{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

{Spring Break} Chocolate and Crayons

What a day!  We woke up early and headed over to visit with Grandma L. for a little bit before leaving my mom to visit with her in peace the rest of the day. 

We made our first stop at Hershey's Chocolate World...

We rode the Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour Ride (twice)...

 

explored some old equipment...

and packaged our own Hershey's Kisses in the "factory"...

After getting all sugared up, we headed East to The Crayola Factory.

The factory (and everything in it) was our canvas as we drew on a car...

the windows...

and the walls...

and then had a serious discussion about how such behavior is only allowed within the walls of The Crayola Factory and nowhere else!!!

We created masterpieces...

and drew on the (inside) sidewalks...

We even got to "paint" with melted wax...

Of course we also got to learn how both crayons and markers are made.

We watched a worker make these two red crayons (still warm) from start to finish...

B thought that it was really neat that all of the Crayola markers start off with a white tip...

It took a good hour until the tip turned completely purple!

We couldn't leave without popping into The Crayola Store to see the world's largest crayon...

Check out the wall when you walk in!

After dinner with Grandma, Aunt B & Uncle K, we headed back over to see Grandma L. one more time before settling back into our room for the night... 

Stay tuned for another adventure tomorrow!!!

More Spring Break 2012 Fun

Philadelphia

{Friends, Food & Fun} Houston, TX

 I just got home from Houston, TX where I spent a few days attending a volunteer leadership conference.  Though I really like to travel & to go new places, I was wary of this trip because it was my first time flying in years and the first time flying at all since my girls were born.  I know (& believe) what everyone says is true, that airplanes are safer than cars, but there is still something that changes your point of view (at least for me & for many of my friends) when you become a parent.  I was excited, but very nervous about popping up into the sky and leaving my little ones down below!

Anyway, I have to say that I had a great time.  There was a group of about 8 of us from our state that stuck together.  We were in meetings, plenaries & workshops most of the days, but we did make time for a little fun at night.

Here are some of the highlights (friends, food & fun) from our trip!

K & I were the representatives from our organization.  She picked me up at 4:30am for our 5:50am flight...  Needless to say, we made it to Houston in plenty of time to grab breakfast!

Check out K's Texas Waffle from one of the hotel restaurants...  The blueberry represents Houston...  Clever, huh???

Our hotel was right across from theGalleria mall, so we did a little shopping before meeting up with some more of our crew from Columbia & Charleston.

We grabbed a delicious lunch in the hotel...

before setting off on a mission to buy some cowboy boots!  So, new friends E & L hopped in a cab with K & me, and we headed out to Cavenders.  Let's just say that it did NOT disappoint!

I settled on this pair...

and K got a pair for each of her little ones...

After our afternoon meeting, we enjoyed a reception held at the headquarters building of our local counterpart in Houston...

and then headed out to dinner at Guadalajara del centro downtown.

The next day was full of sessions until dinnertime when the 8 of us met up with the North Carolina girls and headed out to eat.  After dinner, our little group of 8 from South Carolina went dancing at Wild West.

On the last day of the conference we had another full day of sessions.  Half of our South Carolina group headed home & the 4 of us that were left headed back downtown for dinner at The Grove.  I have to say that it is a beautiful restaurant in a fantastic setting & has great food, too!  I even got to try a piece of cactus from MK's plate!

It was pretty good, too!

After dinner, we made a quick stop at a local bookstore to pick up gifts for my little ones...

This one for B - This is Texas...

This one for L - Heart of Texas: A Lone Star ABC...

This one for M - Goodnight Houston...

and one more for all 3 of them - L is for Lone Star

K & I caught our 1:45pm flight out of Houston & landed at our local airport about 4:30pm.  I'm so happy to be home, but look forward to my next conference trip in the Spring!