Rick and I spent Friday morning watching a fascinating documentary on the American Revolution on the History Channel. At noon, we drove into Philadelphia, parking at Citizens Bank Park. From there, we rode the subway into the city to check out the historic sites that mark our nation's independence. This is the best shot I could get of the Liberty Bell.
Call me a historical novice, but I didn't realize until today that the inscription on the bell that hung in the bell tower of Independence Hall is a quote from Leviticus 25.10: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
By recommendation of my sister, we made our way to Geno's on 9th Street. Geno's is a famous Philly Cheesesteak diner in Philadelphia. When we arrived, the line snaked around the building. On our walk to Geno's, we passed this marker that identifies all the historical church buildings in the city. One of the neat scenes on the lawn around Independence Hall was a Quaker group singing acappella hymns, holding signs, and "street preaching."
I couldn't believe it, but when we arrived and did a personal tour of Citizens Bank Park before the game, we found this picture of Rick (see Wednesday's edition to see what I mean).
And thanks to the connection to the radio voice of the Phillies, Scott Franzke, through my old pal, Allan Stanglin, we had comp tickets on the second row right behind first base. This was the view of the game from our seats.Unfortunately, the rain that was forecasted to arrive in the Philadelphia area, did so in the Top of the 3rd. We waited it out until the 5th and then, since we didn't really have a rooting interest, we decided to "fill our horn with oil...and go" (you Baseball Tonight regulars will get that one). The Phillies ended up winning 3-2 on a walk off single by Shane Victorino in the 9th.
Tomorrow following our Continental Breakfast at the hotel, we'll make the short 117 mile drive down to Baltimore for Saturday evening's matchup between the Orioles and the Texas Rangers. Since we will have a rooting interest in that one, the forecasted rain will have no effect on our presence or lack thereof at the game!
