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A statue of Commodore John Barry greets visitors on the south side of Independence Hall.

Philly in a Day

I grew up outside of Philadelphia as much as I grew up anywhere as a military brat. I remember loving my mom’s cheesesteak sandwiches (a Philadelphia original made by a Richmond native), the school cafeteria’s soft pretzels (probably made in New Jersey), hoagies (any meat and cheese sandwich also called a Po-Boy at our next duty station), and anything from Wawa (a local convenience store start up with one of the best coffee bars ever.) I must admit – I haven’t eaten much REAL Philadelphia food IN Philadelphia. However, there is so much more to Philadelphia than JUST the food, although thinking about these foods makes my mouth water.

As a child, I lived an hour north of Philadelphia. But in the 1980s, the city did not have a great reputation. It was a place to be avoided, according to my parents. So, we didn’t go there very often.

After college, I took my husband to visit my sister and her family, who had moved about 40 minutes (depending on traffic) outside the city. Around 20 years ago, we took a trip into the city on the local train. That was an easy, fun adventure with her kiddos.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

The Flagg boys head to the train station for their Philly adventure.

Since then, the boys and I took a similar trip while Tim was deployed.  My parents lived in central Pennsylvania, so the five of us road the train to Philadelphia for the day. We asked the boys what they most wanted to see. We charted a route that would get us everywhere we wanted to go and still get back to the train and back home by dinner time, a necessary feature for grumpy boy tummies.

Deep in the Heart of Philly

We left about 9:00 a.m. in the morning. It was summer and we didn’t want to rush. Leaving mid-morning would get us to the Philadelphia train station about 10:00 a.m., which would mean we’d get to the Franklin Institute about 15 minutes later. As I recall, after all the potty stops and map reading, we arrived at our first stop about 10:30 a.m.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

The Franklin Institute provides hands-on science learning in Philadelphia.

The Franklin Institute was a place I had not visited since I was about six years old. The science and technology museum is a nod to Benjamin Franklin’s legacy.  The thing that stuck out most prominently in my memory was a ginormous walk-through heart. I remember thinking it was huge and scary. Though my memories were from 40- ish years before, I thought I remembered the line to see this amusement park-like attraction went out the door.

I may have been wrong.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

Like most things from one’s earliest memories, the giant human heart model was not nearly as huge or impressive as I remembered. However, it was still fun to walk through and share my six-year-old memories with my boys. They laughed because the size in my memories did not match the somewhat large structure that resembled a human heart. They still enjoyed the exhibit, though, and there was even more to experience in the museum's human circulatory system section. All of it was highly educational and fun.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

The heart exhibit allows visitors to walk through the chambers of the heart.

The Franklin Institute had many more multi-sensory exhibits. There was a section about the brain, including how we process what we see. The exhibit contained a walk-through “village” of optical illusions. This may have been our favorite part.

One room in the optical illusion village included a “bed”. When I laid down on it, it felt like I was standing up! Another room had a checkered floor that made one person standing at the back of the room look huge and the other person look abnormally small.

Another brain exhibit focused on the psychology of detective work. It was fascinating to learn how to discern someone’s “tell” when they were bluffing. Needless to say, my boys knew I was on to them!

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

The boys make a stop at Ben Franklin’s statue.

We chose only a few of the many exhibits the Institute offered, since we wanted to experience some of Philadelphia's historical sites, as well. It would be a 20–30-minute walk to our next stop, the Liberty Bell.

Digging in to History

Sometimes we have little detours in our plans.

On the way to the Liberty Bell, we were surprised by a statue in Logan Square.  It was General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who was a Polish hero of the American Revolution. The boys were familiar with him, having seen another statue of him at USMA West Point, NY. My husband Tim, who is an engineer, had spoken of Kosciusko a few times when we lived there since George Washington appointed him as chief engineer at West Point during the Revolutionary War.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

General Kosciuszko keeps watch over Logan Square in Philadelphia.

Unbeknownst to me, General Kosciuszko also had an important role in Philadelphia during the war. He designed key fortifications and barriers near the city. His statue was prominently featured on our walk, but pausing to look at it delayed us about five minutes.

Next we stopped just outside the Liberty Bell exhibit to check out The President’s House. It is an open-air reconstructed exhibit of George Washington and John Adams’ residence while each was president of our young nation. My favorite was the glass display case of archaeological finds housed here.

Let Freedom Ring

We finally reached the Liberty Bell about 40 minutes after leaving the Franklin Institute. After visiting the very clean restrooms, we got into line for the Liberty Bell. The line moved quickly, yet there was still time to take many photos while security encouraged the masses along.

Placards lining the cueing area on the way to see the Bell provided plenty of information, so we didn’t need to pay for a docent-led tour or bust out the cell phones for Google. We learned about the popularity of the bells and clocks of the time and their purpose in church and hall towers.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

We finally made it to the Liberty Bell!

The Liberty Bell sits in the middle of a large bay window area on a short stage. Glass allows plenty of natural light onto the exhibit’s star, making it easy to see the Leviticus 25:10 inscription: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof.”

Once the cue arrived at the bell, we were able to walk around it 360 degrees. We could inspect the metal work from a couple of feet away (no touching, of course!) and the feature that has been the talk of the nation for 250 years, the crack.

The next stop was the souvenir shop. Teen boys, what can I say? We probably spent too much time here, because we missed our next stop.

Ande Flagg/PCS Adventures

The Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were signed in Independence Hall.

Independence Hall is only a short walk from the Liberty Bell. The bummer was that we got there after the last tour started. However, the boys were starting to tire from all the walking and “museuming”. It was a hot, summer day. So, we walked around Independence National Historical Park and took photos of the things we could.

Shortly after that, we decided we were finished in Philadelphia and were so tired. We walked 30-minutes back to the train station. On the way, we noted the famous Philadelphia Art Museum stairs that Rocky Balboa ran up in “Rocky”.

Priceless Memories

If I had to do it over, I would have tried to keep our time in the Franklin Institute a little shorter so we wouldn’t have missed the time in Independence Hall, but it was just so much fun. We also did not walk quite as quickly as we may have if we were all athletes. A “Hop-on Hop-off” bus might be helpful to get more sights in for the day.

All in all, the boys were pleased with the sights they saw. We were all exhausted after walking several miles in the heat, but it left us with a sense of satisfaction. It was a great trip, though, because we made memories together and with the boys’ grandparents. That was priceless.

Closest Military Installations

MWR Locations Nearby

If You Go:

This is just one way to design a day trip to Philly.  Some other sights to see include:

• Independence Hall tour
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art 
• Check out the “Rocky” statue.
• Pat’s or Geno’s Philly Cheesesteak They are across the street from each other and considered the “real deal.”
• Not interested in cheesesteak or more than just a cheesesteak? Head to Reading Terminal Market. It has a city’s worth of restaurants and fresh-food vendors as far as the eye can see.

In town longer than a day or two?

• Longwood Gardens is about 50 minutes (26 miles) west of the airport.
• Valley Forge Historical Park is about 50 minutes (30 miles) north.
• The Schuylkill River Trail is great for biking and hiking between Philadelphia and Valley Forge. Information here!
• Sports fans might like to go to a Philly’s, Eagles, Flyers, or 76ers game depending on the season.

Also, we brought water bottles with us to refill and avoided buying anything other than our one lunch at the Franklin Institute. The food was better than average cafeteria fare, but do not go expecting to stay on your diet. If you are picky about your food, I suggest finding an eatery while you walk from one site to another.

If you want to learn more about General Kosciuszko , you can go see his memorial, which is very close to Independence Hall.