Philadelphia

Better late than never, right? We went to PA recently for the Penn State/Alabama game. It was so much fun! We were able to see all the historical sites and also the beautiful countryside while heading to Happy Valley. But while heading to PA, we had a 3 hour layover in Minneapolis, MN, so we made a pit stop at the Mall of America (with all our luggage and only about an hour to browse).

Me at the Mall of America--notice the roller coasters in the background.

Our sweet tailgating spot in Happy Valley

Both of our families at the Penn State Creamery. It was so amazing! The Happy Happy Joy Joy is what I ate (coconut with chocolate and almonds). Everyone else seemed to get Peachy Paterno.

Look who I ran into! It's Joe Pa!

Lots of white, but also lots of crimson

We had a great time in Happy Valley!

It's always nice to go home with a win.

This sign definitely bummed me out.

Look! It's a giant UGG boot!

This is the location where George Washington lived while he was president. Unfortunately, a lot of historic buildings in Philadelphia were torn down.

I believe this street was called Jewelers Row. It's all jewelry stores, except for one pizza place.

Independence Hall

This building is where the First Continental Congress met in 1788.

Like I said, many buildings in Philadelphia have been destroyed. This is what they think Benjamin Franklin's house looked like...

Ben Franklin's post office--we went in this building to learn how printing presses worked.

Christ Church--where the founding fathers attended. I sat in George Washington's pew.

I was able to ring this bell is Christ Church. It is over 600 years old!

These cute row houses were built in the early 1700s.

Betsy Ross's house

The non-impressive LOVE sign. It's way smaller than I imagined it would be. You can also see the art museum in the background. It's famous for Rocky running up the stairs. We did it twice.

Philadelphia's City Hall

The Liberty Bell

We were lucky! We flew on the Disney plane back home.

Visiting Philadelphia really made me appreciate our country more. We did go during September 11th which may have something to do with it. But while visiting all these historic places, I came to appreciate our founding fathers more. They gave up their lives to come to America for religious freedom. They were missionaries in a sense. They knew that if they didn't succeed (win the Revolutionary War), they would be killed--not only killed, but their bodies would be completely mutilated as a sign of disrespect to the king. We really do live in an amazing place, and I'm proud to be an American!