We’re Having an Adventure

     We should have gotten to Lexington yesterday, but if you read yesterday's blog, you know that we were stuck in Philadelphia for the night. We had to go out in a horrendous storm, and after we got back to the hotel we basically just hung out for the night. 

      This morning, after we checked out of the hotel, we had some time before we needed to go to the airport so we went to the visitors center near Independence Hall. This mural was outside (but also inside) the parking garage. 

    They had a squished penny machine, and I happen to love squished pennies. It also is incredibly simple to swipe your card and get all 4 coins, without having to search for any coins at all. 

     We got this picture because it was fun. 

      And we saw these very old things on the way to see the Liberty Bell. I was so focused on the bell I didn't even check to see what these old things were. But I liked them. 

     And then we got to see the bell! The guard (guide? Not sure who he was) near the bell said there are no lines for the bell, just move up. So people moved up near it, on all sides, and got photos or selfies. Lots of selfies. 

     I did get in to get this quick photo of the crack in the bell. Maybe another time we will spend more time looking around. There was a lot to see once you got through security. Not just the bell (we skipped pretty much everything because I had a goal and limited time). 

     We also saw Independence Hall. There were no more tickets for tours so we didn't get to go inside. I did catch a video of the bell tolling at noon. It was really cool to see it, even if just from the outside. 

     And because we were in Philadelphia, we got Philly cheesesteaks. From a food cart that was basically a tiny food truck. It was really good and we fed some really brave little birds that came to hang out with us where we ate in a shady spot in the park. 

    We were running short on time so we headed back to the visitor's center. I got this cool picture of Travis. 

     And this one, because my friend said I needed a picture of Travis getting a hug from the Green Monster. So I did. 

     We headed back to Hertz to drop the car off and got the shuttle back to the airport. We almost made it through security, but Travis got another pat down (almost always now) which he was cool with. One of my bags was also flagged again. The TSA agent asked if I had anything fragile in it and I said yes, a model horse. He said he would be really careful and he was. Though when he took her out, both her ears were broken (crap!). He said it looked like that was the only damage and he said he just had to test her (OMG!) but he didn't do anything that would mess up the model so that was fine. He has to do his job after all. I asked if I could repack her and he said yes, absolutely, and let me come around to his desk. So I got to see the x-ray pic too. 

     So as is typical for us these days, we got flagged at security. But we weren't doing anything wrong so I had no concerns. The agent was very pleasant and seemed happy that we were nice and cooperative. But why not? He's just doing his job and we had so much time before the flight. Clearly, since I am currently sitting at the gate waiting for boarding. We didn't have a whole lot of time in Philadelphia, but we got to spend a bit of time there. I am already planning another trip there at some point, so I will see the things we didn't get a chance to see when we go again. Travis said he's still having fun. And he's still saying he wants to go to a horse show. He will get his wish tomorrow.