My husband travels a lot. Although we would rather have him home, we do enjoy the perks of his travel: free flights and free hotel stays. This past weekend, the two of us traveled to Philadelphia for the weekend. We hadn't been anywhere by ourselves (other than me tagging along on a couple of his work trips), since my Favorite Boy was two (he's now eight). So, we dropped the kids off at Grammy and Papa's house on Thursday night and headed out early Friday morning.

We spent Friday night at the Phillies/Pirates exhibition game. The game was exciting and the weather was perfect (it was wonderful the entire weekend). We saw a couple of homeruns and enjoyed hot dogs and a funnel cake. It was a fun evening!

We woke up Saturday morning and headed to Lancaster County to visit Amish Country. After all the Amish fiction books I have read, I really enjoyed seeing the farms and homes first hand. We spent the day touring Amish farmlands, including a visit to an Amish homestead. I couldn't help but smile when I saw one of the boys shooting basketball in the driveway. He had on pants and suspenders, and he's probably never seen a basketball game on television, but it just reminded me how much kids are the same. I am sure he and my Favorite Boy could have enjoyed a game together! (As much as I wanted to, I didn't take a picture of any of the people because they don't like having their pictures taken.) I was amazed by all the clotheslines. The one in this picture is tiny compared to some that went from the houses to the tops of huge barns (several stories high). I can't imagine keeping up with all that laundry!

On Sunday afternoon, we visited the historic sites. It was so neat to see Independence Hall and imagine the founding fathers drafting the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. We also saw the Liberty Bell.

Okay, I had to do it. We walked over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, just so I could climb the steps. I am the red spot on the top of the stairs in the second photo. I guess I should have raised my arms in triumph, but I didn't. I wonder how many hundreds of people run up those stairs each day with Rocky in mind?

Monday morning, we headed to the U.S. Mint and the Reading Terminal Market. Photography is not allowed inside the Mint, so I left my camera at the hotel. The market was fun, and there was lots of good food, but we were disappointed that the Amish vendors are only there Wednesday through Friday. We were hoping to take home some baked goods!

All in all, we enjoyed having time together, and we enjoyed the sights, but Philadelphia wasn't one of our favorite places. Although the outlying areas are pretty, the city itself seems a bit dirtier than other cities I have visited. I am glad we went and glad we're home. Now I plan to enjoy the rest of spring break with my kiddos!

Labels: Fun