The City of Brotherly Love

Last year, somewhere in the midst of our 2010 10,000 mile road trip from Boston to Southern California and back, plans for our summer 2011 began. I think that I was somewhere in Ohio when, on a scrap of paper, I began mapping out stops around the perimeter of our country to which I just couldn't wait to take my kids. Yesterday morning we awoke with the sun to begin our journey. We arrived in Philadelphia in the afternoon and headed straight to the National Constitution Center, which is a hands on museum chronologically explaining the constitution. It gave us the opportunity to understand the creation of the constitution, the branches of the government, the power of the states vs. the federal government and the major historical events involving the constitution, such as Brown vs. the Board of Education.

There was an entire room filled with life sized statues of the signers of the Constitution.

Visitors could sign the Constitution, just as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin did.

We stood under our Utah Flag that hung in order of its acceptance into the union. We wondered if we should stand on Utah, Massachusetts or Texas!

Our next stop was to see the Liberty Bell. I was so worried as I hurried down 95 that we would have to pick and choose what we could fit in in Philadelphia, after running in to traffic across the George Washington Bridge and having to make a few extra stops than planned. We didn't arrive until 4:00, but I realized that it was to our advantage to arrive late in this tourist packed city. The hours were extended at the city's famous sites and the crowds had thinned out. There was no line for the Liberty Bell, nor for Independence Hall!

This is the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.

I had promised the kids Phillie's famous cheese steak sandwiches for dinner, so we found an urban sandwich shop and enjoyed dinner.

We then walked around Philadelphia's Old Town and saw Christ's Church, where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin worshipped, Elphreth's Alley, the oldest continuously lived upon street in the country, the Betsy Ross home and Benjamin Franklin's Grave.

After driving through the Society Hill neighborhood, which was where the high class colonists lived, we stopped to see the iconic LOVE sculpture.

We then made our way to the Art Museum where Rocky was filmed running the stairs for an intense workout. I was surprised to see many Philadelphians racing up and down the stairs for exercise that looked just as intense as Rocky's. My younger children joined them and surprised me at how many times they ran up and down the stairs. They were all proud that they were dripping in sweat by the end and each one of them wanted me to feel their foreheads and back of their necks to make sure that I could appreciate their hard work! The night brought me back to 4th grade with my friends Tara Cochia and Kari Peterson. We would wear 501 jeans, sing Joni Jett songs at recess, talk about our crush on Nick Sabala and watch our favorite actor, Sylvester Stallone!

These shoe prints were at the top of the stairs where Rocky stood, with his arms up, looking over Philadelphia.

Our night ended with the kids excitement over spotting fire flies that define Southern summer nights. They were so excited when then caught them and held them in their cupped hands!

We knew that we were in for a good summer!

Martin's Cove

Our last stop on our Mormon history trip across the country was in Martin's Cove Wyoming. When we arrived in this area, we truly felt that this was sacred ground, as a result of the events that took place here. On July 28th, 1856, 500 pioneers left Nebraska dangerously late in the season, to try to make it to Salt Lake City before the winter snow began to fall. An early winter storm slowed them down in October and again in early November. After meeting a rescue party that was sent out by Brigham Young, they camped for five days against the mountain in harsh conditions. By the time the pioneers finally reached the Salt Lake Valley, more than 150 members of this party had died and the remaining 350 were in dire conditions. When we arrived at the Cove, we were able to pull our own hand cart, just as these pioneers did.

We then walked to the spot where the Handcart Company camped. Along the way, we passed huge bronze statues depicting the pioneers and the rescuers, historical markers and, our children's favorite, missionaries telling stories about the pioneers who camped here during that fateful November.

This stop, which is only a few hours from Salt Lake, was one of our favorite stops on our journey. We couldn't believe that we hadn't visited here before!

Winter Quarters

We traveled from Missouri to Winter Quarters Nebraska, just outside of Omaha. We were welcomed into the visitor center, where we learned about the harsh winter of 1846 to 1847 during which the Mormon Pioneers spent several months waiting to begin their journey across the plains. They had abruptly left Nauvoo and had few supplies or adequate clothing. When they arrived in Nebraska, they quickly set up a camp that consisted of sod huts and log cabins. While waiting, about 400 of the 2,500 Saints died of Tuberculosis, Scurvy and Malaria. We spent the morning in the visitor center, playing games and learning about the pioneer's way of life.

We then walked across the street to the pioneer cemetery. The only remaining head stone from the pioneers is marked with the name of Amy. She was a young mother who died here.

We visited the Winter Quarter's Temple, and took pictures outside. It is the only temple that has a name of historical significance rather than of geographic location.

We stopped at Council Bluffs to see the Kanesville Tabernacle, which is where the Mormon Battalion departed from and where Brigham Young was sustained as the second president and prophet of our church. Council Bluffs is also where the Mormon Trail begins.

Our last stop of the day was in Omaha for dinner. We walked around the larger than life bronze statues of the wagon trains beginning their journeys.