Philadelphia

We took a drive up to Philadelphia to close out the summer. We spent two nights in a hotel across the river in New Jersey. It was our first vacation with Derek and balancing three kids, and overall, I think they did great. Leading up to it, we were a little worried that the girls may have been building it up too much in their minds, since Karina repeatedly said things along the lines of "We went to Dutch Wonderland, and then we went to Disney World, and now we are going to go to Philadelphia!" While there weren't any princesses or anything to greet, they did have a good time.

We started out with my primary reason for choosing Philadelphia as a destination, since we went and toured the LDS temple there that was holding its open house before being dedicated. It is a beautiful temple inside and out; I particularly liked how the furnishings, paintings, and architectural details inside gave a nod to the city and its historic significance to our country.  For instance, in the entry they had a painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there were two carved quills in the molding above the recommend desk, and the furniture was all designed to look colonial-era.  Interior pictures of the temple can be seen on the open house website.  Unfortunately, the plot of land is so small that there aren't any good photo spots. I kind of feel bad for couples that will get married there as they will have a hard time getting good wedding pictures showing the temple. There is a fun small rooftop garden on top of the adjacent visitor center where we took some pictures after our tour.

We brought the tripod and the girls liked the idea of pushing the button and then running back while the self-timer ticked down to take the picture. Between that and some pictures that we just got other people to take, I think we wound up with a few good family pictures.

Karina, Derek, and I played tag on the grass in the background of this picture. Derek liked swooping through the air and Karina thought it was hilarious. I think Lydia looks really cute in this picture.

Derek was having fun...

...even though Tanja was freaking out when I put him on my shoulders near the edge of the rooftop.

Afterwards, we went to get some dinner at Reading Terminal Market (a large historic building with a lot of restaurants and shops inside) only to find out that it closes during the week at 6 PM, and we arrived at 6:05. Didn't make any sense to us - it's a building full of restaurants in downtown Philadelphia - why close so early? We wound up walking a few blocks to a Panera, which probably worked out well for the girls who are picky eaters. We ran into some friends from church who happened to be there for the temple open house as well, and they said they ate dinner in Chinatown and it was cheap and delicious. Given that Chinatown was right where we parked near the Reading Terminal Market, and Tanja and I enjoy trying new restaurants when we are on vacation, to say that I was jealous of them and that their kids seemed ok eating "unusual" food is an understatement, but oh well. We did get a fun picture of the arch in Chinatown anyway.

Next up, on the next day, was the famous Liberty Bell. As the icon of the city, we had been talking about it for at least a month, and the girls were excited to see it, though Karina did seem more interested in the tablets at the adjacent visitor center where she could swipe her way through pictures of the places in that historic part of the city, like the Liberty Bell. Why go see the real Liberty Bell when I can look at it on an iPad instead?

We were fortunate to get there early enough to beat the crowds and get a few good pictures before the tour buses came in.

Here we are inside Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.

The girls liked getting dressed up in silly clothes and taking pictures by a life-size picture of the Liberty Bell.

We then took a tour of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia where they make all the coins.  It was a cool place to visit, and the girls liked designing their own virtual money on one of the displays.  While we were there, Karina found a quarter on the floor, and we looked at it and noticed that it had a 'P' on it indicating that it was made in Philadelphia - the very building we were touring.  Karina got very excited about that, and for the handful of other coins we found on the sidewalk and things, she made a point to look and noticed that there were several that were made in Philadelphia.

After eating some cheesesteaks at a local place that was highly rated, we went to a fun park/play house called the Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse. It is an old converted mansion that now holds a lot of toys, and then the grounds have been converted into a very large playground. Derek liked playing with some of the toys inside, though it was really hot and the house is not air-conditioned.

The basement of the house had tricycles and things for kids to ride around a "street" track, complete with traffic lights and signs.

Derek thought the girls were fun and interesting as they kept going around in circles on their vehicles down there.

Outside, they had a large wooden slide that you could go down on a burlap sack. Lydia thought it was a blast, but we never did convince Karina to give it a shot, which is too bad because I think she would have enjoyed it. Here are Mommy and Lydia going down together.

Derek enjoyed the chance to take a nap.

We closed out our second day by going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We got to see paintings from Picasso, Monet, Degas, and other famous artists.  Surprisingly, Karina said the art museum was her favorite part of the trip (along with the Smith outdoor playground).  The art museum had a fun scavenger hunt with iPads for the kids, where you were looking for particular paintings as the iPad guided you through the museum - sensors monitored where you were so it could direct you into different rooms to find the painting. Then they had a craft table where the craft of the day was making collages out of paper that you cut up yourself. Both the girls really liked that. Here's Lydia with her collage.

And here's Karina with the iPad after the scavenger hunt.

Outside, we finished our day joining the locals and tourists in getting some exercise running up and down the stairs to the museum as was done in the Rocky movie. I seem to recall in the movie there were more stairs, but maybe it just seems that way if you have the Rocky theme music pumping full blast at you. I was pretty proud of myself running a few laps with the backpack and in my sandals, though I obviously wasn't as fit as some of the guys who were there jumping rope before doing it. Karina and I both burned some calories that night (and she did really well too).

When we got to the top, I told her that we had to start jumping up and down with our hands up in the air. When she asked me why, I said because that's what Rocky did and so now it is just what you are supposed to do. Karina said she still didn't understand. Some of the other people around overheard the exchange and laughed. Maybe someday I will show her the movie, or at least the clip.

The last day, we went to the Betsy Ross House where Betsy Ross committed the treasonous offense of making American flags for the revolutionaries. They had a fun flag raising ceremony to start the day. Here are the girls with Betsy Ross and one of her helpers after they raised the flag.

Here's Betsy teaching the girls how to cut a perfect 5-pointed star out of fabric with a single cut (after several attempts at home, Tanja has succeeded in duplicating the feat - I am still working on doing it without her help).

The highlight of the Betsy Ross house was the colonial-era play kitchen (fireplace with Beehive oven, and cooking cauldron). The girls made us delicious turkey pot pies, stews, and other meals that they would have eaten in that time period.

Derek just liked chewing on a wooden spoon (it probably did feel good on his gums).

We went back to check out of the hotel and came back to the city one last time for another cheesesteak and hoagie (this one tasted better than the first) at a place called Gooey Louie's (it was gooey). We then took everyone to a splash park so the girls could play in the fountain and burn off some energy before the ride home.

Derek and Mommy found a shady bench at the park:

We got some cute pictures of Derek soaring into the air against the trees.

I think Snoopy was just excited to be out of the hotel room with his pack for the afternoon.

So all things considered, it was a great trip. I look forward to taking more family vacations as the kids get older and are able to appreciate things that interest us more. We're not sure where our next vacation will be, but they were good travelers, so I am encouraged by that.