General Hospital’s Carolyn Hennesy Tears Up As She Visits Where It All Began

General Hospital star Carolyn Hennesy continued her series of travel Instagram videos, along with Nancy Lee Grahn, as the duo traveled to Philadelphia, PA. There, she got emotional visiting the birthplace of America, and it was even more personal for her as her many times great great grandfather, Dr. Benjamin Rush, was among those who helped create our country’s most important documents.

Humbled by the Experience

According to the Philadelphia Visitor Center’s website, “Independence Hall is the birthplace of America. In this building, the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were both debated and signed.”

Hennesy (Diane) posted her first video to Instagram, aptly captioned, “History. Family. Patriotism. Humbling. God bless America.” She and Grahn (Alexis) were outside the building, and she started to get teary-eyed while explaining where they were. As a bell rang, she pointed out Independence Hall, stating, “This is where he signed the Declaration of Independence,” referring to Dr. Rush. (Find out about Hennesy’s recent addition to her family.)

She explained, “Nancy and I both said that right now we feel more patriotic than we’ve ever felt in our lives, and that’s saying something for me because I’m very patriotic.” Fighting the tears back she continued: “To be sort of standing here where it all began is…it’s very humbling. And to know that you had somebody in your family who was there is…it’s an incredible feeling.” 

The Room Where It Happened

Later that day, she posted a video of the inside of the building, which is now a museum, preserving the room in which the founding fathers hashed out the documents. As she panned across the ornate room, she narrated, “This, as they say, is ‘the room where it happened.’ ” She pointed out where John Adams and Benjamin Franklin sat and noted where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln’s caskets were laid in state. 

“This is where they all signed. This is where they all debated the constitution,” she explained, noting that Franklin stated it wasn’t quite a perfect document “but that it was the start of a beautiful new country as long as good men prevailed.”

She pointed out where she believed Dr. Rush would have been seated. Turning the camera back on herself, she said, “It’s very profound. It’s extremely profound.”