The Liberty Bell, Rocky’s victory steps, and the Philly cheesesteak sandwich are just a few of Philadelphia’s attractions.

We walked in Franklin’s footsteps through his neighborhood, down Market Street; we visited his house and the post office. We strolled through historic sites, reading up on the Declaration of Independence, and stopped to pay our respects at Benjamin Franklin‘s tomb.

Funny story: while in college, I spent a good amount of time reading up on Benjamin Franklin–his autobiography, and some of his writings. I found him fascinating. I thought he was very intelligent, so I actually enjoyed doing the research for my class. Unfortunately, I had misunderstood the teacher: she indicated she would give us a quiz on Thomas Jefferson, not Ben Franklin…. Oops. The question on the test was: “What would Thomas Jefferson do/think, and how would he react if he were brought to life today.” My solution was: Jefferson would revive his friend Franklin to help him out, since they were good buds and kindred spirits in real life. Crisis averted….

We walked past large groups of teenagers who congregated, selfied, and boasted outside the National Constitution Center, while visitors waited in a long line. We didn’t go in, but chose to walk a little more, stopping by the water, then savored a delicious Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Later on, we caught up with family at a local posh brewery.

The drive to and from our RV park and the heart of the city was a bit sad. The city’s buildings were beautiful but many were in dire need of upkeep. The overall vibe just didn’t feel right to me and I couldn’t really tell why.

Back at Homestead Campground, just north of the city, deep in the night, I heard a commotion outside the RV. I was sleeping pretty well, so I didn’t feel like checking on it. David considered going outside to see what was going on but decided against it. We heard voices of people perhaps just talking loudly or perhaps fighting. In the morning, when the police showed up, we figured it must have been the latter. Sadly, two people died that night: a family reunion turned bad. The owner of the RV park was just as stunned as we were. This type of thing never happened in the park in its almost 60 years’ existence…. Maybe that’s why I had that uneasy feeling before: premonition? a disturbance in the energy?

Our visit was short, and the next day, we headed toward Maryland.