Thursday, January 6, 2011

Independence Hall: No Tickets required!

For the past few years, getting a tour of Independence Hall in Philadelphia could be problematic for some. If you're someone who planned out your trip ahead of time and made a reservation through the National Park's website, you wouldn't run into any issues. However, if you were someone who decided to just head over to the building at noon one day, most of the time, you'd find that tickets were "sold out" by the time you got there. While it has always been free to go on the tour, a ticket was needed since the number of spaces per day was limited.

Now, for January and February of this year, Independence National Park is going to give a ticket-less system a chance. Tours are going to be available every day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., running every half hour (every 20 minutes on weekends). All you need to do is line up at 5th and Chestnut Streets.

You should be aware though that waiting until late in the day may result in waiting in a long queue. I'd still suggest getting there near the opening time so that you aren't stuck in line for a good chunk of your day just waiting around. This is an excellent tour that goes into detail about one of the most significant buildings in American history and I'd highly recommend it to any American with any interest in our country's history.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

ZooAmerica: Free Weekend!

On the weekend of Saturday, January 22 and Sunday, January 23, ZooAmerica, in Hershey, PA, is holding a free community weekend each day from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  All guests will be able to enter the zoo at no charge (tickets typically run for $10/adult).  This is a great opportunity to get out to the Hershey area to enjoy both the zoo and also the various chocolate tourism in the town.

It's approximately a two-hour drive from Philadelphia to get to Hershey, so you may also consider staying over night at one of the many hotels in the area.  If this appeals to you, I'd personally suggest booking through hotels.com to obtain the best prices in the area.  And if you're feeling very luxurious, you may want to experience the Chocolate Spa while in the area!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Blue Man Group: A comedy and rock show all in one

 At this point, I'm not sure if there's a single person in America who hasn't heard of the Blue Man Group. They've been used in countless advertisements to promote various products, in addition to their own shows and merchandise (most of which can be found right here on Amazon). This group of men painted blue, along with their musicians, go from city to city entertaining sold out theaters with their hilarious acts that contain absolutely no talking.

They hit Philadelphia to end 2010 and finished their last show this past Sunday, January 2. I was thrilled to be a member of the audience (although I was not one of the lucky few that got to become part of the show). For 90 minutes, they entertained the crowd with their hard rock grooves, strange body movements and comedic performances. It was an exhilarating experience that I'd encourage everyone to try at least once.

While they have finished their current slate of shows in Philadelphia at the Merriam Theater, they are bound to come back again as they make their way around the country. For their current schedule around the country, check them out at www.blueman.com. Of course, if you're ever in Vegas, they perform there almost every day of the year at the Venetian, so definitely add that to your list of things to do out there (I guarantee they're much more fun to see than watching yourself gamble your life savings away). If you can't wait that long to see what all the hype is about, get one of their DVD's on Amazon and watch them over and over again.