Vacation

Last week we went on our long awaited vacation. We were supposed to take a trip last spring/summer('07), but with the move north it never happened. So, we finally made the trip.

The first stop was Philadelphia. While we were in Philadelphia there were a few things on our must do list. First, we went to see the Liberty Bell. We went to see the bell on Sunday afternoon. It was a very hot day the first day in town much hotter than anyone expected, and you can tell in the pictures that everyone was just a little miserable. The Liberty Bell was cool. It had a nice little exhibit hall with lots of Liberty Bell memorabilia from the past. The only other thing we did on the first day was go to the south side of town for an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. I have to say, that I honestly cannot tell the difference between the "authentic" Philly Cheese steak, and any other cheesesteak I have ever had. When we went back to Independence Park the next day, we were grateful to have visited the Bell on Sunday. There was virtually no one at the bell when we visited, but on Monday it was PACKED. Gratefully, the weather was much nicer on Monday. We went on a tour of Independence Hall, which was very interesting, and then went to see were Ben Franklin lived and died. Ben Franklin was an amazing man. Did you know that he did not see his wife for the last ten years of her life. He was on business in Europe for 10 years and she had a sudden stroke and died. After seeing about Ben Franklin we went to Betsy Ross' house. At Betsy Ross' house we learned a lot. We learned that Betsy Ross was a Quaker who was outcast because her first husband was not a Quaker. Yes I did say first husband. She had three husbands. Her first husband died of illness before she ever made the first flag. Her second husband died at the hands of the British. Although she did spend over 30 years with her third husband, she outlived him as well. She was the middle child of 17 and had 9 daughters of her own (2 died as infants). During the war she became part of the Free Quaker Movement -- apparently they were Quakers not opposed to violence.

The Second stop on our trip was New York. The first day we were in New York we did very non educational things. We went to the M&M store and the Hershey Store. Then we went and checked out all the really cool (overpriced) toys at FAO Schwartz. It is such a cool store. The last thing we did that day was walk through central park. We saw the Balto Statue and the Central Park Zoo. The Second day in NY we went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. In order to get into the Statue of Liberty we had to go through security 3 times. It was crazy. I do have to say that the renovations since 9/11 have really made the experience much more enjoyable. Since you have to have timed reservations in advance now you no longer have to wait in lines that last hours in exhausting heat. It is almost much more airy and clean inside the statue now. We really had a good time. I think Ellis Island was much more interesting to Chris and me, but I think Russell and Zeke got a little something out of it. While we were in NY we ate at my favorite place--Roxie's. Roxie's has awesome food, but the real reason I love Roxie's is for the cheesecake. I LOVE Cheesecake. Roxie's has the best NY Style cheesecake ever. Chris and I sampled 4 different flavors during our 2 days in NY.

After New York we headed to Niagara. The trip out to Niagara and back was a long one. It was between 8 and 9 hours each way on the train. I was glad we were on a train because the kids could get up and move around and there was a dinning car and bathrooms etc. . . It would have been a much longer more expensive/tiring trip by car. We even upgraded to Business Class for the trip out and the trip back. It was a very enjoyable trip. Because we do not have passports for all the kids we could not go into Canada. I new that we would be sacrificing the better view, but did not realize that Niagara Falls NY -- the city -- was such a YUCKY place. For any of you thinking about visiting the falls -- GO TO THE CANADA SIDE. The falls, were beautiful we saw them from several different vantage points. We took a boat to the bottom and we walked right up to them. We got very wet 2 times. LOL. It was incredible. That night was Chris' birthday, and it was the last night of the summer with fireworks over the falls. We had a great time.

We made it back to D.C. on Sunday around noon and went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science. The Hope Diamond and some other very famous jewels are on display there right now. We spent a lot of time in the "rock" exhibit. Then we saw the mammals and the dinosaurs. We got home late Sunday night, and have been busy trying to get back into the swing of things ever since.