Philadelphia 2016

In September Topher and I went on a little weekend trip with a couple of my old mission companions. Sister Halverson (Nicole) lives in DC and Sister Stellet (Desiree) was visiting from Australia. Philadelphia seemed like an interesting place to visit and relatively easy for each of us to get to. I was a little nervous about flying with Christopher since last time we took a trip he terrorized the entire plane. This trip didn't even seem to phase him. He was laughing and made friends with everyone near us. He had a guy a few rows back playing peek-a-boo with him and he loved reaching for the reading light. He was such a trooper. 

We arrived in Philly a few hours before the girls so we relaxed at the hotel for a while before heading out for dinner. Christopher was obsessed with the bathroom in our hotel and was so excited to jump in his little crib.

 We went for a walk through town in search of some food. We were staying just a few blocks from the Philly City Hall which is one of the largest city halls in the country. It's absolutely stunning!

We ended up at Reading Terminal Market (the oldest market in the country) and found ourselves the first of many Philly cheesesteak sandwiches we would eat over the weekend. Topher was a big fan! On our way back to the hotel we spent a little time exploring the city hall grounds. Topher played in the splash pad and we made some friends at the LOVE statue. It was such a lovely little date night with my baby boy.

Nicole and Des ended up getting into town very late at night so our adventures together started the next morning. Our first stop was breakfast and then it was off to Independence Hall. I wish I would have heard more of the history of the building but Christopher was getting tired so we spent the bulk of the tour in the hallway.

Just across the street is the Liberty Bell and a visitor center. I am not much for museums so we quickly buzzed through and got to the meat of it- that big old cracked bell. I'ts sort of funny seeing something like this- so iconic, something you learn about from elementary school- you look at it and just think, well, there it is. It's a bell and it has a crack.

That evening we headed to a quirky part of town, reminded me a lot of the west village in NYC. We spent some time walking down Elfreth's Alley. People have been living here since the early 1700's making it one of the oldest residential streets in America.

We totally skipped Geno's and Pat's for cheesesteaks on this trip. I hear the lines are long and they are a little overrated. We opted for a place called Sonny's Famous Steaks instead and it didn't disappoint! So good we ended up going back the next night too! As always, Topher loved it and demanded more and more until it was all gone. This kid really likes food!

Our next stop was Franklin Fountain which is not, as I initially thought, a water feature. It's an old fashioned soda fountain where they mix up just about anything you can imagine. I ordered the Hemingway's Dream which was like a hundred different flavors in your mouth all in a row- pow! pow! pow! It was amazing!

On Saturday we went to Amish country in Lancaster County. It was a little more touristy than we expected which was a bit disappointing. I think there are probably a lot more authentic towns in the area but we didn't have time to search them out. Most of the town felt like an outlet mall full of generic craft stores where you could buy junk made in China. There were however a few great, authentic Amish stores like this quilt shop that was literally piled to the ceiling with beautiful, handmade quilts.

We enjoyed a walk around town alongside horse-drawn buggies and plenty of fresh country air. We found authentic Amish soft pretzels- Topher was, once again, a huge fan!

That night we just hung out at the hotel and relaxed. For some reason Christopher loved to flop himself on the puffy pillows on the bed. We played a game where I would chase him across the bed and he'd belly flop into a stack of pillows. It was so much fun!

On Sunday we attended church in the brand new church building adjacent to the brand new Temple. Both buildings are stunningly beautiful. We continued our tradition of letting Christopher touch the Temple. I hope that as we travel around the country and world with him he will get to touch many Temples and feel the significance of that place. I want him to learn the power of being worthy to enter the Temple and worship there someday.

After church we made another quick stop at the LOVE statue before Nicole and Des headed back to DC. Topher and I had the rest of the day to spend together just the two of us on a little date. I absolutely loved it!

We headed out for some brunch on our way to Rittenhouse Square. Topher got his very own kids meal complete with a giant bowl of all his favorite fruits. He ate very politely and made friends with everyone in the restaurant. I was so proud of him! We stopped at the most delicious smelling donut shop and picked up a couple for a snack at the park. This was a very good decision.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the park was full of lots of fun people to watch. We sat in the shade and saw the water fountains. There were street performers and lots of interesting friends to make. We took a long, leisurely stroll back to the hotel to pick up our bags and catch a cab back to the airport. I really fell in love with Philly on this trip. Everyone was so friendly and the city had a charming character to it. I can't wait to go back again!

The flight home was short and sweet (thank heavens!) and Topher once again made lots of friends on the plane. When they opened the overhead bins after landing in Boston he tried to climb from my arms into the luggage area. It looked like he was doing pull-ups and he had the whole plane laughing and counting his reps. We had a great trip but we were so happy to be home and see dad!