Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Pennsylvania Adventures

On the 4th of July, we didn't go to any barbeques or fireworks shows; instead, we got on a plane and flew to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!  We had a wedding in PA on Saturday, so we decided to extend the trip a little since neither of us had seen much of Pennsylvania before.  (I had actually been to PA a couple times, but only because the most convenient way to get to WVU to visit JW while he attended there was to fly into Pittsburg and then drive into West Virginia.)

We did the traditional Philadelphia things, like the Liberty Bell, ...

saw Independence Hall, which is just a few steps from the Liberty Bell, ...

and visited the Constitution Center on the other end of Independence Mall.
We did all the Independence sites on July 5th.  It was kind of nice to visit those things so close to our country's 237 birthday the day before. 

We also made sure to try out the local fare: cheese steak, soft pretzel, and several local restaurants along the way.

At one restaurant, they served a head of garlic on a bed of bread as an appetizer.  I'd never seen so much garlic in a prepared dish - I thought it was picture worthy.
For the wedding, we headed into the heart of PA to Northampton and Bethlehem.  Marc and Karina Ripper had a nice and personal wedding - They made it their own in a classy way.

The ceremony was at the Roxy Theatre.  This picture is from before the ceremony started.

And the reception was at the Bethlehem Masonic Temple.  Continuing the film theme with spinning film like table decor, ...

and slides as table place cards.
It was a nice time and we were glad to celebrate with Karina and Marc.  I didn't actually get a picture of the happy couple at the wedding though, so here's a picture of them from our wedding a couple years ago:
Congrats to Marc and Karina Ripper!