I made it to Philadelphia. It was kind of rough waking up around 4:30 and going to bed so late at night, but I was able to sleep some on the plane. There is a careful balance between drinking just enough coffee to keep the caffeine withdrawal headache at bay and not drinking enough to wire your body so as to keep yourself awake. On the second leg of the drip, I sat next to Amanda, who was headed into the 7th grade in a couple of weeks and who taught me how to work those “math crossword puzzles” called Sudoku puzzles.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, I “price lined” (or had a very helpful and loving person priceline) a hotel for me downtown. My Valley Forge hotel room doesn’t start until Saturday. For $5.50 I took the Philadelphia train system (SEPTA) to downtown and found my hotel room. Then, I did what I’ve always wanted to do. I went to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and eat the best Philly cheese steak I could find. When I rounded the hall and saw the Liberty Bell, I had chill bumps run up and down me. Then, as I stood outside Independence Hall below one of the windows, I thought about how they boarded that very window up so they wouldn’t be hung for treason!

I slipped into Nick’s Roast Beef on Second Street. Their particular cheese steak had apparently won some high awards and I can see why. It was great and the beverages were half off because the Philadelphia Phillies were playing on TV. They sure could use Mike Schmidt again.

When I was walking back between Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, a passenger in a suburban drove down the street that separated the two, leaned out the window, and in her best Philly accent exclaimed to the US park ranger “Hey where’s the Liberty Bell? I’m looking for the Liberty Bell!” It was obviously right behind her…she knew it, the park ranger knew it, and even I (the tourist) knew it—she was obviously making fun of the millions of stupid questions we tourist ask every day. The park ranger calmly shouted back to her “It’s not here. Somebody moved it!”

On some final notes, ever wonder why they would be flying the Texas flag in Philadelphia. Actually, that's the Chilean flag. Lots to do here tomorrow at the Garden Writers of America convention. Ben told me that he has a Sternbergia back at the farm already trying to push out its bud. So are our oxblood lilies. “Holllddd!” Not yet please….but who am I to tell nature what to do?