Homeward bound

Heading home but not without more tours. Since our plane doesn't depart until evening, we had time for more outings. But we had time to sleep in and pack and deliver our luggage before we headed to the Constitution Museum. There was a room with life sized statues of all of those who signed the Declaration of Independence. If you notice, Ben Franklin, seated

in front, has a shiny head and no glasses. That's because thing kids crawl into his lap and broke his glasses. Nice to be popular. At 81 he was the oldest one present, the rest were mostly in their 30s or 40s. It was a young land. To be honest, at this point, it's all kind of blurring together. Information overload. It would take a lifetime to fully absorb everything I have seen.

To fill time, we went to the outdoor Italian Market. Couldn't do that without eating Italian. Found a small cafe secreted into a corner and had a "liveriscious" sandwich. Yep. It was...liver. Fried chicken livers. And it was wonderful, filled with dressing and greens.

After that we stopped at the Rodin Sculpture Gardens. Rodin is famous for his statue "The Thinker". Pictured is an early version of his work. But the huge sculpted wall called "The Gates of Hell" was pretty impressive. You could feel the agony of those depicted in the art. At that point, we all came, looked, and left in about 15 minutes.

But, before we left, a must see was the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Not to see the art, but to have your photo taken with "Rocky". On these very steps, Sylvester Stallone had run for exercise in the movie. So, I had my picture taken with Rocky and managed to get my foot onto the bottom step before I stumbled back to the bus. "Rocky" turns 50 this year. How did that happen?

And then it was off to the airport. I have a very important question. Do I look like a drug mule or terrorist??? Then why am I always pulled out of line and searched? Never in Boise, but always somewhere else.

I have discovered a number of things ---outside of the obvious, on this trip. For the first four days I didn't have time to sit down and write. I missed it. Felt like part of my creative arm had been broken.

Secondly, I guess I have to admit I am part of the "little old ladies" club. I've fought it tooth and nail, but it's time to throw in the towel. SIGH. I spent more time watching the ground so I wouldn't fall than I did seeing the sights. I wish I had done this in my prime. But hindsight is always 20/20.

Thank God for friends who are willing to stay up all night and pick me up at the airport. It was good to be home. I think even my nasty cats were glad to see me!

Would I do it again? I'd sure think about it once I get my wind back. Great guides, excellent bus driver, very knowledgeable and caring people.