The City of Brotherly Love

Last weekend we went up to Philadelphia to visit Robert's brother Kevin and his wife Ellen. Since we will be going back for Thanksgiving we decided to do some of the lesser traveled tourist spots this time and save the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall for November.Friday the Dodger's just happened to be in town (yeah right, they were the whole reason we chose this weekend) so we went to a Phillies vs. Dodgers game. We stopped at a little hole in the wall pub by Kevin and Ellen's house and had their famous Schmitter Sandwich. It was delicious, kind of like an animal style cheesesteak. Then we headed to the game where the Phillies came from six down to win it in the bottom of the ninth. Great game for Phillies fans, horrible for Dodgers fans. Robert said it was the worst game he'd ever been to. I really didn't care either way (shh, don't tell Robert, although I was sad for Robert) but I liked the stadium for Julia's sake because they had a playground for her to play on and the usher gave her a mini toy Phanatic and a certificate that said "My First Phillies Game."

Saturday was the Philly road less traveled day. We went to the Academy of Natural Sciences Museum (saw lots of dead stuffed animals and lots of live butterflies), Ben Franklin Museum (Don't bother trying to find the Underground Railroad Museum like we did, because apparently it no longer exists) U.S. Mint, and the Edgar Allen Poe House. We also tried Jim's Philly cheesesteaks because everyone says they are the best in Philly. I'd have a Schmitter over this any day(maybe I'm just not appreciative of the Philly cheesesteak in general though). We finished the day off by visiting the Rocky statue (originally made for one of the movies and then donated to the city) and the Rocky steps where Julia showed off her climbing endurance by climbing all the way to the top. Apparently, Rocky is a big deal in Philly.

Here's the fast version of Julia climbing the steps. Brace yourselves, it's quick.



Saturday after Kevin and Robert got back from their bike ride down to the Rocky steps and back we drove out to Valley Forge and then on to Amish country. Amish country is kind of a funny tourist destination because there's not much to do besides eat good Amish food at a buffet (which we did), shop for homemade items like quilts (did that too, but without buying a quilt, just some jam) and drive around looking for Amish people in their buggies (yes, we even did that). Ellen said it reminded her of Yellowstone only instead of shouting "look there's one!" and pointing at a buffalo, you shout "look there's one!" and point at an Amish person. It must be odd to have people driving past your house and gawking at you mowing your lawn, but then, maybe if it's all you know it's just another part of life.