Historical Cheesesteaks

Continuing with the tradition of "I have a day off, I must travel hours away" I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit my friend BJ Pickard who lives in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia.

One wonderful part of living in New York is the fact that public transportation rocks, and is frequently much cheaper than driving yourself. For example, in Wisconsin taking a bus 3 hours away would probably cost you almost 40 dollars. My Boltbus ride to Philly cost me 23 bucks round trip. A bus up to Providence for the Ke$ha concert (don't you dare judge me. We all have guilty pleasures) only cost 15 dollars round trip. This allows for cheap and quick travel, which is very convenient.

I only had Friday off of work, so this was going to be a quick day trip to the city. I wanted to explore the history that the city had to offer. It did serve as the capital city of the United States for over 10 years, so there had to be quite a bit to offer other than the Liberty Bell, and I was right.

I took the Subway into the old city (Philly terms: Center City is downtown, and Old City is where downtown was 200 years ago. Don't even get me started on whatever Water Ice is) and when I got there I headed for the Liberty Bell. I figured it would be a good place to grab information and set my bearings for the day ahead. Turns out I was right. The building that housed the Bell was filled with historical facts about the Bell. Where it came from, how it got cracked, and even when it was rang and why. I love history, so it all seemed very significant to me. The bell itself was old. What surprised me the most is that it still hung from the original wood plank that it was mounted on all those years ago.

Me with the Liberty Bell

There was a sense of pride and amazement that started with the Bell which only got bigger as the day went on through all the sights. Side note: While I was visiting Old City alone as BJ was preparing for the Sixers-Bucks game that evening, I was lucky enough to meet a student named Krystal who was visiting the city for a conference in the afternoon. So many of these sites we visited together.

As cool as the Liberty Bell was, it was really nothing compared to some of the other sites I was able to see. We had tickets to the Independence Hall tour that morning. The tour (like just about everything else in the Old City) was free and was put on by the National Park Service Rangers who were very well versed with their American History. I've gotta say, while I find myself to be a bit of a dork who has been waist deep in Uncle John's Bathroom Readers since I was 13, I can't say I knew my American History from the time of 1790-1800ish. In school we are educated about the time before the Revolutionary War and the War itself, but then there is a pretty big gap in there when the country was sort of figuring itself out for the first time. Making all the rules, making sure democracy was going to stick, that sort of thing. Those years is what Philly was all about. Independence Hall is the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed. It's where the Continental Congress met and discussed breaking away from the mother country. It's where the damn constitution of the United States was signed by George Washington. Many of the artifacts inside the Hall were original or period pieces, including the chair that George Washington used to sit in.

Independence Hall is currently undergoing renovations

Independence Hall took almost an hour altogether, and it was around lunch time. I needed a real Philly Cheesesteak before I left the next morning, and we got a recommendation from a park ranger to try a place called Jim's. It was about a 15 minute walk and another 5 minute wait, but it was oh so worth it. Jim's may not be one of the original Cheesesteak places in the city, but it was still pretty darn good. The grill was filled with beef, piles of onions and peppers along with whatever kind of cheese one could prefer. It was mouthwatering, and easily the best cheese steak I've ever eaten. Fully recommended.

At this point BJ was taking a break from work and Krystal needed to go present a study she took part in, so we parted ways. I grabbed a cookie and Beej grabbed cheesecake and we went back into the city. He took me to Christchurch, which is the church many of our founding fathers all attended and a few are also buried at. The church was massive for something so old. Being able to see Benjamin Franklin and George Washington's pews was surreal. When icons from the past are spoken about so often but never really visualized as normal human beings they seem almost mythical. Being here reminded me that these people were just that. People. They laid the groundwork for much of our country to be founded upon, but they were rebels. Really ballsy rebels. Benjamin Franklin's grave was still in really good shape compared to some of the other headstones that had been broken in half and dominated by the hundreds of Pennsylvania winters they have endured.

Beej had to go back to work, so I explored a little more by myself for a few hours before I took the Subway to the Bucks game later that night. I went to Carpenter Hall and also the old US War Department. Look, I've been to Washington DC more times than I've been anywhere else in the country other than Wisconsin and Peoria, Illinois, but the old capital is so much more different than Washington. The US War Building, the Pentagon of its time, staffed five people during its service. Five. Even the old congressional building (which I'll get to later) was about the size of a small mansion. This all represented a country that was just out of the womb. A country that was based off a few people's ideals, and wasn't even really sure if it would survive to see the next century. A government that was so broke after the Revolutionary War it had no idea how to raise the money from the states that needed their own independence too. It's incredible how powerful this country has become in such a short amount of time. Humble beginnings certainly.

Carpenter Hall

Also on site was the US Mint building. I've always wanted to see how money was made, so I stopped inside for a tour. The "tour" was really just a long hallway with old coinage and a few windows overlooking giant machines that produced our country's pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, 50 cent pieces, and dollar coins. I know that the government is obviously trying to stop the ability of counter-fitters by not having information about how the processes worked, but I would have hoped for a tour guide, or atleast a TV screen depicting some information about how the plant worked everyday. I enjoy knowing how and why things work the way they do. The US Mint creates millions of coins a month, and how it does that baffles my mind.

The one downside of everything being operated by the Parks Service is that everything shuts down promptly at 5PM. I had time for one more tour, and I saved the best for last. Remember Congress Hall? This is the building that housed both the House of Representatives and the Senate for over a decade. The tour began with the guide inviting us into the House Chamber and telling us to sit down at any chair. Sitting in the same place that the founders of this country sat in was pretty cool. Obviously the chairs weren't original (upstairs in the Senate they were) but there was still something special about looking up at the same place George Washington handed over the Presidency over to John Addams after two terms even though many were afraid he might not. It was the birthplace of Congress. After getting more information downstairs, we were invited upstairs into the Senate chamber. It was tiny. Back then there were only 26 Senators, the Vice President's chair, and the Senate Secretary. The room was lush to say the least. A giant carpet, beautiful chairs, a big chandelier, and huge curtains. In meeting rooms surrounding the chamber there were massive portraits of Marie Antionette and King Louis of France. Again, I got the feeling of a very intimate atmosphere compared to things at Washington which are so huge. I could see debates getting very heated in this room, because a Senator would only be sitting maybe 20 feet from the man he was debating at the time. Incredible.

After five I walked around the old city for about an hour, then grabbed the Subway to the Wells Fargo Center on the south side of Philly. The 76ers were playing the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks had one of the worst games of basketball I've seen in awhile, but I did enjoy Crab fries and cheese from a local eating establishment called Chickie's and Pete's. They were amazing.

Left the next morning to make my closing shift at Madame Tussauds. Too short of a trip, but a very nice trip nonetheless. Really makes me want to get down to Washington DC again and bring in the Smithsonian's one more time.

Till next time.