Back to VRP!

Back to VRP!

I sat in on Wawa’s Hoagie Day planning meeting this week. Despite the event only taking up a block or two, a TON of thought and security goes into process due to the sheer number of people we expect.

This week few different park employees allowed me to interview them in order to gain a better perspective on the park. What’s interesting is that no matter the employee, and no matter if they’ve worked at 1 or 10 parks, everyone agrees this park is just different. It’s hard to put a finger on, but it might be the urban setting, the millions of both domestic and international visitors, the large amount of employees, or our World Heritage Site Designation.

On shift, I witnessed a visitor pass out from heat exhaustion for the first time this summer. And then another, and another, and another...  Especially during this heatwave, it seems like every hour a kid has thrown up in line or someone’s gotten dizzy outside Independence Hall.

After shift one day, the entire team had a division meeting. It was the first time I got to see almost every ranger in one room. The supervisors and Chief shared their updates and concerns, and field rangers did the same. I also got to meet our FBI liaison and learn more about when and how our federal agencies interact.

Our resident bird, officially named "Bahawk Obama" by Twitter, can be seen flying around the Liberty Bell and Second Bank