Day Nine: NYC to Philadelphia

Thomas and Grace's Top Five for June 9, 2006:

1. "American Girl Store!" Obviously this was Grace's choice, although Thomas did admit it wasn't as bad as Libby Lu's. She wanted me to tell everyone that she got Licorice (the cat), an ice skating outfit for Emma, and she and Emma got matching shirts. This place really was neat. Everything about it is done with little girls in mind. It's three floors, on 5th ave. across from Rockefeller Center. It has a cafe, two live shows, a doll hair salon, a museum of every doll they make,and of course every American Girl and Bitty Baby outfit and accessory conceivable! I must admit that I enjoyed it as much as she did. That store would have been magical to me as a little girl who loved dolls.


2. "Ate more NY pizza!" They really enjoyed the food in NYC. Mandy and Thomas have both loved the pizza, Grace likes the bagels the best. They've also eaten several black and white cookies too!

3. "We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe!" Before this trip they had never seen a Hard Rock before. Thomas asked what they were and Scott told him and from that moment on he's begged us in every city to eat there. Finally, tonight, his dream came true. There is one right across the street from our hotel here in Philly.

4. "Elvis was everywhere at the Hard Rock!" "We saw Elvis' pants!" Fortunately for my two little Elvis fans, they sat us directly under an entire wall of Elvis pictures and memoribilia. Thomas insisted that you all be told that we saw pants worn by Elvis. I can't imagine what he'll be like when we take him to Graceland! Mandy also really enjoyed the Hard Rock...she didn't stop dancing the entire time!

5. "We went swimming at the hotel." Scott took them swimming in the hotel's indoor pool after dinner. They had a blast.

We didn't do as much today as we were all tired from our two days in NYC. We left there after lunch and headed to Philadelphia. We arrived here about 5:00. Traffic in this city is almost as bad as New York. While Scott took the kids swimming I figured out how to get tickets to Independence Hall from the National Parks Service. They time the tours there in the summer months. So, we will be viewing the room in which the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution created, tomorrow at 9:30. We will also be visiting the Christ Church/Cemetary to pay our respects to Benjamin Franklin.

Some of you have emailed and asked how we are managing spending such a good deal of time together, especially in the car. I won't lie, we have had our "tense moments", but all in all we'd probably do it again. Of course, this is only day nine and we have six more to go! I'll revisit the question at the end of the trip! I will say, that before I drive into a crowded city like New York or Philadelphia at rush hour with Scott again, I'll be slipping a little Xanex, or Lexipro into his food first!!

Blessings,

Leslie