Happy Birthday America

This last weekend, we enjoyed the 233rd celebration of American Independence.

- If you are British, I recommend that you stop reading here because this is quickly going to devolve into something reminiscent to one of those "USA! USA! USA!" chants. Also, the odds are pretty good that there will be more than one reference to the Miracle on Ice...

So for you Americans out there, this one is for you.

Friday night, I decided to head to Philadelphia to celebrate the birth of our nation in style - PHILLLY STYLE! This is all I could think about on the way up...

http://www.hulu.com/watch/19146/how-i-met-your-mother-unclick#x-4,vclip,8

About an hour into my adventure, I did something I am not proud of. I crossed the Mason Dixon Line... More on that later.

As luck would have it, my route took me through the tiny hamlet of Gettysburg, PA. Home to Robert E. Lee's only outright defeat and on the weekend of July 4, the world's largest collection of Civil War Reenactors. Bad choice: two lane road through a tiny town with alot of twists and turns, national cemeteries, and copious numbers of minivans driven by the aforementioned reenactors. While the beards were impressive, the traffic was not.

Finally back on the road, I made it made it through an unending row of tiny farms and cows arriving in Downingtown, PA. After taking in some small town fireworks, we made camp in my fellow intern Sarah's parents house. I have never slept that well on a couch. Ever.

Sidenote: there is a very good reason they call it Penn's Woods.

Early Saturday morning - anniversary of our nation's birth and annual day of the nation's premeir hotdog eating contest - we set out for Philly. Yes, I can say that I took the slow train to Philly...true office fans know what I'm talking about. I have never ridden on a train - so that was nice. As I watched the conductor work his way through the car punching tickets, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. Riding the rails. Using a specially designed hole punch that probably requires hours of training. Dare to dream.

Then it happened, our train reached the last stop in Central City - aka patriotism a go-go. When we exited Market Station East, I saw something I never thought I would see - a Big Kmart just blocks from the birthplace of American Independence...but that is neither here nor there.

You can say alot of things about Philly, and I probably will while I am at it, but one thing is for sure - they do a great job of marking the path for tourists...

After a brisk walk in the unseasonably cool air, we were greeted by throngs of patriotic Americans who chose to indulge their love of parades to celebrate Jefferson's opus. Fearing long lines after the crowdes disbursed, we made our way to the Liberty Bell's state of the art facility which only required a 6 minute wait in line to get inside. Once in there, I made my way to the back, laying eyes for the first time on the icon of American freedom. I could not believe how close they let us get to the bell. It was so tempting to reach out and touch it... Did I touch it? That is for me and a few of the National Park's finest to know and you to find out.

By the way, if you are still reading this, kudos. You get a hearty colonial Huzzah for your efforts.

With patriotism levels surging, we quickly made our way to Independence Hall - the Cradle of Liberty. I will always remember the cool breeze that blew across the windy plaza in front of Independence Hall. It was brilliant. Another short wait in line got us into one of the top places on my list of things to see. One of the best parts of the adventure was the fact that the tour guides were all jacked up on America. It was incredible. They clearly brought their A-game.

One surprising trip was to the building where Congress met from 1790-1800. It was where Adams was sworn in as President and Jefferson presided over the Senate. A happy detour.

After being sure to stroll around Philly for a while, we grabbed cheesesteaks before stopping over at Betsy Ross's house and the site of Ben Franklin's old house. All were pleasant and great opportunities. I saw the place where Franklin is buried. Apparently 20,000 people showed up at his funeral - not too bad. That is a new personal life goal for me.

The Old City of Philadelphia was a great place to be. It is amazing to walk in the footsteps of our forefathers.

There were two of those events that will always stick out in my mind:

First, we passed the tiny colonial cottage on the corner of Market and 7th just steps from Independence Hall where Jefferson was living when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Across the street today is a Dunkin Donuts. No lie. America does run on Dunkin. While part of me was disappointed, it is true that time marches on and we as a nation are truly great in that we have thousands of chains of dount places around with infinite variety of donuts. Maybe Jefferson would be proud. Probably not. But it was fun to make you think about it.

Second, as we were hiking around the city for no apparent reason other than exercise or being lost, we passed some people loitering on the street. As we walked along the sidewalk, one of the men standing against a building said in a high pitched near falsetto: "Happy Birthday Americaaaa" There was no one particularly close to him. It was pretty amazing. Such a poignant, unprevoked, and awkward phrase.

That is what I will always remember the Fourth of July for..."Happy Birthday America."