Week of November 26, 2023 | Map Week 6
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Monday
Our plane landed late on Saturday night. We are in the "City of Brotherly Love," the city of the Eagles and Phillies, a city with a famous bell: the Liberty Bell! Geo and I went to visit the Liberty Bell today. We are in Philadelphia. Good detective work, to those who guessed correctly. Don't worry if you didn't figure this one out. GT's missions usually take a while, so I am sure we will need more help along the way! We are actually out on a ferry ride right now! Holy Idaho! It is a lot colder here than in Phoenix. We are waiting to hear from Louie. We have left him several voicemails and texts, but have heard nothing back. Did you know that Philadelphia is a port? A port is a place where boats and ships can come in and out. There are actually HUGE cruise ships here, cargo ships, and more. The Port of Philadelphia is the WORLD's largest freshwater port. There are lots of ocean (saltwater) ports, but Philadelphia's port is on a river. It is amazing. Check out our pictures from our daily adventures. We will write more tomorrow.
- Meri
Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. We found this photo online. Today, we all had to wear masks.
Close up of the Liberty Bell
Port of Philadelphia
Liberty Bell
Here is Ben\'s Guide to the Liberty Bell. Check it out to learn more about the importance of this American symbol.
Tuesday
Meri was so excited about the port and all of the ships, she forgot to tell you some fascinating facts about the geography and culture of this unique city. Did you know that 25% of North Americans are within a five-hour drive from Philadelphia? I had no idea. That means that one out of every four people lives reasonably close to Philly (as the locals say). Are you within a five-hour drive from Philadelphia?
Back before Washington, D.C. was our Nation's capital, guess where the capital was? It was here in Philadelphia. This is truly the city where our democracy was born. Our nation was "born" here in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence and the ringing of the Liberty Bell. Our government was also "born" here since the writing of the U.S. Constitution occurred in Philadelphia.
Today we did some sightseeing and went to some amazing museums and attractions. My favorite was the Franklin Institute (see the link we shared below). At the Franklin Institute, we learned all about one of my favorite inventors of all time: Benjamin Franklin. I thought I knew a lot about him, but I was wrong. The most interesting fact that I didn't know was that he was the President of the Philadelphia Abolitionist Movement (to abolish slavery). He also organized the first fire department in Philadelphia. And I thought that he was just a scientist and inventor. Boy was I wrong!
I guess I should explain WHERE Philadelphia is located. We are on the eastern side of the United States, at the eastern end of Pennsylvania. It is actually the largest city in the entire state! Take a look at the map of PA and see if you can find Philadelphia. What other major cities can you find? The city of Philadelphia is surrounded by mountains, valleys, lakes, streams, rivers, the Pocono Mountains, and more. This city truly has it all! Can you find the port?
The weather here is fairly moderate. The winters are cold (but certainly not like Alaska), and the summer does get hot and humid (due to engulfed air from the Atlantic Ocean). So even though it isn't quite winter here yet, it is pretty cold. We both have on our warm winter coats.
Back before Washington, D.C. was our Nation's capital, guess where the capital was? It was here in Philadelphia. This is truly the city where our democracy was born. Our nation was "born" here in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence and the ringing of the Liberty Bell. Our government was also "born" here since the writing of the U.S. Constitution occurred in Philadelphia.
Today we did some sightseeing and went to some amazing museums and attractions. My favorite was the Franklin Institute (see the link we shared below). At the Franklin Institute, we learned all about one of my favorite inventors of all time: Benjamin Franklin. I thought I knew a lot about him, but I was wrong. The most interesting fact that I didn't know was that he was the President of the Philadelphia Abolitionist Movement (to abolish slavery). He also organized the first fire department in Philadelphia. And I thought that he was just a scientist and inventor. Boy was I wrong!
I guess I should explain WHERE Philadelphia is located. We are on the eastern side of the United States, at the eastern end of Pennsylvania. It is actually the largest city in the entire state! Take a look at the map of PA and see if you can find Philadelphia. What other major cities can you find? The city of Philadelphia is surrounded by mountains, valleys, lakes, streams, rivers, the Pocono Mountains, and more. This city truly has it all! Can you find the port?
The weather here is fairly moderate. The winters are cold (but certainly not like Alaska), and the summer does get hot and humid (due to engulfed air from the Atlantic Ocean). So even though it isn't quite winter here yet, it is pretty cold. We both have on our warm winter coats.
- Geo
Port of Philadelphia
Do you know who this guy is? (Hint: we went to a museum about him today).
A cool picture Meri took downtown (looking up at all of the skyscrapers).
Franklin Institute
Learn more about the Franklin Institute. This site has lots of neat online exhibits to explore.
Map of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
Take a look at the map of PA and see if you can find Philadelphia. What other major cities can you find? The city of Philadelphia is surrounded by mountains, valleys, lakes, streams, rivers, the Pocono Mountains, and more. This city truly has it all! Can you find the port?
Thursday
Holy Idaho! I am SO EXCITED!!! We just got a phone call from GT. Apparently, Louie purchased a ticket to ride on a Mississippi Cruise NEXT Saturday. This cruise goes from Chicago and travels south on the Mississippi. Our cruise ends in Helena, Arkansas. So we have nine days until the cruise, but at least we know how to find him now. We should be on the cruise with him for 5 days and 4 nights! We are going to be taking the train to Chicago in a few days (we have been there before and LOVED it) and then we will be taking a taxi to the port for our riverboat cruise! Since the cruise costs so much money, Uncle GT has asked us to help out in the restaurant kitchen that week, they are pretty short-staffed. So we will be working 6-8 hours each day, but that is okay. It also gives Uncle GT a major discount on the cost of our tickets. We will still have lots of time to work on the case. Our ship actually departs from a tributary. Do you know what a tributary is? We will tell you all about it in our next blog entry. Take a look at the attached map of the United States, can you figure out which state Chicago is located in?
- Meri
Philadelphia (the city of Brotherly Love)
Another picture of the water in Philadelphia. Holy Idaho! What a cool city!
A cool statue we saw in Philadelphia
United States Map
Can you find Chicago? Which state is this great city located in? Here is a hint... it is around some Great Lakes too!
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