Flip, Flip, Flipadelphia

Last weekend we took a trip up I-95 to Philadelphia. We'd never been as tourists, and we have some friends in the area so we took a road trip to check it out.

The first night we went to see our friends Leslie and Elliott. They live in the Manayunk neighborhood, which is walking distance to tons of shops and restaurants right along the Schuykill River. But before dinner we had to meet the latest additions to their family---4 month old twins Ian and Tyler. Could they be any cuter??

The next day we went into the city and became cheesy tourists. Philadelphia is rich in history so there was a lot to see. First up was the Liberty Bell.

Central Philly has beautiful cobblestone streets, Elizabeth thought they were really cool and wanted to run and hop on all of them.

We wandered the cobblestone streets all the way to Penn's Landing, which sits on the Delaware River.

Across the Delaware River from Philly is Camden, NJ. Elizabeth showed the camera how she really feels about New Jersey :)
All joking (and NJ-loathing) aside, it is a beautiful view of the river. Wandering back into the city we found the Polish-American Cultural Center. Daddy of course had to take the opportunity to show Elizabeth a little bit about her heritage. Doesn't she look thrilled? Soon it was time for lunch, and naturally cheese steaks were on the menu. Followed up by a "water ice". Ridiculous name, but quite delicious. After lunch we made our way back to Independence Hall for the official tour. This was originally the Pennsylvania State court, but it's most known as being the location of the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

Apparently Santa vacations in Philly during the summer. While taking pictures of Elizabeth in the square outside Independence Hall he jumped into the picture unsolicited. Elizabeth wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Fairmount Park in Philadelphia is home to the Please Touch Museum. We highly recommend this to anyone visiting the city with a small child. This was Elizabeth's favorite part of the trip by far. Everything is interactive and it really rejuvinated her after a long day of sight-seeing. Highlights included the piano from the movie Big, an Alice in Wonderland maze, a grocery store, and a Statue of Liberty Exhibit.

The next day we went back to Fairmount Park. It's home to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Do the steps look familar?

That's Elizabeth and I way up top doing our best Rocky impression. There's even a statue on the grounds commemorating the movie. One side of the museum sits on the Schuykill River, again providing beautiful views of the park, the city, and Boathouse Row.
I just realized how long this post is, I must have taken a ton of pictures. So to wrap things up: after leaving Fairmount Park we went back to Manayunk to meet the Reeds before leaving town. The plan was to get to Lake Gaston to spend the night with Nanny and hang out at the lake before coming home. A traffic accident in Maryland prevented us from getting to Nanny's by suppertime, instead it was close to midnight. But we made it safe and sound, enjoyed a beautiful day on the lake the next day and got home without incident that night. We had a great time, hope to go back sometime and we definitely want to see the Reeds again soon!