Friday 6th April - Sunday 8th April
USA is a bit like France in its desire to keep all things state and religion separate from each other and so Easter weekend comes and goes without a single public holiday (Pfizer though do generously provide 2 days of "religious" holidays for each employee to take as and when it best suits them). We were lucky enough this year that Uncle J, Aunty A and cousin D decided to join us for the break following a short stint in NYC (it does work rather nicely so ...... come on the rest of you ........ where are you?).
So pleased were with our trip to Gettysburg earlier in the week and polishing off another national park Junior Ranger quiz, we entertained them with a trip to Philadelphia and a visit to the National Historic Park of Independence Hall (http://www.nps.gov/inde/index.htm). In this historic city park in the centre of the former capital, the founding of USA is there to see in all its glory. First up the old and dramatically cracked Liberty Bell, cast in Whitechapel Foundry London in 1751, to celebrate 50 years of William Penn's Charter of Priviledges of 1701 (he was the founder of Pennsylvania (Penn's sylvania) who was given the land by King Charles II to repay a debt owed to the family). The bell became an iconic symbol of liberty and freedom when it was rung in 1776 to call the people of Philadelphia to hear the first reading of the Declaration of Independence and was later used as a symbol of unity for the nation following the civil war. The most dramatic period of the bell's history was when it was removed from the city in October 1777 and hidden under the floor boards of a church in Allentown (about 30miles away) because it was thought that, if left in the city, the British soldiers would melt it down to make cannons. The Bell is enscribed with the words “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof” and has made it a fitting symbol of the principles on which the founding of USA was (and is) based. Not only did we visit the bell but also Independence Hall where the declaration of independence was drafted and signed, Old City Hall which was the home of the US supreme court for many years and Benjamin Fanklin's printing press. It was a busy day of guided tours, quizzes and collecting trading cards but by the time our feet were ready for a rest we had polished off another Junior Ranger programme and had a badge safely tucked in our pockets. Uncle J's face at lunch when we told him the last thing we had had in our plastic containers were tadpoles from our pond dipping was a picture.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny (again!!) so off to another local state park to explore - French Creek (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/frenchcreek/). I have been getting this inkling of an idea that I would like a kyack to explore the local waterways on the warm sunny days to come and I have only been partially put off by my sighting of water snakes - today's outing confirmed that it would be a fun thing to have - I shall put it on my birthday list. We had a great walk around the lake and saw yet more interesting wild-life - turtles sunning themselves on platforms on the water, evidence of beavers bringing down trees and building dams and also the amazingly butterfiles and dragonflies that busy themselves around the waters edge - these things certianly are bigger here.
We decided to take it easy on Sunday and test out the new water slide - I can't believe that it was warm enough already - anyway this definitely kept the little people cool. Thanks to Aunty A for encouraging us to church - the one just around the corner proved popular and pleasant. We also had an Easter egg hunt and the eggs didn't melt too much.
Thie recollecation of the weekend wouldn't be complete without mentioning the ice-cream sundae competition. Congratulations to D for making the winning sundae - keep it simple proved to be most effective and the slit stawberry ont he side of the glass very professional. C broke the first rule which was that whatever the creation you had to be able to eat it - funnily enough after adding in a whole pot of pink edible glitter even she couldn't manage to polish it off so disqualification for her.
Thanks so much for coming to see us and we look forward to seeing you soon.
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