Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

Author’s Note: This series is an extension of my former “Adventure for Beginners” column, in which I tried new things and wrote about them from a beginner’s perspective. This year is one of travel for me, so I thought I would share my experiences with all of you. I hope you enjoy my adventures as much as I do!

My Trip

Valerie Cassity takes a moment to pose at Love Park in Philadelphia, Penn.

Last month, I traveled to Philadelphia to witness my sister, Christina Kraft, a 2001 Kern Valley High School graduate, become a Doctor of Dental Science from Temple University after eight years of hard work in college. I arrived in the Philadelphia airport at 9:30 p.m., after spending all day in airports and airplanes. Useful Travel Tip: they no longer serve meals on airplanes unless you fly first class, so if you plan on doing any air travel, make sure to eat before you go or bring snacks.

After a refreshing night’s sleep on the Aerobed (what a good investment for anyone with house guests), I met a friend and her family for a tour of the city. I walked from my sister’s apartment to the SEPTA train station and enjoyed my first ever train ride. I loved the fact that so many people used public transportation. One thing I must say about the train ride is that people DO NOT acknowledge each others’ existence, even though they are sitting inches apart, and the graffiti along the train tracks is much more colorful and interesting than the illegible gang scribbles we see in L.A.

When I arrived in the heart of the city, after a few blocks of wandering along lost (the people are very helpful, if you ask them), I met up with my friend and her family and we began our walking tour of the city. This included City Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where we ran up the steps singing the Rocky theme, of course), Rittenhouse Square, and more. We stopped at Love Park for a picture, and noticed that a local radio station was giving free hip hop line dance lessons, so we jumped in and learned the dance. There are so many beautiful and unique statues and fountains to be found in Philly; just walking around is a treat! It is not necessary to bring a lot of money to have fun there, which is a big plus for me, since I didn’t have much extra to spend.

After a busy morning of walking and sightseeing, we stopped to have a Philly cheese steak from a roadside cart, and then walked through Chinatown on our way to tour the historic area of the city, which included the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Betsy Ross house, and Elfreth’s Alley. We also visited a museum with a large Benjamin Franklin display, which was very interesting. Useful Travel Tip: Philadelphia’s streets are set up on a numbered grid, which makes it quite easy to find your destination. The people on the street are also happy to assist you, so don’t be afraid to ask for directions!

The next day was Christina’s graduation, which took place at the beautiful Academy of Music in the heart of the city. I was so proud to see my little sister become Dr. Kraft, and am grateful to my parents for the ability to be there for that once in a lifetime moment.

About Philadelphia

Philadelphia, translated from Greek meaning “The City of Brotherly Love,” and is one of the most ethnically mixed cities in the nation. The city was founded by was founded by William Penn, Jr. in 1682 and is the original capital of the nation. It was there that the Declaration of Independence was written, signed and first publicly read in 1776, as was the US Constitution ten years later.