Philadelphia Day 1

TIMELINE

• 6:30 a.m. Awake (7 hours sleep)
• 7:15 a.m. Left hotel
• 8:00 a.m. La Colombe - Independence Hall
• Scone
• Croissant
• Peach danish
• Coffee
• 8:30 a.m. Independence Visitor Center
• Free tickets for Independence Hall
• We got the first tour at 9:00 a.m. because the person who reserved them never picked them up
• We picked the wrong door to lineup at initially
• 9:00 a.m. Independence Hall tour
• 11:15-12:30 p.m. 243rd annual Declaration of Independence reading
• 12:45 p.m. Rustica Rosticceria
• The Gladiator Roasted pork, pulled and chopped with sharp provolone
• Marino’s Gobbler house-roasted sliced whole turkey breast cranberry apple spread rich turkey brown gravy classic stuffing with onions and celery
• 1:15 p.m. Benjamin Franklin Museum
• Saw a physical Leyden jar, something I've only read about
• Saw a Franklin's armonica
• Recovered from a migraine
• 4:00 p.m. Christ Church
• Organ refurbished in 2018
• Bell older than the Liberty Bell; they're not sure what to do with it
• 5:15 p.m. Betsy Ross House
• Cherry water ice 
• 6:00 p.m. Scoop DeVille @ The Bourse
• Fudge brownie ice cream
• 6:15 p.m. Wawa @ 1136 Market St
• Tastykake
• Wawa pretzel
• Homestyle Chicken Bites
• 6:30 p.m. back at hotel; watched reruns of The Office
• 11:00 p.m. Asleep

NOTES

• Rained off and on today, which made it cooler ... not too bad, only needed an umbrella a few times
• Serendipitous to attend the 243rd anniversary celebration of the first formal readings of the July 8, 1776 reading of the Declaration of Independence:
• "The first formal public readings of the document took place on July 8, in Philadelphia (by John Nixon in the yard of Independence Hall)...."
• Was scheduled as an outdoor event, but moved inside to Congress Hall
• Re-enactments with costumed performers, both for and against revolution
• Handed out laser tabloid sheets of the Declaration 
• Ate one and a half enormous cheesesteaks for lunch plus fries and subsequently got a migraine ... recovered by drinking a half-liter of water and loosening my belt one notch
• Wawa foods:
• Ate first Tastykake desserts:
• Baked Apple Pie
• Baked Peach Pie
• Chocolate Glazed Pie 
• Banana Pudding Creme Glazed Pie
• Homestyle Chicken Bites
• Wawa represents the Ojibwe word for the Canada goose (taken from The Song of Hiawatha)