PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia is a popular place for tourists right around Independence Day weekend. Many of them who came this week did not anticipate the current brutal heat.
“We’ve been walking around here in the heat, stopping periodically in the shade and then the air conditioning, but right now it hasn’t changed any of our plans. We’re still going to continue on. Hopefully it doesn’t get too bad," said Gracie Davis, who is visiting from North Carolina.
“I’m pretty used to the heat. I work outside. I’m a lifeguard, so I sit out in the heat all day, but it is hot.”
Maliha Yunis lives close by, in New York. But this was her first-ever Philadelphia trip. She had a full sightseeing plan, and did not want the weather to affect that.
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"We try to stick to what we do daily, but we might change from the morning to the night, so it’s a little cooler," she said.
Yunis also admitted she walked up the Rocky Steps, and that it wasn't worth running in this heat.
Michael Wilt, who is from Akron, Ohio, was in Philly with his wife and kids. He was a little more used to the weather we are accustomed to this time of year.
In other words, not temperatures this high.
“These things you can’t predict, but we’re just rolling with it. We’re getting sweaty, and it’s ok," he said.
"You only get so much time to be with your family for an extended time, so we’re taking advantage of every minute.”
That time included cheesesteaks, water ice and seeing the Liberty Bell, with a 30-plus minute wait in a line outside.
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Erin Everidge was waiting in that Liberty Bell line as well.
"It's ok. We’re troopers. We can handle it," Everidge, a Florida native, said. "It's pretty similar, honestly."
She said the heat would not stop them from seeing the city's historical sites.
"We’re actually on a road trip trying to make up for the fact that my kids didn’t get any field trips this year because of COVID-19, so we’re doing a historical tour, and this is one of our stops," Everidge explained.
They added Eastern State Penitentiary to the agenda, after searching for indoor attractions in the city that would give them a break from being outside.