Day 13 - A Rendezvous in Philadelphia

Had time to check my emails before checking out of the hostel about 8:30am to start exploring Philadelphia. First stop was the nearby Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River where the city founders arrived. There was also a monument to the waves of Irish immigrants who arrived during and after the great famine of the late 1840s. Plaques described the contribution the Irish have made to American society since, despite being vilified when they first arrived in great numbers.


I moved on to check out the Carpenter’s Hall (site of the very first meeting of colonial delegates), the Liberty Bell, Washington Square, Jewelers’ Row and the Independence Visitors Centre. I then had a bit of a rest up before going to the designated rendezvous point – opposite Independence Hall - to meet Sam at 12:30pm.

The morning’s second downpour eased up just in time for me to meet Sam right on time, accompanied by two mates from camp, Lachy and Brett. It seemed slightly surreal to be meeting Sam – who I hadn’t seen since he left Australia on 9th June – in downtown Philadelphia. However it was certainly great to see him and hear some of his stories from his second season at summer camp and learn a bit more about this travel plans for the next couple of months. Not to imply of course that his emails on these subjects have been extremely limited (or in fact non-existent) in recent weeks!

I shouted the boys to lunch, since they had managed to sleep through the free continental breakfast at their lodgings. Sam presented me with a “World’s Coolest Dad” t-shirt, then happily announced that it only cost a dollar. So it truly is the thought that counts! :-)

Father and son meet in Philadelphia.

After lunch we all went through the obligatory security check point to have a look at Independence National Historical Park. We had no (free) tickets to join a tour of the actual Independence Hall though we were just in time for a tour of the original Congress Hall. Once that completed the lads decided to go to the Independence Visitors Centre to get some of the free tickets to Independence Hall. The next available tour time was 4:00pm, which was a bit late for me since I had to catch a 4:55pm train back to DC from the Amtrak Station 24 blocks away. With plenty of time to fill in we all had a look at the Liberty Bell (my second of the day) and then strolled around Washington Square before stopping for a café break. This was my last chance to chat with Sam about his travel plans before he and his mates went back to line up for their 4:00pm tour and I made my way to the Amtrak station. Again it seemed slightly surreal to be saying farewell to Sam when we were both so far from home.

The Amtrak Station was actually a pretty quick metro ride away and I had plenty of time to use the station’s free Wi-Fi to pass on to Laura news of Sam’s recent doings and future plans. Or possible plans, such as they are!

Back in DC I arrived at Darby Manor just as Kate was about to head out for a walk so I dumped my pack and went along as well. There really are many nice looking houses in this historic area of Georgetown, and though many are packed together like terraces most look very different to their neighbors. By the time we finished our walk Mark was home from his softball game (Australian Embassy v a US Govt Department) and it was a quiet night in thereafter.