liberty, justice and national treasure for all

if you've been counting down the days until you get to see a photo re-enactment of one portion of National Treasure, then circle "0", my friend, because THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY.

what follows is a partial account of my time in philadelphia, the birthplace of america/home to some national monuments that no one seems to care about anymore. when not diligently documenting my own personal n.t. tour, i was registering voters, trying to persuade people to vote for obama, and enjoying that delicious piece of heaven known as 'cheesesteak.'

ohnoshedidn't...ohyessshedid! i totally posed like a douchebag tourist outside of philly's flagship urban store, thus beginning my descent into national treasure-induced madness.

independence hall... where it all happened. and by 'it all', i mean the ingeniousness of disney and jerry bruckheimer.

unfortunately i didn't have big enough cajones to actually jump the rope and go up to the bell tower. NEXT TIME.

oh, foreign nemesis, you're so dumb to think that the clue would be hidden at the new location of the liberty bell. everyone knows the bell tower now holds the centennial bell. duh.

that's right, nicolas cage... the clue is actually hidden behind a random brick atop independence hall. not only are you uncannily adept at solving weird riddles, but you also have oddly hawk-like vision. you are the perfect lite-action-movie hero.

this friendly gentleman was actually an extra in n.t., although he didn't work at the infamous meatstand-behind-which-blonde-chick-hides at the time. he tried to explain what he was doing during the 14-hour shoot -- scooping ice cream, maybe? -- but i paid no attention, as i was understandably preoccupied.

yes, i am pretending to run through the streets of philly, and yes, i am awesome.

clutching a headstone and attempting to re-enact the 'graveyard shoot-up' scene from n.t. fyi: cemeteries are pretty, but creepy.

the franklin institute. much to my chagrin, the silence dogood letters are not actually housed here. WHERE ARE THEY???

this is in the movie, but i also love giant stone statues of old white dudes.

"oh, don't mind me. i'm just waiting outside the franklin institute for my tiny informant to come back with the last four letters of the next clue. i hope the villains don't get here just in time to catch us!"

sadly for you, reader, this is where our national treasure tour ends... for now... (ominous music). luckily for me (and for you), the movie's other two locations, washington, dc and nyc, are well within my reach. stay tuned for part 2, coming later this month.

xoxo

nic cage, who enjoys wide stances and referring to himself in the third person