Give Advice on Trip to Philly, Gettysburg, & PA Dutch Country

[Earthmerlin]

Later in the summer I'm planning on taking my 8 year old to Philly, Gettysburg, & PA Dutch Country on three separate trips. While I've started researching things to do there, I'd nonetheless love to hear any insider tips or advice. If you've been to any of these 3 places with your kids, what do you recommend as 'must do'? Thanks!

[HomeAgain]

Following, because we're headed there next summer.  I've heard the audio tour of Gettysburg is great for kids.  My kids also have National Park Passports which are little blue books that they can collect stamps in as they go to historical places around the U.S.  It's our cheap souvenir, lol - $10 for the book and about $2 for each of the stickers that go along with the free cancellation stamps.  Anytime we go places we bring their passports with us so they can stamp them.

[Junie]

I grew up in York County, in between Gettysburg and Lancaster, but closer to the Lancaster side.  We have taken my kids to a few places when we have gone to visit family.  I also remember places I visited as a child.

Hersheypark or Dutch Wonderland; Hersheypark is the more exciting park, but if your 8 year old doesn't like big, fast rides Dutch Wonderland might be better.

I enjoyed Indian Echo Caverns both as a child and as an adult.  It's a really good place to visit on a hot day.

Sight and Sound is nice if you're interested in Bible stories and musical theater and if you have $$$ to spend (or if you can get a good deal).  Dh and I took two of our kids several years ago when they had a special: 4 tickets (2 adults/2 kids) for $99.  

I have heard that the Herrs Factory Tour and the Turkey Hill Experience are good, but I've not been to either myself.

If you have a railroad enthusiast I recommend the Strasburg Railroad.  They also have Thomas the Tank Engine weekends if that is of interest.  We went there about 10 years ago when ds17 was little.  (sniff) ?

I visited the Ephrata Cloister on a school field trip, but I don't remember much about it.  

Wheatland (which I have never visited) is James Buchanan's home.

Kitchen Kettle Village is a kind of tourist trap where you can buy jellies and crafts, etc.  It's all available in one place which is nice.

One place I would like to visit is the Hans Herr House.  It is an historical Mennonite home.   I recently found out that my step-dad (who is not Mennonite) is a direct descendant of Hans Herr.  It seems that the house tour has good reviews and I think that they sometimes have special events geared toward children.

If you're interested in Colonial history you might want to consider visiting the Colonial Complex in York.

 

[Earthmerlin]

5 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Following, because we're headed there next summer.  I've heard the audio tour of Gettysburg is great for kids.  My kids also have National Park Passports which are little blue books that they can collect stamps in as they go to historical places around the U.S.  It's our cheap souvenir, lol - $10 for the book and about $2 for each of the stickers that go along with the free cancellation stamps.  Anytime we go places we bring their passports with us so they can stamp them.

Thanks for the reminder! We also have that passport & I'll be sure to bring it with us.

[happypamama]

The audio tour (and you can rent iPad tours too) of the Gettysburg battle fields is good.  My kids like seeing cannons and wandering the battlefields.  There are a bunch of museums and such in Gettysburg.  The Visitor's Center is packed with stuff in their galleries, just SO much to see.  You can see the site of the Gettysburg Address and the Evergreen Cemetery, where a woman dug many of the graves.  Downtown Gettysburg is pretty, lots of historic buildngs, so you could do a museum, poke around some of the shops, get some ice cream, and wander the streets for a while.  

 

The Dobbin House restaurant does free tours during the week, and that's interesting to see.  They were on the Underground Railroad.  My littlest guys got a little tired with the talking, but my 7 or 8 year old son was fine with it and enjoyed it.  It's a nice place to eat, as well, albeit fairly expensive (DH and I went there for an anniversary once).  Let me know if you're looking for other restaurant recommendations.

 

Don't come to Gettysburg around July 4 unless you really want to see reenactments.  Gettysburg is exactly what Rhett Butler said it was: "some little town in Pennsylvania."  All roads around here lead to Gettysburg, but it's still a little town, and it's not made for a gazillion tourists, so there will be traffic.  Also, hotels jack up their prices because they know they can.  Avoid coming during move-in weekend for Gettysburg College too if you can.

 

For an outside break, Caledonia State Park, a little west of Gettysburg is very nice.  Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum and candy shop are along the way, out Route 30, and the kids like that.

 

If you are interested in military history and have the time, zip up to Carlisle (half an hour or so from Gettysburg) and see the Army Heritage Education Center's outside displays.  They've got stuff from a bunch of US wars, like a WWI bunker to explore.  

 

Hershey is about an hour from Gettysburg, roughly on the way to Lancaster, and has various attractions; Chocolate World's tour is free, plus there are other activities at that site.  At 8, many of the rides at Hersheypark will probably be doable too, and there's ZooAmerica too.  Plus there's Hershey Gardens and the Hershey Story Museum, although I haven't been to those myself.

 

Over in Lancaster, there's Landis Valley Museum, which is a living farm/museum, and my kids have always loved it (although we haven't been in a few years now).  We enjoyed the Ephrata Cloisters as well, and on the way to Philly there is also Roadside America (kids loved it), the Daniel Boone Homestead (kids loved it), and the Lego store at King of Prussia (haven't been).

 

Ask more if I can answer any other questions about attractions, hotels/camping, etc.  I hope you enjoy your trips here!  (I will warn you: I once visited Gettysburg on a day trip one spring, and then we said, "Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to live here?".  We've lived here almost twelve years now, and every day, I still can't believe we made that dream come true.  Haha.)

[8filltheheart]

I am glad the OP started this thread. Our Dd is attending German camp at Millersville University and we are camping in the Lancaster area   For vacation while she is there.

[Earthmerlin]

50 minutes ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I am glad the OP started this thread. Our Dd is attending German camp at Millersville University and we are camping in the Lancaster area   For vacation while she is there.

As an aside, is this a language immersion camp? Hmmm....I'll need to file that in my mental catalogue for later in life (if they've got French or Spanish).....

[Earthmerlin]

1 hour ago, happypamama said:

The audio tour (and you can rent iPad tours too) of the Gettysburg battle fields is good.  My kids like seeing cannons and wandering the battlefields.  There are a bunch of museums and such in Gettysburg.  The Visitor's Center is packed with stuff in their galleries, just SO much to see.  You can see the site of the Gettysburg Address and the Evergreen Cemetery, where a woman dug many of the graves.  Downtown Gettysburg is pretty, lots of historic buildngs, so you could do a museum, poke around some of the shops, get some ice cream, and wander the streets for a while.  

 

The Dobbin House restaurant does free tours during the week, and that's interesting to see.  They were on the Underground Railroad.  My littlest guys got a little tired with the talking, but my 7 or 8 year old son was fine with it and enjoyed it.  It's a nice place to eat, as well, albeit fairly expensive (DH and I went there for an anniversary once).  Let me know if you're looking for other restaurant recommendations.

 

Don't come to Gettysburg around July 4 unless you really want to see reenactments.  Gettysburg is exactly what Rhett Butler said it was: "some little town in Pennsylvania."  All roads around here lead to Gettysburg, but it's still a little town, and it's not made for a gazillion tourists, so there will be traffic.  Also, hotels jack up their prices because they know they can.  Avoid coming during move-in weekend for Gettysburg College too if you can.

 

For an outside break, Caledonia State Park, a little west of Gettysburg is very nice.  Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum and candy shop are along the way, out Route 30, and the kids like that.

 

If you are interested in military history and have the time, zip up to Carlisle (half an hour or so from Gettysburg) and see the Army Heritage Education Center's outside displays.  They've got stuff from a bunch of US wars, like a WWI bunker to explore.  

 

Hershey is about an hour from Gettysburg, roughly on the way to Lancaster, and has various attractions; Chocolate World's tour is free, plus there are other activities at that site.  At 8, many of the rides at Hersheypark will probably be doable too, and there's ZooAmerica too.  Plus there's Hershey Gardens and the Hershey Story Museum, although I haven't been to those myself.

 

Over in Lancaster, there's Landis Valley Museum, which is a living farm/museum, and my kids have always loved it (although we haven't been in a few years now).  We enjoyed the Ephrata Cloisters as well, and on the way to Philly there is also Roadside America (kids loved it), the Daniel Boone Homestead (kids loved it), and the Lego store at King of Prussia (haven't been).

 

Ask more if I can answer any other questions about attractions, hotels/camping, etc.  I hope you enjoy your trips here!  (I will warn you: I once visited Gettysburg on a day trip one spring, and then we said, "Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to live here?".  We've lived here almost twelve years now, and every day, I still can't believe we made that dream come true.  Haha.)

Super helpful info.! Thanks SO much!

[itsheresomewhere]

Hershey gardens is very nice. The Hershey museum is ok if you found a group in for it.  We get a discount for it and honestly, it was a once and done.  Even for what it cost us, I still felt a little ripped off.  

If you are in the Lancaster area, try the miller’s smorgasbord. Great food for everyone and they have coupons.  Check their website for them.  

[Kendall]

Philly - We really liked the Franklin Institute and wished we had more time there.

We did the zoo, but that is the one thing of our trip we wish we had left out.

Independence Hall – We really liked both tours there (both had air conditioning!) , you have to have a ticket (free) to get in. You reserve them in advance(might be a charge for this) for a specific time and then you need to be there a bit early to go through security. They do save some back that you can get that morning if you are there when they first start giving them out.

The Liberty Bell is right across from it. Try to find out when the best time of day is. It was a long hot line. No tickets needed.

There was a chemistry museum less than a block from there that I think was free, but it was closed the day we were there.

We went to the Museum of the American Revolution:

                Readers of this review should take in to account the fact that this was the last thing of a 7 day wonderful, exhausting trip. We did not pay anything for this trip, but I don't think I would have felt that the museum was worth the cost (had I paid for it). It was new with up to date displays and some hands on. It felt like it had fewer artifacts than the museum listed below, but in a modern rich looking display. 

In a lot of ways we liked better the 1970's ugly display "museum" at the visitors center on the Jersey side of the Delaware River Crossing. 2 small rooms with displays crammed full of things with type-written signs. But if you take the time to read them, there were really neat things in there. ($5 admission to the state park per vehicle). I can't remember how far to Philly from there.

Parking is awful. If you have a big van that is oversized there is no parking that I could find with research and phone calls, so we left our van at the lot near the hotel and walked and took taxis. 

We did Reading Terminal Market for one meal which was fun but a bit stressful trying to find seating and feed 8 people with different wants?.

That's all we did in Philly. I say all, but it felt like a lot crammed into parts of 3 days!

FWIW,

Kendall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lori D.]

Copy-pasting below from a previous post of mine, of things we did in Philadelphia:

_________________________

We all loved the Franklin Institute -- it is one cool science museum. AND if you are a member of any sort of homeschool group and have a card to prove it, you can get an educator's discount (for just you). Don't know how fast your family takes in a museum, but I'd suggest at LEAST half to 2/3rd of a day. Make this the only event of the day if you can, due to all the walking around.

We also enjoyed:
- Philadelphia Mint (where they make our money!) -- FREE
- Liberty Bell -- FREE
- Independence Hall -- FREE
- Arch Street Meeting House -- FREE (probably not too exciting for young ones)
- Betsy Ross house (NOT free -- AND you need to get TIMED ADVANCE tickets)
- Ben Franklin's grave (NOT free) -- although, you can see his grave through the fence and toss a penny on it)

These are all close together, within about 3-4 blocks. We got through most of these in a half day (3-ish hours), as there is walking between sites. For this day, we parked at some meters about 1/2 mile away and fed them enough coins for 4 hours, and then walked, with a lunch bag, and ate in the park area around Independence Hall.

ETA: this was when we went 10 years ago, and it was autumn off-season -- summer will very likely be packed and much longer waits!!

NOTE: NO bags or cameras allowed in the Philadelphia Mint, so half your group goes through with one parent, while the other parent hangs onto everyone's stufff and takes the rest of the group through sites nearby, and then after 45-60 minutes, meet out front and switch.

We also made sure to get authentic Philly Cheesesteak while there.  ?

_________________________

ETA: For the PA Dutch Country aspect -- alas, we didn't have the time to explore. We would have loved to do Hersey Park or tour the factory, but we were there in the autumn off-season, so those things were closed. One idea to do in advance might be to watch the Disney animated short of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, as that was written by Washington Irving about the PA Dutch people, and you see a lot of the 19th century costuming, a Dutch door (the kind where you can open just the top or bottom half), etc. You can try reading Irving's longish-short story, but you'll need to do a lot of explaining and translating as you go for an elementary-aged student.

We also did Valley Forge and Gettysburg in one day. I don't recommend it, as they are a few hours driving apart, and we didn't get to do more than a "drive by" quick look. However, that was all the time we had and we were trying to squeeze in as much as we could in our once-in-a-lifetime big east coast trip.

Gettysburg has a museum (for a fee) -- we just popped our heads into the free building located before the admission window, and saw some items and letters of soldiers -- and then we did the self-guided driving tour around the battlefield sites and I read from the brochure as we went by. We also walked through the cemetery, which was very sobering to me as an adult -- not sure that either the driving tour or the cemetery had a huge impact on young teen DSs... It looks like they do re-enactments of battles, so maybe time your visit for then -- although the crowds will probably be huge. Check out the website to help plan your visit.

ETA: You might want to read a book about the Civil War before heading to Gettysburg, to help your student have context and "get" what the deal is about this place. Two Miserable Presidents (Sheinkin) is a very comprehensive book; it is 270 pages. If that's too long for the time you have before heading to Gettysburg, perhaps try a few videos:

- Why Was the Battle of Gettysburg Important -- 3:30 min. video; good explanation of the battle, with modern-day video to help make the site familiar to your student when you go
- The American Civil War in 3 Minutes
- Crash Course -- 2 12-minute videos -- part 1, and part 2

I'd also highly recommend reading the Gettysburg Address (very short!), and possibly also also Lincoln's second Inaugural address as part of your context. We liked the Cornerstones of Freedom: The Gettysburg Address (Richards), which gives short context to the speech, and then reprints the speech.

[Earthmerlin]

Other than Philly steaks, can anyone recommend good eats in Philadelphia? Anything else uniquely Philly? Or relating to Franklin's period? Or something else that's truly show stopping (i.e., dinner theater)?

[Earthmerlin]

6 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Copy-pasting below from a previous post of mine, of things we did in Philadelphia:

_________________________

We all loved the Franklin Institute -- it is one cool science museum. AND if you are a member of any sort of homeschool group and have a card to prove it, you can get an educator's discount (for just you). Don't know how fast your family takes in a museum, but I'd suggest at LEAST half to 2/3rd of a day. Make this the only event of the day if you can, due to all the walking around.

We also enjoyed:
- Philadelphia Mint (where they make our money!) -- FREE
- Liberty Bell -- FREE
- Independence Hall -- FREE
- Arch Street Meeting House -- FREE (probably not too exciting for young ones)
- Betsy Ross house (NOT free -- AND you need to get TIMED ADVANCE tickets)
- Ben Franklin's grave (NOT free) -- although, you can see his grave through the fence and toss a penny on it)

These are all close together, within about 3-4 blocks. We got through most of these in a half day (3-ish hours), as there is walking between sites. For this day, we parked at some meters about 1/2 mile away and fed them enough coins for 4 hours, and then walked, with a lunch bag, and ate in the park area around Independence Hall.

ETA: this was when we went 10 years ago, and it was autumn off-season -- summer will very likely be packed and much longer waits!!

NOTE: NO bags or cameras allowed in the Philadelphia Mint, so half your group goes through with one parent, while the other parent hangs onto everyone's stufff and takes the rest of the group through sites nearby, and then after 45-60 minutes, meet out front and switch.

We also made sure to get authentic Philly Cheesesteak while there.  ?

_________________________

ETA: For the PA Dutch Country aspect -- alas, we didn't have the time to explore. We would have loved to do Hersey Park or tour the factory, but we were there in the autumn off-season, so those things were closed. One idea to do in advance might be to watch the Disney animated short of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, as that was written by Washington Irving about the PA Dutch people, and you see a lot of the 19th century costuming, a Dutch door (the kind where you can open just the top or bottom half), etc. You can try reading Irving's longish-short story, but you'll need to do a lot of explaining and translating as you go for an elementary-aged student.

We also did Valley Forge and Gettysburg in one day. I don't recommend it, as they are a few hours driving apart, and we didn't get to do more than a "drive by" quick look. However, that was all the time we had and we were trying to squeeze in as much as we could in our once-in-a-lifetime big east coast trip.

Gettysburg has a museum (for a fee) -- we just popped our heads into the free building located before the admission window, and saw some items and letters of soldiers -- and then we did the self-guided driving tour around the battlefield sites and I read from the brochure as we went by. We also walked through the cemetery, which was very sobering to me as an adult -- not sure that either the driving tour or the cemetery had a huge impact on young teen DSs... It looks like they do re-enactments of battles, so maybe time your visit for then -- although the crowds will probably be huge. Check out the website to help plan your visit.

ETA: You might want to read a book about the Civil War before heading to Gettysburg, to help your student have context and "get" what the deal is about this place. Two Miserable Presidents (Sheinkin) is a very comprehensive book; it is 270 pages. If that's too long for the time you have before heading to Gettysburg, perhaps try a few videos:

- Why Was the Battle of Gettysburg Important -- 3:30 min. video; good explanation of the battle, with modern-day video to help make the site familiar to your student when you go
- The American Civil War in 3 Minutes
- Crash Course -- 2 12-minute videos -- part 1, and part 2

I'd also highly recommend reading the Gettysburg Address (very short!), and possibly also also Lincoln's second Inaugural address as part of your context. We liked the Cornerstones of Freedom: The Gettysburg Address (Richards), which gives short context to the speech, and then reprints the speech.

Thanks for the literature & video connections. I will definitely pre-teach before our trips We live in MD and so not too far from these places. Whatever we don't see in this summer's trip, we'll catch next time around. During Presidebts' Day, we actually read & dissected the Gettysburg Address & she memorized a portion of it. We'll be sure to review that before our trip. I like Franklin so we'll review his bio., etc. before the Philly trip as well. Good ideas in this thread--I'm glad I asked!

[jboo]

There are a lot of train things in the Amish area near Lancaster. Despite not being more into trains than the usual family with small boys, we've stayed at the Red Caboose Motel -- the rooms are made of converted railcars -- and had a grand time. It's right next to the Toy Train Museum and very close to the Strasburg Railroad (a steam train), and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. There's a buggy company that runs tours from the Red Caboose Motel, too.

Also in the Lancaster area: pretzel factory tours.

The Turkey Hill Experience was fun. That's in Columbia PA, and probably on your way to one location or another. Tickets were ~$10 and it came with all you can eat ice cream - very fresh, very good. I don't think we needed to stop for dinner that day.

[kbutton]

The Landis Valley Museum in Lititz is wonderful, and they have homeschooling days. I think of it as PA Dutch history done Colonial Williamsburg style (and on a smaller scale). We happened to visit with a preschooler during one of the homeschooling days before we homeschooled. Our four-year-old got to make sissel rope, dip candles, make heirloom seed tape, try several traditional crafts, and watch his dad attempt to use a flint and steel to light a small fire. That's all on top of the regular experience, and I don't think any of it cost extra. 

The whole town of Lititz has some neat stuff--the Julius Sturgis pretzel shop is in Lititz, and so is the Wilbur Chocolate Factory. The town also has a lot of Moravian history if that interests you.

http://www.landisvalleymuseum.org/

We liked the Tabernacle in Lancaster as well as Sight and Sound.

[kbutton]

I haven't done much in Philly, but Longwood Gardens is a great stop.

[Earthmerlin]

Can anyone recommend a short online article or online video re: Amish? I'm having trouble finding appropriate background information for my 8 yr old from our library...as prep for our trip. Many thanks!

[Lori D.]

4 hours ago, Earthmerlin said:

Can anyone recommend a short online article or online video re: Amish...

Exploring Amish Country -- short 1-page articles on: family, clothing, customs, culture
Amish People and Amish Culture, Lancaster PA website -- Q&A style very short article
8:30-min video, YouTube -- made by a mom and pre-teen daughter about the origins, history, and culture of the Amish

[8filltheheart]

In planning our trip, I have found this site helpful http://www.visitlancasterpa.net/Lancaster-County/Things-To-Do/

[lots of little ducklings]

A fast reply for lack of time, but we just finished a Philly/Lancaster/Hershey trip (and had a fabulous time!) so the thread caught my eye.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet upthread, but my kids LOVED visiting all the "Once Upon a Nation" benches in Philly.  (There are also some storytellers at Valley Forge).  The storytellers are fantastic (recent graduates in theater, so the stories are exceptionally well-performed), and the stories themselves are memorable snippets of history that you've likely never heard elsewhere.  In Philly, your child can get a paper flag and receive stickers (stars) for it at each bench.  10 stickers = 1 free 38-second ride on the Carousel in Franklin Square. (Okay...maybe not exactly 38 seconds, but it felt like it!) Nevertheless, my crew (10,9,7,6, and 4) had a blast getting the stickers and were overjoyed by earning the Carousel. 

I'll post more as time allows.  Drop me any questions if you have them!

[lots of little ducklings]

Oh!  And this.  I had no idea it even existed.  Locals pointed us in the direction of it, and I'm so glad we popped by to see it.  Fast, free, and absolutely stunning.  The Curtis Center was open late (it was after 9pm when we went) so it's easy to do when other things are closed. 

[lots of little ducklings]

Gettysburg was fun too, even though we had little time there.  The Cyclorama, the museum, and the ranger programs (we stumbled onto one and my kids all took part for an hour) made it worth the extra hour we drove out of our way to stop by.  We did Valley Forge later the same day, which was likewise a fast trip but worthwhile too (with Storyteller benches just as in Philly).  We purchased (for $15) the car cd tour, which was well done even though we could only listen to select stops on the tour for lack of time.  Washington's headquarters was a highlight.   Lovely house to tour (and free!).  

Okay... bedtime now, for real!  ?

[Lucy the Valiant]

If Troy Harman is doing a ranger-led tour of Gettysburg, you're in for a treat. We do not know him personally, but just went on a tour led by him, and he tied in Nikola Tesla, ecology, the 12 virtues, human psychology, and a historically balaced and respectful synopsis of the entire 3-day battle. It's been about 3-4 weeks, and our kids are still making connections from the jam-packed info he gave us.

We count it a "good tour" if we come away with LOTS of burning questions, and wow - this guy calmly and powerfully led the best tour we've ever had in any national park. 

$.02

[BetterthanIdeserve]

On 6/24/2018 at 6:05 PM, Earthmerlin said:

Other than Philly steaks, can anyone recommend good eats in Philadelphia? Anything else uniquely Philly? Or relating to Franklin's period? Or something else that's truly show stopping (i.e., dinner theater)?

I was only in Philly for a couple of nights last month, but we enjoyed getting phosphates at Franklin Fountain in the historic district.

[G5052]

Maybe not for a kid that age, but twice we've done the tour where you hide a guide, and they drive your car around. Both were superb and brought in a lot of material to make it real. The second time, I went with a group of kids who had just read Killer Angels, and it was a truly outstanding trip. We stayed in cabins near the park and cooked our own meals as a group. 

In Lancaster, if you like Old Testament history, I'm very found of the Tabernacle Museum. It's bare-bones, but it helps you visualize that period in Jewish history like nothing else. I've been to Lancaster multiple times, and I always go.

Mine enjoyed the Landis museum and the pretzel factory in Lititz as well.

For Amish-style food, I like the buffet a Diener's and Katie's Kitchen for sit-down service.

If you fish, there are some great streams near both Gettysburg and Lancaster.

Good memories!

[Earthmerlin]

Thanks for all the information! We have gone to both Amish country and Gettysburg. We enjoyed them both and learned s ton. I now know day trips were not enough to see all I had planned. Luckily, we live within decent driving distance to both sites so I definitely plan to head back soon (for round 2), probably this fall. At the end of August, we're heading to Philly for a couple nights. I'm excited for that trip too & think it'll be a rewarding one. What a fun summer!

[8filltheheart]

2 hours ago, Earthmerlin said:

Thanks for all the information! We have gone to both Amish country and Gettysburg. We enjoyed them both and learned s ton. I now know day trips were not enough to see all I had planned. Luckily, we live within decent driving distance to both sites so I definitely plan to head back soon (for round 2), probably this fall. At the end of August, we're heading to Philly for a couple nights. I'm excited for that trip too & think it'll be a rewarding one. What a fun summer!

We have completed our trip, too. For others reading

recommend---Landis Valley,  Strasburg train ride (which had a stop near Cherry Crest Farm where there were picnic tables and a play ground. We would have packed a picnic and gotten off if we had known. You have to plan on staying 1hr), the train museum for a quick walk thru, the Ressler Mill and house (bonus in that it is free), the Mennonite Museum (free and you can read enough to understand most of what you see), driving around Strasburg, shops in Lititz. 

In Philly, recommend the mint tour and Independence Hall. You can walk right by Franklin's grave and the Tiffany mural is right across the street form Independence Hall. 

Biggest waste of $$ by far was the Franklin Musuem. That was a complete bust for our family.  (This is not the same place as the Franklin Institute. We didn't go to the Franklin Institute bc we only drove into Philadelphia for a few hrs and didn't have enough time)

Edited August 5, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart