{Spring Break} Cousins, VPs, and Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line!

After a l-o-o-o-o-o-n-g day in New York City yesterday, we took it easy this morning and slept in...

We had originally planned to get the bulk of driving (back to South Carolina) done today, but severe storms up and down the east coast kept us cautious.

Once we got on the road, we headed straight to Hastings-on-Hudson, NY to visit with family, Hubby's brother, his wife, and their 2 children. The kids had fun playing tag and climbing trees...

before we came inside and celebrated a couple of birthdays...my sister-in-law's (last week), her mother's (next week), and mine (tomorrow)!

From there, we continued south toward New Jersey and Pennsylvania to visit a couple more Vice Presidents, but before we could do that, I had to do this!

Wait...what?!?!?

A little background... I don't drive in Manhattan... Like, my good friend will go to extremes to route me around it in a very "out of the way" manner in order to make sure that I do NOT have to drive in Manhattan when heading to her house in Connecticut (when driving through the upper tip of Manhattan IS the fastest and most direct way)...

I did it once (out of necessity) and continue to be very proud of myself for making it all the way in to my brother-in-law's (now former) apartment on the Upper West Side...

But, anywho...back to today...  Make that TWICE now that I've driven into Manhattan...and no, I'm not looking for any "three time's a charm" business here...  Happy to leave it at TWO!

AND after that, I drove over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey...just like that... 

Phew! From there we continued to Paterson, NJ to visit the grave of Vice President Garret Hobart...

Garret Hobart served as the 24th Vice President of the United States under President William McKinley...

From there, we continued on to Philadelphia, PA to visit the grave of Vice President George M. Dallas...

George M. Dallas served as the 11th Vice President of the United States under B's favorite, President James K. Polk...

Loved passing by these hydrangeas on the walk back to the car...

Loved even more crossing back into Virginia and feeling a bit closer to home...

What a fun, whirlwind trip! Planning to be back in South Carolina tomorrow...

{Spring Break} Philadelphia

If Chocolate and Crayons weren't enough, we headed off on another adventure today.  We spent the entire day touring Philadelphia.  My good friend, S, was brave enough to meet us, making the drive over from New York City.  Amazingly, we got to the city within minutes of each other and were able to park side by side in the garage! 

We started our day with a Ride the Ducks tour....the majority of the tour is on land, but a small part is actually on the water!

Before we got started, B got to model for everyone how to properly "quack"!

It was a hit with the little ones and a GREAT way to begin our day. We learned a lot and had fun.  The BEST part was the "splashdown" into the Delaware River!

After our city tour by land and by sea, we made a stop at the Liberty Bell...

before continuing on to our scheduled tour of Independence Hall.

Can you believe that this is where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed?  B thought that it was really cool to be standing in the same building where a few of his beloved Presidents once stood long ago!

About a block from Independence Hall, we found Signers Walk, kind of like a "Hollywood Walk of Fame" for the signers of the Declaration of Independence! 

 

By the end of the tour, it was time for lunch and we (I) decided that we just had to make a stop at Pat's King of Steaks to see where the very first "Philly Cheesesteak" was invented (for those of you wondering, yes...I am still a vegetarian).  You see, I get these crazy ideas in my head and can be pretty darn stubborn about it!

Well, it is a l-o-o-o-o-o-n-g walk from the tourist area of downtown Philadelphia to South Philly where 'ole Pat's is located...  We didn't quite make it there for lunch.  Taking the advice of some locals, we set out for a closer cheesesteak shop, Jim's Steaks, but seeing that the line to get in was wrapped around the corner of the building, we opted for a little place across the street and some REALLY BIG slices of pizza... 

After lunch, we did in fact make it to Pat's...

 

where everyone (except 'ole vegetarian me) tasted the famous "Philly Cheesesteak"...

Let's just say that we MORE than walked off all of the lunch that we did eat!

On the walk back, we just happened upon what turned out to be a really FUN surprise!

We saw a sign for the Engine 11 Fire Station.  Well, B really likes fire engines and LOVES the number 11, so we had to take a photo...

We noticed that a sign on the door read that they sold t-shirts.  We went to the door and were greeted by a fire fighter who invited us in and asked the little ones if they wanted to see the fire engine!  Umm...yes, yes, and yes...

Okay, these were some of the nicest fire fighters...ever! 

They let both B and L spray the hose...

and even let B pose with their ax!

I'm sorry...  Liberty Bell, what?  Thomas Jefferson, who?

This was probably the highlight of the day!

After our impromptu fire station tour, we continued on our trek back to the car, stopping at both Washington Square...

and The President's House for a quick look around.

Thank you, S, for joining in our adventure today!  As you can probably guess, my (almost 2-hour) ride back to the hotel was absolutely silent...with the exception of a couple of snores here and there from my 3 little passengers in the backseat!  Headed back home tomorrow...I think that I'll let my mom drive the first "leg" home!

More Spring Break 2012 Fun

Chocolate and Crayons