Travel: Rediscover America’s Founding on a Fourth of July Vacation

There’s something so fitting about spending Independence Day not just with fireworks and backyard barbecues, but with rediscovering the places where American history began.

If you don’t have any vacation plans in mind yet, don’t worry. It’s not too late. America’s 250th anniversary offers countless opportunities to experience history firsthand.

I can’t think of a better place than Philadelphia.

It was exactly half a century ago that I visited there. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Christ Church, and countless other landmarks turn familiar textbook history into something tangible.

For millions of Americans, visiting on Independence Day is still possible. About 40% of the population lives within driving distance, making Philadelphia one of the easiest major destinations for a last-minute vacation.

The city has been celebrating since June 19 as part of “Wawa Welcome America,” which organizers are calling the nation’s largest Fourth of July festival. Celebrations culminate with the Independence Day Celebration Parade on July 4th at 12:00 p.m. The celebration concludes with fireworks at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

As of this writing, the Bellevue Hotel, part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, still has rooms available. The same goes for the Four Seasons Philadelphia.

Historical reenactments are held across the country, giving visitors the opportunity to see, hear, and smell what life was like during the American Revolution.

One such reenactment is in an unexpected location: Orem, Utah.

The Colonial Heritage Festival, located about 40 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport, will be held July 2-4. Organizers say it is the largest living history event west of the original 13 colonies.

Visitors can meet interpreters depicting 28 historical figures, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. Other lesser-known founders include John Dickinson, Robert Morris, and Continental Army soldier and memoirist Joseph Plumb Martin.

Reenactors portraying American and British soldiers demonstrate the tactics and difficulties of period warfare. A reading of the Declaration of Independence reminds visitors that these familiar words once represented an extraordinary act of courage.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Orem North Provo is the perfect base from which to explore the festival.

Of course, America’s 250th Anniversary (as Semi-Quincentennial is officially called, since Semi-Quincentennial is obviously difficult to spell and even harder to pronounce) is not limited to one day or one year.

Years of commemoration continue long after the last fireworks go off.

Another worthwhile destination is the Henry Ford Museum in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.

From July 9th to 26th, the museum will host a traveling exhibition featuring some of the most important documents from the founding era. Highlights include an engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence once owned by John Quincy Adams and the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the American Revolution and secured British recognition of the fledgling United States.

Perhaps most notable is that admission to the exhibit is free.

While you’re there, be sure to check out the museum’s full-size replica of Independence Hall. For a night stay, book the Dearborn Inn, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The hotel reopened last year after several years of extensive renovations.

America 250 does more than commemorate the past. This is an opportunity to remember the principles that birthed our republic and continue to shape it today.

Walking the streets of Philadelphia, hearing the Declaration of Independence read aloud in Utah, or standing in front of the founding documents in Michigan will give you a deeper appreciation for the amazing story of America’s founding.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.