Samantha Myers

Trip to Philadelphia, December 2009

I just came back from an amazing trip to Philadelphia with my parents and Maya.

We stayed at the Marriott right downtown where my parents were attending a meeting.

The first day the weather was great and my mom and I headed out to see Franklin Court, the home of Benjamin Franklin, the famous American inventor, writer, and patriot. 

 

We saw the printing press that he used, and a park ranger dressed in colonial clothes showed us how the printer worked. He had to put ink on the press with a big stamp soaked in ink. I got a copy of a 1754  famous cartoon by Benjamin Franklin that shows a cut up snake representing the different states: It says "Join or Die". That was his way of saying the country can't survive if the colonies didn't work together to fight for independence.

After that, we went to the Underground Museum where they had some of Ben Franklin's beautiful furniture. They also had room full of  telephones -- maybe 80 -- on little stands. You could dial different numbers to hear what different famous people had to say about Benjamin Franklin.  Here is a picture of me listening to John Adams  -- the second president of the U.S. -- saying what a great man Ben Franklin was.

 I got to see Becca who just got back from Mexico
 and Ayse Parla from Turkey who brought a beautiful vase.
   

That evening I went to dinner at the Italian Bistro with my parents, our old friend Francoise Dussart who is French but lives in Providence, and a bunch of friends from Australia. I had mozzarella and tiramisu for dessert. I loved going out with everyone. 

The next day, before i went out with Maya, Francoise, who is an anthropologist, came to our room and read my tarot cards. She is amazing!!

Maya and I went to see The Liberty Bell which was rung when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.  The crack in the bell was very small and has gotten bigger over the years.

 

 

Later, we went to Independence Hall. We saw the courtroom and the room where Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and many other founding others signed the Constitution of the United States. They had the original desk that they used and quill pens and inkwells to show what it was like at the time. I thought it was really cool. I love seeing all the things they used over 200 years ago.

 

We went to the famous Reading Terminal Market right near the hotel for lunch. The market is amazing because it has so many places to eat and buy food. It can be a little overwhelming at lunch time!

 

That evening, my parents went out and Maya and I watched Hairspray and ordered room service. It was great!!!

On Saturday the weather was cold and rainy, so we stayed in the hotel and I worked on my poetry assignment and hung out. That evening, there was a party in my dad's honor at the Loew's hotel across the street. It was a beautiful and lots of fun with lots of people I know.  

Here is a picture of me enjoying my last night in the hotel, right before bed 

 

Samantha in Washington, DC

I went to Washington, D.C. While my parents were at the American Anthropological Association meetings, I went shopping with Rachel. We shopped in Georgetown and Chinatown. I got a charm telephone and a telephone necklace in a store in Georgetown. We ordered room service a couple of times. We ordered macaroni and cheese twice. It was delicious. The first night I ordered a grilled cheese, because I was starving. Last night I went to a restaurant in the hotel. The food was really good. I had a Chesapeake crab cake.  I liked it. I saw two movies: August Rush with Robin Williams and Enchanted with Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams. Enchanted was better. It was really funny. I also read Dear America. I had that book for a while but never had a chance to read it. I had to finish some math homework. Tonight I'll study for a vocab quiz that I will take tomorrow.