Independence Hall, Philadelphia PA

No trip to Philadelphia would be complete without a visit to where our country officially began. As a National Park, Independence Hall is free to the public with tickets available at the Visitor's Center found across the street. But I highly recommend purchasing reserved tickets which can be obtained in advance for just $1.50 each through the internet. Otherwise, you may need to queue up for tickets early in the morning, just to get a spot for mid to late afternoon. Online information said, tickets can be gone by noon.

The Independence Hall Visitor's Center was a great place to start to stock up on pamphlets, maps, snacks and you can even schedule tours. I didn't check out the prices, but for a family of six...almost any tour is going to be costly. There is a free mini-museum of sorts in the Visitor's Center that gives you a brief background on various sites throughout the city. Even Rocky makes an appearance.

Some of my kids like history...some don't. And I confess that the Colonial or Revolutionary War period is not one that I know a lot about. But I found all of the sites we visited so fascinating, that I may brush up a little more on this era. The tour for Independence Hall only lasts about 30 minutes, so the guides are able to hold a child's attention fairly well. They also engage the children and are great at answering all sorts of questions. They are official Park Rangers and wear the usual National Park Ranger uniforms.

According to the Park Ranger, the chair where George Washington sat during all of the meetings and even the signing of the Declaration of Independence is the only authentic piece of furniture in the building. Regardless of the fact that the others are replicas...it was still amazing to stand in the place where so many gifted, intelligent men once gathered to iron out in just a few months a Constitution that is still going strong after over 230 years!

Of course, being the movie buffs that we are...we couldn't go without taking some photos of where one of our favorites...National Treasure...was filmed. Little did we know how often we would be recalling movie scenes the following day in New York City.