This morning I decided to face my demons and go back to see the Liberty Bell. I got a Google map from my motel to Liberty Bell, PA. As I rode-off, I soon broke into sweat from the warm, thick, smelly, humid haze. There were no clouds, but visibility was only about 2 miles due to the thick haze of water vapor, laced with lots of carbon emissions. When I got close to the Liberty Bell, traffic got very heavy and I soon passed a motorcyclist who hit a road barrier. At a light another biker was next to me and he said the accident looked pretty bad. I arrived at the Liberty Bell Mall and only then realized I was 20 miles north of the actual bell.
I backtracked to the actual Liberty Bell and parked right in front of it. The bell has been moved into a special glass house down the street from where it used to be and there is a long line of foreigners lined-up to see it. In order to enter the glass house you must undergo a thorough body cavity search or at least they slowly check your bags. It seems like a lot of effort to see a defective bell that was cast in England. A lot has changed in the 34 years since I last saw it. I seem to recall that back in the day you could just walk-up and see it without all the whoopla.
While I was there I decided to take the tour of Independence Hall, which is one of the few original buildings still standing that was built prior to the birth of George Washington. After being turned away at many closed-off points of entry, I was directed to the small entrance screening-tent and I stood in line for 30 minutes until the guide came out and announced they were only admitting people with 1:00 tickets. Tickets? What tickets? About 20 of the 60 of us in line had no idea what they were talking about. It turns out that of the dozen or so free attractions in the area, Independence Hall tours require you to get a free ticket 3 blocks away at the visitor’s center. I later noticed that it’s posted on an obscure small sign. Many of the elderly people just gave-up, but I trekked to the visitor’s center and got a free ticket for the 2:15 tour. I asked the ranger why the ticket office is so far away from the attraction, he said that 100 people per day ask the same question. After writing a long comment card to the National Park Superintendent about changes they should make, I took my ticket and went to get lunch at a Hot Dog cart. I ate lunch in the park before taking the excellent tour of Independence Hall.
I hit the road for Washington DC at about 3:00 and it was hot and humid. It was a slow ride out of town and pretty much all the way to DC. It’s less than 200 miles, but it took 6 long-hot hours of riding to get here. Even after sunset, it remained hot and humid. The haze never burned-off as I rode through PA, DE, and MD. I landed at a lovely Day’s Inn just outside DC in MD. The rack rate is stated at $500, but my AAA rate was $71. Although I’ve seen DC several times, I think I’m going to hang-out here until Sunday.
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