I didn't recognize. Also, I was interested to see Dolley Madison. Did you know her name was spelled with an "e"? There were other women pictured, but they were wives or daughters of famous men. Dolley kind of got there for her own work, and so I'm picturing her. It would have been hard in her day to have an opportunity to make a difference to future generations, but she managed it.



The restrooms in this building were downstairs, which gave us a chance to see the structure underground. The brick and mortar work was interesting from a historical standpoint.


Those ladies at the end there are wooden cutouts.

Back outside and above ground, we passed by this structure.


To the right of the frame above was the rest of the building, which you can see in the image below.


It was a few blocks down to the waterfront, and we walked along the Delaware River to get back to the truck. There, we passed under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. On the other side of the river is New Jersey. Poor New Jersey...it's always "across the river" from something. And then there's Chris Christie. Enough said.


It was just a few more blocks to the truck, and that was the end of our day.

As I've said many times, we fear cities. When we set out on this day's journey, we had an idea that Elfreth's Alley was more at the edge of the city. It was...only it was at the water's edge. We had to drive through the main part of the city to reach it. Had we known that, we might not have gone, but I'm so glad we did. It was a day of simple pleasures, beautiful weather, and just spending it the way we wanted to. We were very glad we went.

This morning we're heading into Baltimore. Tomorrow we'll begin our sojourn into Washington, D.C. There's going to be a lot to tell you about. We spent last night familiarizing ourselves with the Metro subway system. There were SmarTrip cards for sale here in the park. We've registered them, and loaded money onto them. Now we're set to ride public transportation during our time here. There's even a bus that stops at the RV park, so we can park our truck and leave it. No parking hassles for us. We picked up a few groceries, and we're set for the next several days.

14 comments:

Frog Quilter said...

Enjoying your travels. I too love old architecture in buildings. Keep the posts coming. Hope the kitties are doing ok.

Charlotte M. said...

What a wonderfully historic day you had. Thank you so much for sharing it and all the great pictures. I love your windows and walls. Can't wait for the next installment.

Angie in SoCal said...

So enjoying your trip. We walked on Elfreth's Alley. It still looks the same. Your photos bring lots of good memories of our trip in '81. Thanks for sharing Barbara.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

What a fantastic area to discover so much history!.. Love the old buildings, streets, and sidewalks. I would not have been able to walk down that narrow alley to the outdoor cafe area - clausto unlimited! You are having such wonderful weather while on this part of your journey, I hope it keeps up for the rest of your time in this area.

WoolenSails said...

Had to catch up with your posts, you really have been all over and see a lot of beautiful places. Love seeing the old barns and the historic places. You find the most fun places to eat too and that food looks so delicious.

Debbie

Riversdeep said...

Please stop back in Philly any time. Like any big city there are some safety concerns, but there is so much more you can see here. All of it is a bus or shuttle ride in reach. The zoo, the Mutter Museum, the Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences, the Phila Museum and the Rocky steps with Boathouse Row just behind. You can walk the cemeteries behind the historic churches on Pine street and see many singers of the constitution buried there as well as Revolutionary war heros.

Robin said...

;-) I am glad you stopped in Phila. Shame there were no tours going on that's where you really learn. *In the court house,a judge (literally)is the guide. He is & acts like it's his court.I found out what "passing the bar" originally meant. *Did you see the bell thru the glass wall? *It was at Betsy's house we found out she probably did not see the flag. It was a hoax perpetuated by her grandson who did not want to study or work for a living. It was a draw to the city so people let it go. Did you hear that? **Those claustrophobic alleys are everywhere there are old brick row(now called town)houses. Actually you are grateful for all us or else the only way to the back is thru the home which was used at times by police or fire to get to your neighbor. Firefighters esp need access. Kids used to be told get out of The house and go play. Can you imagine to get to your yard going to The end of a long city block then around back and then thru every backyard to get to your yard.People aren't that nice. Homes are long and high. I had friends who lived in them in Wilmington and DC. So sad Elfread's was all closed. It used to be at least one was open to the public in Sat and the owners had to be dressed in period costume. I guess the next time is their big Christmas open house. *Did you see Franklin's home? It is close to the Delaware River. The saved remains are underground so on street level you look thru a type of glass. You had to be so close! ***You realize how today's cities are literally built on top of the old. When/if you go to Atlanta, see their underground city. It's not huge and I'm of talking transportation here. We really liked it.--robin k

Tilly said...

You give us a special sightseeing tour troughout Philadelphia. The small streets looks like the historical centers in our country. love it.
Thanks again for sharing your pictures with us.
Greetings Tilly/the Netherlands.

Dorothy said...

Love the doors and shutters--red ones really caught my attention
What a wonderful trip you are taking all of us on :-)

Kate said...

Those old buildings have such character. Thanks for sharing all the photos. Lots of history in those few blocks.

piecefulwendy said...

Well, I'm gonna quit whining about doing laundry now, and phew, I can let my jeans go a few days more, huh? I'll get them done inside of six months though! What a lovely day you two had. Those pictures were familiar, although we missed Elfreth's Alley, so I'm going to read the link about it. Good move on skipping the Liberty Bell. The whole security thing was so frustrating; I thought they were going to have hubs down to his skivvies before he was done. Looking forward to your next post, of course!

gpc said...

I've never been to Philadelphia, how interesting! And if botox preserved Betsy that well, I'm going to need to reconsider my aversion to needles . . . My grandson would love a deli that specializes in cheese. At 12, he keeps a bullet journal of cheeses he's tasted, and hasn't found one yet that he doesn't like. :)

Brown Family said...

Another fascinating and interesting tour. You are hitting all the great historic places.

quiltzyx said...

Such amazing architecture to see! It's incredible how much detail was put into the buildings back then. Your windows, walls & doors are piling up, so to speak! I'll be looking forward to that quilt indeed.

Both of your sandwiches looked good! Almost as good as Betsy Ross!!
I wonder why the coins on Ben Franklin's memorial?