On Monday the schools were shut for Martin Luther King Jr day, whilst Tuesday they were shut for in service teacher training; at the same time Emily had an all day meeting in Philadelphia on Tuesday, so we decided to make it a road trip for the whole family, and stay in a hotel there overnight. On Tuesday the kids and I headed out on the SEPTA Subway to go visit the Liberty Bell and other historic sites, only to discover that thanks to the unnecessary and stupid Government Shutdown currently going on, all of these National Monuments were closed to visitors. Did I mention that it was very cold? Anyway, the lack of warm museums to go into was leading to some very unhappy children, so after stopping in Starbucks to warm up, we headed back to the subway. To salvage something from the excursion, I took us past the US mint, so we could at least see where half the coins in the US are made. Walking around this large, grey building I noticed a sign for visitors. We headed up the steps, and to our surprise found that the mint was open for visitors (and the security guards welcomed us excitedly, as we were the only people there and they seemed quite bored; presumably everyone assumed that this aspect of government would also be shut. They gave each kid, including Wilder a plastic envelope containing a 2018 1 cent* and a blank 1 cent). Anyway, the museum is great. On the top floor you can even look down on the factory floor and see all the steps of coin manufacture. And all the kids were warm and entertained. What more could you ask for?
*for some reason struck in the Denver mint, rather than Philadelphia
Wilder in Subway eating lunch
On the SEPTA subway
We did technically see the liberty bell
Ice crystals on the trees at home before we left
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