It’s a wrap

Who are these people anyway?

We just comleted our two week trip of Philadelphia.  In someways it seems like ages ago we stepped off the jet and entered the plane of learning.  I’m amazed at how much ground we covered, but even more amazed at how many stones we left unturned.  One thing I wish we’d seen more of is the town of Gettysburg. I barely snapped a picture of David Will’s house as we rounded a corner and there were many other things (besides the gift shops!) that I really wanted to see.  We passed several historic buildings enroute to the restaurant, and our guide pointed out (quickly) a few more places of interest.  At the end of the first day of battle the confederates occupied the town and for weeks and months after the battle, the townspeople cared for the wounded. We saw or heard little about this. Then there was the unburying and reburying of the dead to prepare for the dedication of the National Cemetary there.  Gettysburg, alone, was huge, but so is Philadelphia. 

We got much of the tourist history, but some of the paintings we saw like in the library of the APS and also in the slide presentation by Carol Matsen, showed another layer of Philadephia–historical and cultural–scenes that underly the Philadelphia of today.  In every image there is a world of stories.  In every old building a culture of people who lived daily lives with much the same concerns as we have: money, family, health, work..  And there are the stories of important leaders whose work made a mark on the world today.  I imagine if you sat in the City Tavern long enough, you could hear them speak–not only about politics and business but about things like gout, the weather, annoying neighbors, the next shipment from England…

There are layers upon layers of things to learn about in each place we visited, but being there makes a difference. A unique thing about Philadephia is not only what happened there, but the ammount of history that has been preserved.  Also, to be in travelling distance to Revolutionary Battle sites, Valley Forge, and Gettysburg and also to be able to listen to experts such as Carol Berkin made this location an exceptional place for learning. And the learning has more meaning in context than to read about it or listen to the information.  I’m thinking back to the Colloquia and Yazawa’s talk.  He covered alot of the same background information and time period, but being immersed makes all the difference. So, in general, if you leave the trip sorry for some of the things you missed and still wanting to learn more, then it is a good thing. 

I’m going to end this blog with a couple of great travel quotes that sum up my thoughts about the trip, and also a few more pictures. 

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.”  ~Lillian Smith

Thanks so much to everyone who made this trip a great learning experience. 

Nancy Oswald