Winter Break Trip - Day 4

I was awake at 0530 but didn't bother Mollie until 0730 (she’d slept through several alarms).  We ate breakfast (leftovers) in the room and then walked over to the Independence Hall Visitors Center (arrived at 0800).  A Ranger had recommended this time to me the previous day (it was the last day of ticketed tours of the Pennsylvania State House until March) but no one else had actually arrived yet.  Mollie noticed (annoyed) that the doors didn't open until 0830, so I suggested she walk around and take some photos (she did this and returned about 20 minutes later).  When the Visitors Center opened, we got our tickets (and a 10 minute history lesson from a volunteer) for a 0900 tour.  We made our way over there (and through security) about 15 minutes early and then got ushered inside for our tour.  It was Mollie’s first trip inside this historic building and we got a great Ranger for our tour.  Mollie took lots of pictures and asked me questions between stops.  After the tour was over (0930), we walked next door to visit Congress Hall, the seat of Congress from 1790 to 1800.  We got to sit in the seats of the House of Representatives and learned about the inauguration of John Adams.  After we finished with photos and walking around the grounds of Independence Hall, we went across the street and inside a big Wawa we'd seen.  We discovered that it was located inside an old Newspaper Building.  We walked south for a little bit until we reached Washington Square, where we paid our respects to Unknown Soldiers of the Revolution.  The weather was so great (low 50s and sunny).  On the way back, we located the Signers Statue (took more pictures) and then walked over to The Bourse.  Mollie had seen signs for a Ruth Bader Ginsberg exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History and we first thought about only going inside to buy Erin a souvenir at the gift shop.  Once inside the doors, however, we discovered that most of the museum was free.  So (at 1030) we started at the top floor and worked our way down through many interesting stories of Jewish immigration and famous Jewish-Americans through the years.  We were probably in the museum for almost an hour before we went to the gift shop.  The lady working there told us about a local event coming up in the next 48 hours (Mummers Parade) and talked about the murals we'd seen near the Zoo.  We then walked next door to get food at The Bourse (1145).  We sampled two different restaurants for our lunch (Mollie got Korean tacos from Tacorean and I got a grilled cheese sandwich and filling fries at Mighty Melt).  While we were eating, Mollie told me that she really enjoyed the kimchi (her first time trying it).  When we finished eating, we walked over to Betsy Ross' house (arrived at 1230).  We'd heard that the site was planning a 268th Birthday Bash (her birthday was on January 1) and took a tour of the home (complete with interactions with Betsy herself) before that event began; at 1300, we enjoyed a birthday party, complete with songs, a speech by Betsy and old-timey cupcakes.  Soon afterwards, we stopped at a small gift shop (Souvenir, Inc.) nearby so I could buy Mollie more memorable items from our visit.  We ended up talking to the owner for a little while (he was very nice).  We next walked towards the waterfront so we could visit Elfreth's Alley (oldest neighborhood in America).  The sightseeing trip was finished by 1415 and we walked back to the hotel.  Mollie and I spent several hours resting (I actually took a nap) and didn't get ready to go out again (Mollie's choice) until 1730.  By that time, Mollie had researched things to do in the evening and she told me we "needed" to go to the fireworks show that started at 1800.  That sounded fun, so we left our hotel, walked to Market Street and then towards Penn's Landing.  The closer we got to the waterfront, the more crowded it was; by 1745, we could barely move because there were so many people.  Fortunately, we were on the bridge over the Interstate and, when the fireworks began, we had a front row spot.  The show was really good, with colorful sparklers and memorable barrages of multi-effect explosions.  Mollie and I clapped a lot; after the fireworks were over, we walked back towards the Independence Mall.  We were both hungry but wanted to avoid large crowds and find something unique.  This took us on a rather large circuit around Market and Arch Streets but we eventually came back to just about where we started (Market Street Bridge, just west of Penn's Landing).  We ended up having dinner (Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, Philadelphia Roll Sushi) at Thai Koji Sushi Old City (1850).  Mollie and I both agreed that everyone at the business and tourist sites during the trip had been extremely friendly and welcoming.  Mollie added that she had a really great vacation.  Afterwards (close to 2000), we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening watching TV (“Jack Reacher 2”).  We took a break from the show to watch the ball drop in Times Square.  Both of us were asleep by 0045.  Happy  New Year!