The only good thing was the cream cheese.

Liberty schmiberty.
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Let's see... how to best describe our day in Philadelphia. Well, I guess we can begin there. We had planned to spend the entire day in Philadelphia. We were finished in about two hours.

The city had lots of promise for us. There's the historic side of it, like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, not to mention the tourist attractions, like the Rocky statue on the library steps and the famous Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. So we had a great outlook on things when we pulled into downtown Philadelphia. The area looked neat, too. However, things kind of went downhill once we parked the car.

Our first stop was Independence Hall, where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were written and signed. The building, about the size of a large apartment, offers free tours, so we were eager to check it out. But when we got there, we were greeted with a big sign that urged us to go to the Welcome Center, where we could get our free tickets.

So we walked a block or so down the street to the Welcome Center, which we decided later wasn't so welcoming at all. We got our tickets, only to find out that the tours were timed, in that we had to go at a certain time of the day. Our assigned time was two hours from then, and included a 30-minute "security" wait. What?? So, much to our dismay, we said, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Our next stop was to see the Liberty Bell...surely that wouldn't give us the same disappointing outcome. Unfortunately, we were wrong. We got in line, only to discover that the line was a security line. We had to go through a vigorous check of our personal property -- it was worse than airport security. Shoes, watches, hats, cameras, everything had to be removed and searched. All just to see an old bell with a big crack in it. But we did it, and saw the Liberty Bell, which was exactly what you'd think it would be. An old bell with a big crack in it. But it's part of history, and we saw it firsthand, so there you go.

Finally, it was off to see the Rocky statue. We were able to drive up somewhat close to the Art Museum, where we saw what we thought to be the steps from the Rocky movie. But we couldn't seem to find the bronze statue of the fighter himself. (We found out later that the reason we couldn't see it was because it wasn't there. It was just next door at the Library. So much for the helpful guy at the information booth.)

Tired, hot and disappointed with our Philly experience, we decided to drown our sorrows in a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich at one of the famous shops down the street. But when we pulled in, we saw that the line of people wound out into the street. It had to have been at least 60 people long. So we moved on down the road to New Jersey, where we have found a great deal at the Hilton -- 60% off the normal room rate! (Finally, something good will come out of today!)

Tomorrow is New York City.

Get a rope.