Oh, hey, happy Independence Day

A couple hours ago, I got home from our Philadelphia Weekend Getaway! It was cool to explore a new place (I'd been to Philly before, but only to the Greyhound bus depot) and hang out with the special someone in a place he knew well.
We walked around most of the city yesterday, in the heat and sunshine. The town is quite green, with several lovely fountains and park squares.
Strangely, things were quiet and the town felt empty. Especially strange since it was a holiday weekend. There were finally some 'crowds' around Independence Mall. In fact, because of the lines we decided not to visit the Liberty Bell. I got some pretty pictures of Independence Hall, though.

We also visited the Franklin Institute, a science museum. It featured lots of really fun and interesting hands-on exhibits, my favorite kind. There's a giant heart that you walk through and around, a pin-ball machine that shows you different cultures medical treatments through time, a video snack machine, a telegraph machine with a readout thing so you could practice Morse code, a real airplane you could sit in, a standing-spinning thing, a small rock-climbing wall, and a bunch of other neat things.

Our hotel was in a great location, and the room was a suite: it had a kitchen and desk! We thought that was way cool. In the complimentary basket, there was microwave popcorn! One night we stopped at a nearby Whole Foods to get some snacks for the next day. I was excited to get a paper bag upon checkout. They don't exist in New York! What's up with that?

Anyway, I'm back in town now. It's still the Fourth--that's kinda funny. I so don't care about fireworks and all that. Hurrah for America, blah blah blah.

I have a paper due on Thursday, but I don't have to go to work! For two months! So I can work on the paper, or sleeping in, or catching up on blogs, or anything else I want!