     
Philadelphia and New York City
Date of Trip: March 18 to 24, 2003
Summary
For my 2003 Birthday trip I decided to visit the Liberty
Bell. Since I had to fly to Newark, NJ I also added New York City to
the itinerary. The weather was cold and rainy but that did not stop me
from seeing the sites. I started off in driving from Newark to
Philadelphia. On the way I stopped at the Washington Crossing Historic
Parks in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I also paid a visit to
Valley Forge. The weather for the drive was nice (no rain), but it was
cold.
Washington Crossing basically is comprised of historic parks
on both sides of the river. Neither site was memorable. Valley
Forge was nice in that you got to see some recreated huts and see how the
soldiers lived.
Driving into Philly was an adventure. One way streets
are a pain, but I made it to the hotel. After checking in I went off
to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It was sunny but cold
so the walk was brisk but nice. The Liberty Bell was cool as I got to
get up close to it. While others touched it, I refrained (really).
Independence Hall as also impressive. I got to see where John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson, Edward Rutledge, Ben Franklin and John Hancock sat during
the Second Continental Congress.
On my second day in Philadelphia it was cold and rainy.
That did not stop me from walking the city. I visited the house on
Chestnut Street where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
and the Betsy Ross House.
After seeing the sites in Philly, I drove back to Newark to
return the car. From Newark I took the train into Manhattan.
What an experience!!! I had a memorable cab ride (fast with an
attitude). I finally arrived at my hotel in Lower Manhattan and then
set off to see Ellis Island. It was a nice day (no rain but cold).
I took the ferry past the Statue of Liberty and on to Ellis Island (I had
previously been to the Statue of Liberty). We were on an Elevated
State of Alert so they were not allowing people to go into the statue
anyway. Ellis Island was something to see.
That evening I went to Time Square and saw the Ed Sullivan
Theater (home of the David Letterman Show). It started to rain and a
massive anti-war rally was starting so I headed back to the hotel.
Prior to the rain, I did venture over to the Fox News Studios and saw Neil
Cavuto and John Gibson. Man Neil Cavuto has a big head.
On Saturday morning I got out early in order to trek over to
the Fox News Studios. I was hoping to be in the background of Fox and
Friends, but due to the war coverage they were not using that studio.
After seeing Mike Jarrick and Kiran Chetry, I walked over to the CNN studios
(only lne block over). As I was watching Paula Zahn I noticed that the
traffic they were showing on the monitor was right behind me. I took a
step forward and low and behold I was now on TV right behind Paula Zahn.
While I thought Neil Cavuto's head was big, next to Paula's head and the
angle of the camera, my head was enormous. I was so startled, I
quickly stepped back out of the shot.
Sunday saw me walking around Central Park and going to the
top of the Empire State Building. It was a very nice day in the mid
60's and sunny. Everyone was out in the park including some schmuck
riding a Segwey. I returned home that night and ended my Liberty Bell
trip.
Photo Gallery
Trip Map
Miles Driven: 280
Hotels
Points of Interest
Go early and get a ticket. They are doing a lot of
construction but it is well worth the hassle.
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World Trade Center Site
Everyone should go see this site. While it mainly
looks like a massive construction site now, having previously been in the
World Trade Center, it was quite moving. Memorials around the site
were also quite touching.
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Fox News and CNN Studios
Be like me and get on TV. 6-9 am for Fox and Friends.
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