Head 'em Up-Move 'em Out

Back in time- July 17 & 18 Captain's Log

This is the first day of our family vacation and heading east, our destination being Philadelphia, the four of us settled in for our long drive. We passed the time laughing, sleeping, reading, eating, talking, and taking turns driving. After driving, which seemed to go on forever, we finally arrived in Philadelphia two steps ahead of rush-hour traffic.

Cyndi booked us into a beautiful European-style boutique hotel in the heart of Philadelphia, the Latham Hotel. The hotel was a perfect choice to stay at because it was close to restaurants, shops, theatres, museums, and historical landmarks just minutes away.

Cyndi went inside to check us in, then came back to the van mentioning that there was a slight problem at the hotel today. When checking in she was told at the front desk that the air conditioning for the hotel was out of service and wasn't expected to be fixed until that night or the next day. We were offered two options: (1) Staying at the Latham at a lower rate, or (2) reservations at another hotel could be made and we could stay there. With rush-hour rapidly approaching and not knowing where the other hotel might be, we decided to stay at the Latham. After all, three out of the four of us grew up not having air conditioning and figured one night wouldn't be a problem. Oh how wrong we all were! The windows in our rooms opened but only let in not cooler fresh night air but hot, humid, stuffy air, and street noise. The temperature of our room that night was 86 degrees; poor Cyndi and Danilo's room was even hotter. They called down to the front desk, requesting a room change, in the wee hours of the morning when the temperature in their room reached up into the mid 90's. Their request was granted and they spent the rest of the night in a room with a much cooler temperature -- in the mid 80's. I always have said that everything in life is a learning experience: lesson learned.


We all meet in the morning for breakfast and shared with each other our horror stories of last night's stay in the oven rooms. After having breakfast it was time to head out into the city of brotherly love (not sure why it is called this) and see some sights.














Independence Hall.


Liberty Bell.

The first post office of The United States and the entrance to Franklin's Court.

Quaker Meeting House

Music being played on this antique instrument; the cylinders are made of glass.

Visiting with one of the locals.

This was a nice restaurant we didn't eat at as they stopped serving food five minutes before the hostess directed us to our table. Still trying to figure that out. Looked like a fun place though.

We went on a search for a restaurant that was open and found ourselves at the perfect place. We all ordered -- what else -- a delicious Philly sandwich. This picture is dedicated to Cyndi and her ex-pat friends. I know you can get some of the most delicious foods in Italy but you can't get a sandwich like this. Sometimes you just need some good old junk food.

We saw all of the main historical sites that we had planned on visiting. At the end of day two it was time to pick up the van at the parking garage and start driving to our next destination, DC. Heading out of town, I looked back at the city and, thinking about our visit back in history, knew that I wanted to come back again.

Good bye Philadelphia, see you again.