Rediscover America’s founding on a Fourth of July getaway

There is something fitting about spending Independence Day not just with fireworks and backyard barbecues, but by rediscovering the places where the American story began.

If you haven’t finalized your holiday plans, don’t worry. It’s not too late. America’s 250th birthday offers countless opportunities to experience history firsthand.

I can think of no better place than Philadelphia.

I visited exactly one year before the semiquincentennial. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Christ Church and countless other landmarks transform familiar textbook history into something tangible.

For millions of Americans, a visit over the Fourth of July is still possible. Roughly 40% of the population lives within driving distance, making Philadelphia one of the easiest major destinations for a last-minute getaway.

The city has celebrated since June 19 as part of Wawa Welcome America, which organizers describe as the country’s largest Independence Day festival. Festivities culminate July 4 with the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade at 12 p.m. The celebration concludes with fireworks over the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

As of this writing, The Bellevue Hotel, part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, still has rooms. So does the Four Seasons Philadelphia.

Across the country, historical reenactments offer visitors an opportunity to see, hear and even smell what life during the American Revolution looked like.

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

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

Visitors can meet interpreters portraying 28 historical figures, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Lesser-known founders such as John Dickinson, Robert Morris and Continental Army soldier and memoirist Joseph Plumb Martin are also represented.

Reenactors portraying American and British soldiers demonstrate the tactics and hardships of period warfare. Public readings of the Declaration of Independence remind visitors that these familiar words once represented an extraordinary act of courage.

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Orem-North Provo makes an excellent base for exploring the festival.

Of course, America 250 — as the semiquincentennial is officially called since semiquincentennial is apparently difficult to spell and even harder to pronounce — isn’t confined to a single day or even a single year.

The years-long commemoration will continue after the last fireworks have faded.

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

From July 9-26, the museum will host a traveling exhibition featuring some of the most significant founding-era documents. 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 remarkable is that admission to the exhibit is free.

While you’re there, don’t overlook the museum’s full-scale replica of Independence Hall. For an overnight stay, book the Dearborn Inn, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The hotel reopened last year after an extensive multiyear renovation.

America 250 is about more than commemorating the past. It is an opportunity to remember the principles that gave birth to the republic and continue to shape it today.

Whether you walk Philadelphia’s streets, hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud in Utah or stand before the documents that created the U.S. in Michigan, you will come away with a deeper appreciation for the remarkable story of America’s founding.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.