Rudy had just a few days off at Easter because of all our snow. We decided to take three days and stay in Philadelphia for a min-vacation.
We arrived Thursday night, grabbed a quick dinner, and headed to the Signer's Garden for the start of our ghost tour.
Rudy took advantage of being early and a fence to climb his way around the garden.
Our ghost tour began with a stop at the Franklin Library.
We heard some stories about Independence Hall.
Our guide's policy was, if you have a question, ask while we're walking, so Rudy pretty much walked with him the whole time.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Holy Trinity Church
Old Pine Street Church, which was used for English POWs.
Friday morning we headed out to the mall. We got entrance tickets for Independence Hall and started there. Rudy had recently learned about the Revolutionary War in school and knew a lot of the guide's questions.
Then we walked over to the Franklin Library. We could only go in the lobby to see some old books with hand drawn illustrations on display.
We also went to the U.S. Mint. On Fridays there is not much going on, so we could see the work area but nothing actually happening.
After the Mint we walked over to The Bourse for lunch. Rudy was feeling a little crazy by this point. (He brought his Nabi because he wanted to take pictures. I haven't looked at any yet but he not only took pictures, but made a video during the tour guide's into at Independence Hall).
After lunch we went to The Constitution Center.The presentation at the beginning and the hall of signers at the end were the most interesting parts to Rudy. He really didn't care about most of the displays.
Rudy and I with Mr. Livingston from New Jersey.
Good Ole Ben Franklin
A beautiful view of the mall area from the Constitution Center's second floor.
After that we walked many, many blocks to go to a chocolate restaurant called Max Brenner. It was only the lure of chocolate that kept Rudy from complaining.
We went back to our hotel to relax for a while before heading out for dinner and a show- The Cat in the Hat at the Arden Theater.
Saturday morning Rudy had an acting class at the Arden. Before that we headed out to search for a letterbox that was just a block away from our hotel at the Irish Monument.
We found the letterbox easily.
Then we discovered a Scottish Monument in the same park.
Rudy had some money and had decided the souvenir he wanted was spyglass so we went back to the Visitor's Center to purchase that. He had some time still before his class so he tried the spyglass out on the grass at the Mall.
Paul and I headed out to walk around on our own while Rudy was in his class. We had lunch and cookies at The Reading Market, browsed in music and book stores, and sat and relaxed in the park. Then we headed back to see what Rudy had done in his class.
The four kids had written a play, decided on their characters, and performed the play for us. I don't think I can even explain what the play was about, but Rudy was definitely the comedian of the group.
