The last time we ventured into center city Philadelphia we drove and vowed never again.  It was a mad house and the cost of parking for a few hours was INSANE.  We've run into several people since who talked about taking an Amtrak train from Lancaster but just never got around to giving it a try.  So along came this beautiful day in late March with us wanting to go somewhere different for the day.  A little poking around on the internet to gather some schedules and off we went.....

We have driven by the station on our way to downtown Lancaster and saw that the station and the surrounding area had gone through some renovation a few years ago.  One thing we weren't sure about was parking.  We had heard that spaces are limited and sometimes they are in short supply.  Anyway, we set out to catch a morning train to Philadelphia's "30th Street Station" and found one space available in the short term lot.  Round trip tickets are typically $34/pp but us seniors got them for about half price.... ~$17.  We expected to see some sort of diesel/electric locomotive pulling a bunch of cars but forgot that it's an electric service into the city.  There was more than enough seating with plenty of legroom and an electrical outlet for charging electronics while on the commute.

Anyway, the trip to Philadelphia was a little over an hour.  Things were pretty busy at the station in Philadelphia with a ton of security, with K9 dogs, walking about.  Kathy spoke with one of them and found that there are 10 K9 dogs assigned to patrol the station, 6 were on duty this morning.  We were hungry and had skipped our morning coffee at home so we bought muffins and coffees and sat awhile to do some people watching.  Coffee and muffins consumed, time to go outside and find the SEPTA subway station.  Our trip involved taking a "BLUE" train down to 5th street which gets us in the middle of the tourest area.  It, sometimes, pays to be old because fares on SEPTA are free, all we had to do was scan our PA drivers license and walk in.         

Once we were down on 5th street and Market, we headed to the US Mint.  No photography was allowed in the building so all we have here is this image of the outside.  We went on the self guided tour which gave us a birds eye view of the factory floor.  I personally enjoyed browsing what was available for sale in the store.

Next stop was a stroll through the Christ Church Burial Ground right next door to the US Mint.  We chose to forgo the guided tour and just walk around on our own.  Several signers of the Constitution are buried there most notably Benjamin Franklin.

                 

It would have been nice to take the Independence Hall tour but timed tickets are needed.  I checked online the night before and ALL time slots were booked for the day.  We settled for taking some pictures of the exterior.

Tickets were not needed to view the Liberty Bell so we headed over for a few pictures.....

                   

The Reading Terminal Market wasn't that far away so we walked.  Our original plan was to perhaps grab a late lunch at the market but the place was packed at 1:30 in the afternoon.  We walked around, took a few pictures, then looked for a more peaceful place.  A look at Google Map on our phone led us to an Italian restaurant a block over.  Had dinner there before catching the subway back to the 30th Street Station.  We arrived a little early for our train so we sat on the swings for awhile which gave our old dogs a little rest.

Please Note:  Click on any image for more specific information about it.  Clicking on the little map will bring up a satellite image showing where we were when the image was taken.  Camera setting information can also be found.  This time I've included some "time lapse" video to introduce a new perspective.

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