Vacation 2

In Philadelphia we were very privileged to have our own tour guide, Mr. K. He has a history major and made Philadelphia very interesting. He also accompanied us to Valley Forge. Valley Forge is where George Washington and his men camped during the winter for 1777. Valley Forge is huge, it was picked because of the ease with which they (the colonists) could watch the the british (who were down in Philadelphia). This winter was not the coldest winter, but because of the lack of supplies and disease, Washington lost over half of his 12,000 men. Later, in the spring, Baron Frierich von Steuben came from Europe and drilled the lagging group of men into a well working army. There is a statute of his likeness now erected in Valley Forge to remember him. In Philadelphia we went to one of the first cheese-steak stands, it is called "Pats Steaks". People say it is the best. They were pretty good. Part of a movie was filmed at Pats, it was "Rocky". There was a plaque on the floor showing where he stood. After that we went to see the Liberty Bell. The Liberty bell was really cool. But I never realized how small it actually is. Well, it isn't that small, but I always that that it was gigantic!

Here are some more pictures!

An original "Philly Cheese-Steak"

Order line

Emmy

Lunchtime!

(the Organizingmommy:

http://organizedeveryday.blogspot.com/ )

Have you tried parking in Philadelphia?

The Liberty Bell

Centennial bell in Independence Hall.

Independence Hall

Statute on Philly.

The valley of Valley Forge

Welcome center

Hudsonhornet and statute of George Washington.

Helping with the building.

A remake of one of the cabins George Washington's men would have built.

Family in one of the cabins.

Emmy

Home! Sweet Home! (Vacation 3)

We had an amazing time in D.C. But with only 1 1/2 days, it is impossible to see everything, however, we did see almost all the memorials. We saw(and touched) the Washington Monument, but did not go up in it. We saw the White house, but from around 500 yards away. We made it to the National Archives, but there was a 2 hour wait and we had to be somewhere else in an hour and a half, so we did not go in. We went to the Library of Congress. Did you know that there are two libraries of congress? We got mixed up and went to the wrong one first, it is mainly conference rooms and offices. So we went across the road and saw the old one. Part of National Treasure 2 was filmed here.

We did not see everything, but it was still really fun. Here are some of the hundreds of photos that were taken. Enjoy!

Corinthian pillars on the Archives of the United States of America.

Library of Congress from the outside.

Architecture in the Library of Congress.

One of the many interesting ceilings in the Library of Congress.

Flag and the Washington Monument

Here are some flags that surround the Washington Monument.

A long way up...

National Archives

Lincoln Memorial under construction. (bummer)

Washington Monument and the reflecting pool.

(more construction)

Statute of Abraham Lincoln

Water Break

Vietnam Memorial

Central fountain at the WWII Memorial.

"Sunglassed" brothers under our state at the WWII Memorial.

One of the may inscriptions at the WWII Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial

Staring at the sky from the Lincoln Memorial.

"Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear."

Than and Emmy in front of a moto of FDR.

Kids at the FDR memorial.

~Jefferson Memorial~

Statute of Thomas Jefferson.

Staring at the sky from the Jefferson Memorial.