Serenity Now!!!: Day 5

We were a bit happier and refreshed in the morning, and the kids were out to make me feel better about the trip, so they were all on their best behavior. We headed to SS Battleship New Jersey. It's a battleship that was launched December 7, 1942, just a year after the Pearl Harbor attack brought American into WWII. It was decommissioned for the fourth and final time in 1991. So, it was used during WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and a few more times in Lebanon and Beirut.

It's huge and it was a highlight of the trip for all of us.

These guns made really loud sound effects, so between Jason and Nate each taking a turn at shooting, we were pretty annoying for anyone wanting to visit the ship that day.

After shooting the guns several thousand times, we went below to see what there was to see.

Our tour had a little recording devise that we could walk around and listen to as we found out about the ship. All of us liked to hear about what we were looking at. The littles had a devise that read things a little bit more animatedly and it had sound effects. We were all jealous.

These binoculars were incredible. We could see into the city and read signs on buildings miles away.

The stairs were steep and I bonked my head many times. Mike, especially, would not do well for long periods of time on this ship. It's made for short people.

We enjoyed learning about the missile guns. This white thing that Allie is trying to lift is 100 pounds of gunpowder. I can't remember the numbers now, but the ship held enough gun powder to arm a whole lot of guns with missiles, so it was basically a floating keg of gun powder.

The boys liked seeing the barber shop, laundry rooms, and the brig.

There's Nate in the brig. There were a few veterans of the ship walking around touring it for the first time since they were on it as young men, or just there talking to people as they toured the ship. The one guy said you only got bread and water as a ration in the brig. My kids wondered if you had to poop in front of everyone because it's just closed off by a chain link fence...

Jason loved the helicopter and wondered if Trump flew in it. Nope.

We enjoyed the tour.

We were finished at about lunch time, so we decided to drive to the temple and relax there for a bit.

It's a beautiful temple. We saw it from the freeway as we headed into Philadelphia and it was neat to see Angel Moroni standing out among the tall buildings of the city.

We were eating lunch on the temple grounds and a security guard came out and told us that we couldn't eat there. He was sad to have to kick us off, but a rule is a rule. He told us we could park below the temple for free though and told us to go into the church across the street to show the kids a Catholic cathedral.

They really are beautiful inside.

We watched as people prayed to Mary and lit candles for the souls in purgatory. We left feeling very grateful for the knowledge that we have. If I believed what they believe, my little Sam would be in purgatory because he wasn't baptized before he died. Ugh. Not at all. My Sam boy is in paradise. His spirit is very much alive, and one day, I'll see him again. I like to believe that.

We stumbled on a park and let the kids jump on rocks for a long time.

It was fun seeing Jake run and chase the boys and play with them in a way that no one ended up crying in the end. :)

They all played a game where Allie posed them and they had to stay frozen like that. I don't remember what they called it, but they had a good time.

At four, we headed to Independence Hall because we had tickets to go inside. They are free, but you have to get them the morning of, or you won't get in.

It's pretty cool that the building is mostly original inside and over 90 percent original outside. Our founding fathers walked on these floors and signed the Declaration of Independence in this room.

The room itself is original, but of the furniture, only the chair at the front of the room is original. George Washington sat in that chair. Pretty cool.

The kids were pretty underwhelmed by Independence Hall. They were even more annoyed to find that the real Constitution and Declaration of Independence are in the National Archives building at the Smithsonian...where we had just been the day before and didn't see. I knew it, but didn't really think they'd find it cool to see, so I didn't suggest it. Ah well...another time. :)

We left the area and followed the GPS to a little side street where a tiny restaurant claimed to have the best Philly Cheese Steak. I sat in the car with the littles while Mike took the olders to buy some. I guess the shop was really cool and Mike had a great time with the kids. There were no punches thrown, excessive sniffing, or melt downs as they waited in line. And the Philly Cheese Steaks were amazing. We sat in the road and ate them and it was a highlight of the trip for Mike.