 We woke up on Wednesday morning in Conshohocken, having skipped out of Baltimore late the night before. We slept at my lovely lady Bernadette's house, which was definitely a wise course of action, for the fact that we got to sleep in until a whopping 8:15 or so - a vast improvement over whatever ungodly hour at which we would have left Baltimore, had we stayed the night.
The three of us piled into the car and made the short drive into the city, which can be approached in numerous competing fashions. I-76 E, or the Schuylkil Expressway, is probably what most people would take, only to inevitably encounter a blindingly frustrating snake of traffic. 76 is the most terrible highway on the face of the planet. Luckily, I know the scenic route down Kelly Drive (shown above), which offers us a tranquil, picturesque drive along the opposite bank of the river (so we can thumb our noses at those suckers on the highway).
 We parked in a lot near the Fairmount neighborhood and cabbed it immediately to one of my favorite patriotic spots in Philly, the National Constitution Center at 5th and Arch streets. This place is a class act, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2004 and remains as fresh as ever today. The museum concentrates on the story of America, of We the People, and the many different chapters in our nation's history that have helped America take its present shape. Appropriately, it's located directly across from Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed.
 The Constitution Center experience starts with a timed entry and a riveting performance in the building's Kimmel Theater, after which the crowd is released into the main exhibit. Circling around the theater is a chronology of American history, beginning with colonial revolts over taxation without representation in the 1700s, leading all the way up to the inauguration of President Obama. Rich with interactive displays and educational features, and oh so easy on the eyes, this place is a winner from top to bottom.
Following the main exhibit lies Founder's Hall, where we paused to reflect on the gravity of all we'd seen, and snap a few photos before we moved on.
 We walked one block south for some shots in Independence Hall, and figured as long as we were standing there already, we might as well bop into the Liberty Bell Center. Housed within is the symbol that Philly is probably best known for, in all its cracked glory. And after all, admission is free, so we'd have been foolish not to stop and stare for a moment.
 By then we were pretty famished, so we trekked a few blocks west to the world-famous Reading Terminal Market at 12th and Arch streets, where we met up with Bernadette for lunch. This market has been open since the late 1800s, and could be compared to Baltimore's Lexington Market if you were in a real hurry. But with its assortment of cheesesteak vendors, hoagie vendors and a confusingly high number of Amish people, this place is decidedly Philadelphian. We shared a collection of lo mein, italian sausage and a beef crepe while we sat and drank a pitcher of Sam Adams inside the market's beer garden.
 The walk from the market to our next stop brought us past City Hall, the world's largest masonry structure, as well as the Grand Masonic Lodge of the Pennsylvania Freemasons - a place where I'd highly recommend a tour if you're into awesome, offbeat attractions. The walk also brought us through LOVE Park, once a skateboarder's paradise but no longer, after it was banned in the park nearly ten years ago. It is, however, still a great place for photo ops.
 Man, I wish we’d had more time on our hands. In our walk down the Ben Franklin Parkway, we strolled past the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Franklin Institute Science Museum – two amazing places that I’ve cherished since my first visits, way back in grade school. Alas, our sorrow was assuaged upon our arrival at what I consider to be Philadelphia’s signature museum, landmark, attraction… whatever you want to call it, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is top dog here in town.
 This tremendous edifice is as recognizable as any, a sprawling, two-level structure with giant rooms and lengthy hallways, each brimming with breathtaking selections from one of the world’s finest collections of works. The museum features sections for American art, as well as European, Asian, Modern and much more. There’s even a wing devoted to weapons and armor, which I remember being of particular interest to me when I was just a wee lad. It’s always a wonderful experience to visit this museum, and spend time with so many incredible works of art.
 The museum closed at 5, which was right around quittin’ time for a few of our friends from the neighborhood. We headed south to meet up with Chris, George, Sam and Sarah (another Sarah), all our fellow graduates of ol’ Susquehanna University. We hung out at George’s house in South Philly for a spell before we hoofed it to one of my preferred nightlife spots, Rum Bar, at 20th and Walnut streets (pictured here).Rum Bar is as unique a nightlife spot as you’re bound to find in Philadelphia. The emphasis is on (you guessed it) the delicious spirit of rum and its many incarnations, with more than 100 different bottles of rum on the shelf from all over the world. I like this place in part because the owner, Adam Kanter, is a no-nonsense, unabashed rum connoisseur, and he’d probably be the first to admit it. That guy is passionate about rum, and he knows how to make some pretty phenomenal drinks with it.
 Our group of eight hung by the bar, nestled in a corner between the lounge and the dining room. Wednesdays are “Save the Daiquiri” nights, Rum Bar’s effort to move away from the bastardized, Slushee-style daiquiris you’ll find at most other bars, and bring back the cocktails that Hemingway loved to drink. Man, what a concoction – and frankly, half-price specials make just about any drink taste better. After a rousing visit at Rum Bar, and a few rounds of car bombs at the Irish Pub next door, we were way beyond exhausted. We took a cab back to George’s house and slept, slept, slept… after all, we had to rest up for a big Day 5. More on that soon.-Tom
Today we went to the Constitution Center in Philly. Tom is going to write about it, but I just wanted to say that it was great, especially the opening presentation. There was a projector that covered the floor with light that the audience, seated in a circle around the main stage area, was looking down at. And some other audio/visual devices expertly combined to make a great, moving presentation.
Reading Terminal market and Love Park were great too. More on this from Tom.
I decided today that it was time to get my feet wet with the video camera. Instead of taking pictures, I wanted to see if I could find interesting ways to show the things we were seeing in short videos. The Philadelphia Museum of Art was the perfect place to try it out. I’ll lets the videos speak for themselves:
I know that there was no tripod, many of the museums we are visiting don’t allow them. Besides this shortcoming, what do you think? Do you have a favorite video or style that I should expand upon?
-Joey
 After our rousing visit to the Capitol, it was time to move on to city number two in Baltimore, Md. The drive was short, only about fouty minutes, and we'd worked up quite an appetite during our sprints earlier in the day. What better place to fend off those hunger pangs than at Lexington Market, Baltimore's quintessential food market at Lexington and Paca. This market, opened in 1782, is the longest running market in the entire country.
 There was a ludicrous number of vendors inside this building, from seafood to soul food to Chinese, to anything else you could think of. We split up and each found our own preferred cuisine to share with the group; I got fried chicken, Sarah got a shrimp salad sub and Joey picked up a crab cake. I had failed to communicate the point, however, that we had come there for a specific type of crab cake. Faidley's Seafood, inside the market, is home to probably the most award-winning crab cakes on the planet, and I was eager to sink my teeth into one. We paid $13 and change for a magnificent sphere built with all lump crab, with just enough filler to make it golden brown and keep it from falling apart. From now on, every crab cake I consume will fall into Faidley's shadow. We made our way back to the car, which we'd parked nearby at a meter for a mere $1 per hour. This was a welcome reprieve from D.C.'s egregious, $4 per hour street parking. Funny what a short drive can do for the wallet.
 At a leisurely pace, we made our way to our next stop at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Open since 1981, this facility houses more than 550 different species of intriguing creatures, from the sharks and rays in the main gallery pool, to the birds in the rainforest exhibit. While visitors can freely move from one level to another (as well as between adjoining buildings), the museum's layout manages to keep traffic moving on one direction, keeping the kids-running-around-aimlessly factor to a bare minimum. This is the biggest aquarium I've ever encountered, with one building stretching five floors high, and another designated for special exhibits (like their current Jellies Invasion exhibit) and, of course, the dolphin show.
 I'll be honest - the first dolphin show I was party to, took place around my time in the third or fourth grade. I remember music by Enya playing in the background, dolphins flying miles into the air... obviously a memorable experience, if I can still remember it today, a decade and a half later.
Today brought all that rushing back. The aquarium's dolphin show included a team of trainers and a very eager crowd, many of whom let out cheers upon being informed that their seats were included in the ever-popular "splash zone."
The show starred four trained dolphins, carrying out some fantastic feats of aerodynamicism. The crowd oohd and ahhd at their every move, from the kids all the way up to the seniors. Don't get me wrong, the aquarium was amazing, in and of itself - but the dolphin show was the icing on the cake.
 After all this excitement, a quieter, more somber destination was in order. We found it at Fort McHenry, south of downtown Baltimore along the Chesapeake Bay. These historic grounds are remembered as the site of the successful defense of Baltimore against the British, during the War of 1812. It was after this battle that Francis Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner, our nation's anthem and a mainstay at any local sporting event. The ambience at the fort was as we expected it to be - silent, respectful and a good place to calm down after a day of running around and having way too much fun. After we grabbed a bite for dinner (which you can read about in Sarah's last post), we made a financially-minded decision and drove to Philadelphia for the night. This, of course, was last night, and we're only getting it posted now because we spent all day today doing even more spectacular things. They're on their way - hope you stay tuned. -Tom
 So we’re wandering around Fort McHenry, checking out all the huge cannons and some of the interior of the fort. The view across the water of the ships was pretty cool, and Tom mentions that he’s got this great place in mind for dinner. It’s about that time so we decide to jump in the car and head toward Tom's recommendation, called Kisling’s Tavern in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore. We parked up the hill and the big black and white signs on the side of the building and the metal porch tables set up outside with condiments and umbrellas guide us down the hill to the large green front door. We walked right in and sat right down, and baby let our minds roll on. We had a great time talking to Dana our bartender and after ordering our first round and some food Tom and Joey both threw down our business card so that they were facing our friendly bartender. She took the hint and picked it up. I leaned forward and blurted out that this was day three of one hundred - that we were going to every state in the contiguous United States and that Baltimore was stop two on our journey. She got into the idea and asked us a few questions about what we were doing, how old we were, where we were from, that kind of thing.
 In the bar there was a fridge with an assortment bumper stickers on it. While we were talking I got to looking around, and thought hey, I know where our bumper stickers are! I’m totally going to go grab one! I asked Dana if she thought it would be ok and she said she’d put it up and see what the managers thought. It may last a day, it may last a month, it may be there the next time we swing through Baltimore a few years down the line, but regardless, it was wicked sweet to see our bumper sticker on the wall while we were there! Thanks Dana!
 To wrap it up the boys took a shot with her - I took pictures and drank my coffee - what a fun way to wrap up our day in Baltimore!
Until next time America.
~Sarah
 (Day three en route to Philly from D.C. this morning and Baltimore, MD this afternoon. Post finished in Philly)
Another great and exciting day. We started out running late (I needed a 8:40 shower before we left) to the Capitol building. The traffic in D.C. was so bad we decided that if we parked and ran we would have a quicker time of making our 9:10 tour. We did so and Sarah frantically pumped quarters into a parking meter, getting seven minutes and thirty seconds for each one (four dollars per hour) before we started jogging to catch up to the track team that makes up the Stanley family.
 I inwardly decided that Tom’s job as a waiter had prepared him more than my job as a cubicle worker for the sprint that awaited us. Tom and his sister Lela were much quicker getting to the capital building than I was; Sarah graciously acted out-of-shape and made sure she split the difference between the “Tortoise and the Hares.” I think I was using alveoli in my lungs (thanks biology class) that haven’t been exercised in a couple years at least. My heavy breathing sounded a worse than I think it should have, and after Tom circled back and got the tickets from Sarah, he jogged ahead and found the correct door to go in (I really look forward to using the intense attraction-hopping adventure to get in shape for all of the walking/jogging/hiking that awaits). We finally arrived at the correct entrance and, after a minute or two of a game of “take some more metal items out of your pockets and see if you can get through the metal detector” headed up by Tom and his extra camera batteries, we ended up five minutes late for our Capitol Tour.
Thankfully there were more spots available at another tour a bit later. It’s great when things work out.
 To kick off the tour, there is a small theater in the capital building (who knew?); our group of about 200-250 filled about three quarters of the seats. The video was really effective (it made me feel good about how all the ridiculous partisan bickering in Congress supported the decision-making process) and after we split into five equal groups of fifty or so, the tour itself was also excellent. Our tour guide made sure to mention that the forefathers intended congress to be the most citizen-accessible branch of government, reassure us that we should (through voting and communicating with our representatives) be part of the legislative process, and, frankly, made us feel really welcome into the house of Congress.
 He took us around to see some great statues and unique rooms. Check out our Flickr account (link on the right sidebar) for details.
The rest of the day included a continuation of our great experience in Baltimore’s uber-food court at Lexington Market, The National Aquarium at Baltimore, Fort McHenry, and Kisling's Tavern, before Sarah (the D.D.) drove us to Philly. More on these happenings coming soon from Tom, Sarah, and/or I.
-Joey
It's only day three of 100, and we're already seen a fantastic spread of attractions in just the two cities we've visited. Today was our Baltimore day, and we'll give you more details about that very soon. In the meanwhile, if you're dying for A100 content and you can't find anything new, you should visit our page on Flickr, by clicking on the very prominent link at the right.
This will take you directly to the America in 100 Days photostream, which features a visual rundown of almost everything we've encountered thus far. We've each posted a good number of photos, but unless someone wants to pay us for our shots, we're all a collective photographer, all three of us. So take some free time to peruse what we've seen, and check back regularly. I guarantee it will make your productivity at work disappear.
-Tom
D.C. was awesome! Joey and Tom were speculating on the way out of town about how we must have seen as much in two and a half days there as most tourists see in a week and most residents see in a year… not counting the stuff they can always see like the monuments… and cubicles, they definitely saw more cubicles than we did. Much thanks to Lela and her roommates for letting us sleep (and snore loudly) on their couches, drink beers and blog in their dining room, and shower in their bathroom.
It was also really awesome to see you, James and Unger! James, sorry we missed the Portrait Gallery, it sounded really cool, but it was great grabbing a beer with you. Unger, awesome job going on a Joey/Tom/Sarah scavenger hunt. I’m really glad I was wearing the official America In 100 Days shirt so you could spot us from wherever it was that you spotted us from.
So later on D.C.! Nicely done being the first stop. You did not disappoint.
As I write we are quickly approaching Baltimore, Maryland- our ETA is in 10 minutes so I better get posting! Until next time America.
~Sarah
Yesterday was our first day of our summer as nomads, and man, did it wear us out. All three of us hit the pillow like our heads were made of cement, and nobody budged until my alarm woke us at 8:15 this morning. Of course, that's not including the two times I got up to smash a pillow down next to Joey's head to make him stop snoring.  We left my sister's place on Kenyon Street to drive across the Potomac and into Virginia, for a visit to nearby Arlington National Cemetery. These fabled grounds are the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of Americans, including fallen soldiers from every one of our nation's conflicts abroad and at home. I'd never seen these stone-covered hills before today (outside of a movie), and I have to register my bewilderment at the sheer breadth and beauty of the grounds. I'd heard the gravestones go on forever... I didn't quite realize what that looked like.
 The weather today was, like yesterday, absolutely perfect, with only enough clouds in the sky to offer a pleasant color contrast. We trekked through this vast cemetery along with scores of other people, winding through the hills and gazing across the endless seas of white slabs rising up from the earth. We found our way up to the eternal flame at John F. Kennedy's gravesite, and even managed to show up just in time for the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This rather bizarre process took an unusual amount of time, but the significance was strong. Apparently, this tomb has been on 24-hour watch by armed guards on every day since 1937, regardless of weather conditions. That's dedication.
 Before we tried to conquer any more large endeavors, we followed my sister's advice and found our way to la Taqueria Nacionale on N. Capitol Street, a zesty Mexican restaurant tucked away in an exterior corner of an otherwise official-looking building. The place had no indoor seating, and the floor space was packed with patrons, as my sister warned it would be. The portions of the food weren't anything to write home about, but the taste certainly was. My beef tacos were made with big chunks of steak and fresh diced onions - easily the most trustworthy tacos I've ever encountered.
 We felt it necessary to give Sarah's poor skin a break from that awful, awful sun, as we ducked into the National Air and Space Museum. Admission was free, which makes the Smithsonian museums even more desirable for budget-bound travelers such as ourselves. This, coupled with the time of year, landed us in the middle of an ocean of schoolchildren, no doubt on their end-of-the-year field trip. We snapped some pictures and avoided getting trampled before moving on.
 Our next stop took the day to a whole new level. The Newseum, housed inside a mammoth, 250,000 square foot facility on Pennsylvania Avenue, is a museum dedicated to the media, its coverage of the most important events in our nation's history, and its role in shaping our culture and society. As a blogger and an unrelenting news junkie, I had a particularly strong interest in visiting this place, and I was not disappointed for even a moment.
 The Newseum opened in its current location just a year ago, and it shows. Every exhibit was jumping off the walls, exploding with color and technological savvy. The treatment was not only of the media and its many faces and forms, but also of the stories themselves that have made the media what they are today. Interactive displays were contrasted starkly by items with which you'd never want to interact in real life, like a Berlin Wall guardtower, as well as artifacts ranging from archived newspapers to the Unabomber's personal shack, taken from the depths of rural Montana. We could have stayed all week at this place.
 Courtesy of the International Spy Museum Alas, we could not. Our tight itinerary allows for only so much extra time, and we wasted none in scurrying over to the International Spy Museum on F Street. This is the country's only espionage museum, an offbeat attraction but one that would appeal to just about anyone who has heard of ninjas, James Bond or the Cold War.
 Courtesy of the International Spy Museum Guests are cleverly welcomed with their own spy scenario, which was a perfect mindset in which to explore a museum. Relics from our decades-long conflict with the Soviet Union dominate the exhibit space, the products of an ever-escalating demonstration of force and stealth between our country and theirs.
But this wasn't all Cold War stuff. Exhibits focused on ninjitsu (the art of the shadow), the role of espionage in World War I and II, and prominent women spies kept our brains bouncing eagerly from one display to the next. And especially after the somewhat irritating flow of people inside the Air and Space Museum, I was thrilled to be inside a museum that leads its visitors from start to finish with an easily navigable, logically constructed pathway, with a start and a finish. This way, people keep moving in a common direction, and there's less of a chance that a room goes accidentally unseen.
 As if we hadn't done enough for the day, it was time to eat, and we thought we'd hit another D.C. landmark at Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street. This restaurant has been open more than 50 years, a down-home, no-nonsense eatery with a menu that needs no additions whatsoever. The three of us converged on this spot, took some photos, and bought a big dinner for about ten dollars each.
 We were told to expect a long line, as much as a half hour of waiting for our food. Today, that was not the case. The line was at a minimum, and plenty of seating was open, so we sat down and devoured our meal. Each of us had a chili half-smoke, which is like a hot dog but with a touch of spice and a little more volume, doused with cheese and Ben's famous chili, which comes off as more of a (savory) slurry than anything else. We also shared chili cheese fries, and could barely find the fries beneath the drowning of delicious chili and sauce. It was glorious, as you can surely surmise from the photo.
Needless to say, after such a strenuous day, we nixed the bar in favor of a twelve-pack from the local grocery store. Tomorrow, we're up bright and early for a tour of Congress before we journey on to Baltimore. Look forward to it.
-Tom
 Count down timer hits zero Here is another post about yesterday. Due to technical difficulties is was not posted until today. Enjoy:
First of all, I wanted to post an overdue “Thanks” to George and Steltz, and everyone who attended our going away party. This is a good week overdue, but as Sarah explains below, packing was kind of a pain. In addition to a great spread in their new house (cheese, crackers, ice luge…), there was even a collection taken to pad our road trip bank account. On the card it read “From Your Deadbeat Friends.” Hilarious. Thanks guys. So far we have spent it on burgers and drinks.
I had a great time yesterday (at least after 8 a.m.). We slated the official start of our trip for noon and I was able to grab a screenshot of the moment our countdown timer clicked to zero from our in car internet connection.
Soon after we were walking to “Monument Central, USA.” We saw so many cool memorials in such a small area, and most icons were organized in such a way as to compliment each other. See our photos on Flickr for details. It has been quite a while since I’ve been sightseeing in D.C. and I forgot how clumped together all of the really great outdoor stuff was.
The attractions are all very meaningful and symbolic but there was something that struck me even more. What I was really excited about was to be outside walking around in the sun for the better part of the day. D.C. has a great system of sidewalks and walkways and they made the experience incredible. Everything smelled like leaves and grass; this was such an awesome difference from what I was used to things smelling like in either an office cubicle (sterile) or outside in New Jersey and Southeast PA (bad). By the end of the day, Sarah and I were talking about how we were out of sore, tired, sun burnt, hungry, thirsty, and in my case sweaty (she tells me girls don’t sweat?), and never felt better.
At the end of a long day, two of my college fraternity buddies, Anthony and James, and Tom’s sister Lela met us for a couple drinks right near Lela’s apartment. Soon after, I went directly to bed around midnight to get a good 8 hours of sleep on a camping cot. Right now, I am in the car excited to start it all again. Sorry about the lack of pictures in this post, the connection is too slow to effectively upload from the road. Be sure to check the Flickr account (link on right).
-Joey
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