Day 2: The Road to Massachusetts

Got off to an interesting start this morning with an emergency alarm that woke us up at 4:30 in the morning. The recorded announcement said that there was an emergency, that we needed to stand by for further instructions, and to not use the elevators or fire escapes. Had no idea what was going on (fire? bomb? active shooter?) and just had to wait it out. Marsha could see fire trucks from the window and after a short while, they gave us the all clear to go back to bed.

Actual morning came a little early, thanks to that incident. We walked down to one of our favorite places for breakfast, Mrs. K's Koffee Shop. It's a great little diner in Olde City where everyone eats at a pair of U-shaped countertops.

We managed to explore Philly a bit more on the way back to the car. We finally checked out the Lits Brothers building up close, but weren't able to go inside (closed). And, of course, we had to walk through City Hall again, which is Matsha's favorite building.

The rest of the day was spent in the car. We ended up going through Princeton, so we took a quick detour to check out the university. Very stately and Old World. Reminded us a lot of Duke.

Having learned our lesson with DC, we opted to take the longer route this time and completely bypassed NYC (been stuck in that traffic before). We probably went a little further around it than we needed to (the GPS took us almost to Poughkeepsie before we turned east), but the upside was that we didn't have  any traffic.

We also had very little civilization. Mostly mountains and trees until we finally made it to Providence. We definitely saw a different view of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (and sadly, the exit for Newtown and Sandy Hook). It was quite a relief when we finally reached Massachusetts and saw our first exit with more than two things listed on the sign since we left Philadelphia this morning.

Grabbed some take-out at Five Guys after we finally made it to Massachusetts. Since tomorrow is the Fourth, we're anticipating lots of traffic. Need to head out early to make sure we make it to the ferry in time.

Day 1: Old York and Old Philly

Grabbed breakfast at the Around the Clock Diner, which we'd seen pulling in last night. They're open 24 hours and serve breakfast all day. We just love these little slices of Americana as we travel the US.

We'd heard that downtown York was pretty and historic, and since we were only driving to Philly, we decided to check it out. First thing we found was the Wolfgang Candy Factory, which has been in business since 1921. We were interested in doing the tour (especially since it was in fifteen minutes), but they don't do them on Saturday. I did run into the gift shop to buy some chocolate. That was a given.

Downtown York was so nice we drove through it twice. We just loved all of the old buildings, especially the old brownstones and theaters. They had several tall sculptures on various street corners, which were really cool. Our favorite (and the first one to grab attention) was of the Tin Man sitting in thought, called "The Tinker" (get it?).

Then it was back on the road for the drive to Philly. Surprisingly, traffic wasn't too bad and we made pretty decent time. After we checked into our hotel, we started our walk towards the Olde City.

So many great sights in the city. We passed an art museum (not THE art museum, mind do) that had a big plane outside that had been repurposed as an art sculpture. Then we walked past Chinatown and stopped off at the Reading Terminal Market, which we'd always wanted to visit. It's amazingly crowded and a food lovers' paradise. I'm stunned we managed to get out without buying anything.

Our primary objective was to play mini-golf in Franklin Square, which is one of our favorite courses (see previous post). It's the pinnacle of what mini-golf should be. Marsha started a photo montage of the tiny buildings next to their real-life counterparts.

Finally, we walked down to City Tavern for dinner. On the way, we passed Independence Hall, which was getting ready for a big extravaganza. Too bad we wouldn't be able to stick around to see it.

We actually made it to dinner a little early for our reservation, but that was no problem. Felt very strange being in Philly and not eating at Amada (only two blocks away), but we're trying their NYC location next week (hint hint)!

18 Holes of Brotherly Love

We're spending another week working in Pennsylvania, so naturally we planned to fit in some extra travel the weekend before and the weekend after. First stop, Philadelphia, where we visited Madison 's favorite restaurant, Amada, yet again. Amazing as always.

But our first stop was something else we'd been wanting to do again for years: play mini-golf in Franklin Square. This is one of our favorite courses for the simple reason that each hole is a miniature recreation of a famous Philly landmark.

It's one of the few courses where we're so enamoured with the surroundings that we temper our usual "play for blood" level of competition (I won).

The park also has a carousel (wish they had a brass ring, too) and a little grill. Perfect spot for a relaxing time in the historic area. But the best part is the mini-golf. I'm ready for another 18 holes!

Day 1: New York Weekend

Today is Madison's birthday, a very special milestone. So, she requested a trip to New York City. Luckily, she had a day off from school, so we're taking her out an extra day on Monday for travel.

Today we got up early, hit the road, and spent the whole day in the car. The birthday festivities officially began with 6:00 dinner reservations in Philly at her favorite restaurant, Iron Chef Jose Garces' Amada. We'd planned plenty of wiggle room, which was worked out perfectly, because after traffic, stopping for lunch, gas, and so forth, we actually made it just in time. We should have gotten there 45 minutes early, but thanks to heavy traffic getting into Philly, we lost the last bit of our padding. As usual, parking was a bear thanks to some kind of craft fair going on nearby, so we had to spring for valet parking.

The meal was awesome, as always. Our waiter knew right away it was Madison's favorite, since she was wearing her Amada shirt. He also realized that he didn't have to explain how the menu works. It's a Spanish tapas restaurant, so you order lots of small dishes. Marsha had her usual, the cheese plate and ham croquets, while Madison and I had garlic shrimp, grilled chorizo, braised shortrib flatbread, chicken with a sunny side quail egg, and more. We'd contemplated trying a new dish with lamb meatballs, but figured we'd already selected enough. 

Marsha had let them know that it was Madison's birthday, so the Chef sent out the lamb meatballs anyway (perfect!). We considered another new dish (dulce de leche fllled donuts) for dessert, but were just too full. I think the Chef could read our minds, because she came out anyway with the donuts (complete with a birthday candle) and wished Mad a very happy birthday. Above and beyond as always, and one of the many reasons we love to go there.

Then it was back in the car for the final two-plus hours to NYC. Traffic was pretty good until we got into the city, of course. I'll never understand why the Lincoln Tunnel dumps you off into a T-intersection where you have to immediately turn left or right. Still, thanks to EZ-Pass, we again saved time on toll lines, so that certainly helped. After pushing our way through traffic and pedestrians, we finally made it to our hotel and got checked in.

To make Mad's birthday even more special, John flew in and arrived a little while after we got here, just in time to open presents. Now we've got two days to see the sights, eat some more awesome food, and catch a brand new Broadway show. I call that a pretty good birthday weekend. 

As I recall, I was Madison's age when I took my very first trip to NYC, where my cousin Tony and I flew up and back in one day. Makes me proud that visiting the city is old hat for my children, and that the birthday girl already knows her way around here just as much as in her own neighborhood. Very proud indeed.