Rocky Vs Vader - Nov. 8; Philly

I have come to the conclusion, through personal observation and the application of logic and reason, that the United States has a lot of very large bridges. Today, we crossed the very large bridge dubbed the Benjamin Franklin bridge, that crosses the Delaware between Camden, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. We then hunted down a parking lot and found one at a spot along the river called Penn's Landing. From there, we climbed a flight of stairs that took us to the portion of Market street that is above the interstate and walked along Market heading towards the Historic district.

Market is a nice, wide thoroughfare with many shops and restaurants. From the signs on one stretch of buildings, it seems that Benjamin Franklin once owned a number of businesses that fronted Market Street. After going a few blocks, we observed that there were a number of police and that they were blocking off the street. As we were in need of some cash, when we came upon a TD Bank that happened to be open on Sundays, we decided to duck into the branch. While we were there, I asked the teller why the street outside was being

blocked off by police and she told me that the Veteran's Day Parade was happening. After we continue our walk, I stopped to ask one of the patrolmen about the Parade and he informed me that the parade had already begun and that we were only a block away from being able to watch it. Another block brought us to a viewing gallery for dignitaries. For some reason, we were not allowed to join the people on the gallery (I feel that we are dignitaries form Canada but not everyone shares this opinion) but we were able to find a good viewpoint across the street. The picture has the grandstand across the street in the background.

The parade was a bit slow and disjointed. We found out a bit later on that this was the first ever Veteran's Day Parade in Philly, which explains why it was choppy with moments of confusion. However, the display by the men and women in uniform and the many organizations that support them was excellent. I particularly enjoyed the parachutists and the rifle guard. The latter put on a real show of skill and dexterity - flipping their rifles through the air in unison. Also, by sheer happenstance,

the Mayor Elect chose the piece of sidewalk directly behind us as his place to watch the proceedings. Isaac and I introduced ourselves and had a short chat with him (he's in the background of our selfie). Seems like a decent fellow. Not a Habs fan though; supports the Flyers for some strange reason. Also in the background, between our heads, is Independance Hall and, in front of the hall, is the lawn where the parachutists landed.

The parade was ongoing but we decided to start walking further up Market Street to see more of the city. A few blocks down, we found an old building that turned out to be the site where Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. Consulting the map, we determined to walk toward the Liberty Bell, which took us in a loop back to a spot only a block away from where we had been watching the parade. We found that to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, one needs to get inside of a gated area so we walked another few blocks to the Visitor Centre to find out more. By then, we were all a bit tired and hungry so we had the remainder of our lunch (Sonya and Natasha had prepared sandwiches and snacks) at the Visitor Centre. We also got tickets for a tour of Independence Hall.

Then we visited the place where all of the magic happens. No, we didn't take a tour of our bedroom - get you mind out of the gutter! Sheesh! We visited the (play trumpets and state in a loud, authoritative voice, with echo)....

Assembly Room of Independence

Independence Dependence Pendence Dence ence

Yes, this is the building that was home to the Pennsylvania legislature back in the pre-Revolutionary days of the early 1700's that was subsequently used by the American Congress to debate and eventually sign the Declaration of Independence. It is also the building where representatives of 12 of the 13 states of the fledgling United States of America (Rhode Island did not show up) assembled to create the US Constitution. For a building that is going on 300 years old, it has been exceedingly well preserved. It is a three-story brick structure, which goes to show just how good the British were at building in brick by the early 18th century. The interior is fairly simple in design, containing few, albeit very large, rooms. The Assembly Room has a small raise dais where whomever happened to be presiding would be seated at a wooden desk. Another 8 or 10 tables with wooden chairs scattered around the room complete the furnishings. On the tables were quills and ink and each table would have accommodated 4 or 5 people. So let there be no doubt as to the ability of a small group of determined people to change the course of history. Only a few dozen men were present to debate and create the Declaration of Independence. And only but of few of them, namely Jefferson with some help from Franklin and Adam, created the first draft that was the essence of the final product.

By the time the tour was over, it was 4pm and we still had to walk back to our truck and stop for groceries on the way home. That took over an hour so it was time to make supper when we got back. Isaac had volunteered to take a turn at preparing supper so I cooked chicken on the barbeque while Sonya prepared a salad and Natasha set the table. Oh, and Isaac made peanut butter and jam sandwiches as an appetizers. He also washed some carrots for a side dish. That's my boy!

I had convinced the family to watch Rocky, as it is a movie that takes place in Philadelphia and the city is still quite proud of the Rocky franchise. There was a statue of Rocky in the visitor centre and the Museum of Art still displays the statue from the movie where that famous scene took place of Rocky, while in training, running up the steps and raising his fists in the air. Therefore, we watched the movie after supper before retiring to bedlam for the eve. Sonya loved it, of course. She's always been a big boxing fan - NOT! (Wayne's World reference for you, Adam). I had not seen the movie in years and there was less fighting than I remembered. Much of the movie is about the love story between Rocky and Adrian. Also, movies made in the 1970's are slow, with the exception of Star Wars, of course.