Philly

My former boss Donna, who lives in Utah now, was in Philly for a conference this weekend. She had some free time yesterday morning so Henry and I took a roadtrip (just under 2 hours) to see her. I loved working for her and think she's an incredible woman...and I miss her a lot so it was great to see her. She and Henry became fast friends, as is evidenced by this photo, which I took with Donna's phone.



Donna had to head back to the conference so Henry and I took advantage of being in the heart of a very historical city. We had met up with Donna in the Independence Visitor Center so we walked around the exhibits there, got our National Parks Passport Stamps and then got Henry his junior ranger badge! We then ventured out to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell (through the window...the line was TOO long to go see it up close) and then went back to the Visitor Center for Henry to have lunch.




We then got directions to the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site and started our walk. It was just over a mile to get there and I am glad that we made the walk. While the house itself is nothing to report back about (empty, nothing exciting on the walls, etc.), the ranger that gave our tour was AMAZING. She has been at that site for fifteen years and you can tell that she really cares about it and is a true fan of Poe's. She ended the tour in the cellar where she told us Poe's story "The Black Cat." The climax of the story takes place in a cellar very much like we were standing in, which made it pretty awesome.

Henry was a happy camper while at the house and so the rangers loved him. So...he earned another Junior Ranger Badge. :-)

Henry hanging out in the Poe Reading Room.



Henry's urban style



Nevermore!



After we finished up at Poe's place we headed back towards the visitor center, stopping to see Ben Franklin's grave on the way. We left our penny and headed on our way.



At this point Henry was zonked out in his stroller so I stopped in a little food court for a cheesesteak. It looked good....but the roll was stale and it didn't have much flavor. I should have just gotten one from a street vendor!

After I ate we headed back to the car and headed home. It was a super day and I was glad that I am independent enough and confident enough to travel with Henry, even to new places. Even though he isn't going to remember these things, it's nice for me to have those memories and to have photos to show him when he's older.