Philly - Bawlmer - Philly

 

The kids invented the travel chair.

We flew into Philly and drove to Baltimore on Sunday night.

Charm City.

Delicious breakfast at Miss Shirley's

Banana monkey bread

Back to Port Discovery.

The mummy's tomb

Other kids left bags of groceries in the car and Elly decided she should put them all away.

Sorting groceries.

Elly made a lantern!

Weebles wobble

Sorting cargo at the port

Kids below put the 'cargo' on the conveyor belt and Nathan caught them and threw them back down.

Mr. Trash!

Heading over to Whole Foods to grab some sushi lunch for a harborside picnic

Relaxing and enjoying the view

Pool time!

Searching for a geocache 

Lunch at Cross Street Market.  Charm City Poke and Sushi.

So good.

Heading up Federal Hill

Playing at the playground up on Federal Hill

Finding another geocache.

Another weird Google-generated panorama

We stopped at Little Havana for appetizers and drinks but it was closed.  Not just on Tuesdays, but that one day.  

The ubiquitous Adirondack chair sunset photo - Bawlmer-style.

One thing I never thought I would do in life... playing in park in Locust Point

Nick's Fish House for dinner with Shenny and Will

Back to Ms. Shirley's for breakfast again.  And we had the same waitress.

Wegmans on my birthday!!

Lunch at Wegmans.

Mini carrot cake from Wegmans for my birthday when we got to the hotel in Philly.

Heading to dinner...

.... at Hard Rock Cafe.  (Not my first choice of birthday dinner destinations, but "across the street from the hotel" was a major deciding factor.

Getting ready for a long museum day with daddy while mommy was at her meeting.

Quick breakfast at Starbucks on the way to the Franklin Institute.

The man himself

Making electric circuits 

Walking through a heart.

Kids: "This is disgusting"  Me: "you don't have to watch it"  Kids: "Ewww... this is so gross"

Learning about gravity.

Seeing how high you can jump on other planets.

Learning how airplane wings work.  Sort of.

Paper airplane launcher.

Planetarium show!

Learning about brains.

Climbing around in a 'brain'

Museum cafeteria lunch

Flashback to the mall in the 80s

Designing a rocket to try to get to space.

That one blew up instantly.

Learning about the tiny box astronauts get for personal items when they go to the space station.

Racing the Philly Phanatic 

How high can you jump?

Surfing.

Checking out the Lego art exhibit. 

Commenting on how this Lego art installation is a dramatic portrayal of the human condition

Nathan made a gun.

Exit through the Lego gift shop.

Leaving the Franklin Institute after a 6 hour visit.  Our feet were tired.

Dinner at Maggiano's 

Another quick breakfast at Starbucks.  This was the trip of Starbucks and sushi.

The house where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.  Conveniently located across the street from a Dunkin' Donuts for coffee breaks.

The Liberty Bell!

Going on a tour of Independence Hall

The Pennsylvania State Courtroom 

The room where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The original House of Representatives 

Heading upstairs to the senate

The original US Senate chamber

Eternal flame dedicated to the unknown soldiers of the Revolution

Cheesesteaks at Sonny's

Philadelphia Museum of Illusions.  We though Ben looked grumpy.

Who's tiny now?!?

His eyes follow you.  Creepy Ben.

Recreation of the City Tavern

The Jewelry District

Reading Terminal Market for a snack.

Checking out Chinatown

Lunch from Reading Terminal Market before heading off to the airport.

Bye Philadelphia!

Flying home.