Philadelphia Rendezvous

Our trip to PA has been a welcomed break from work and an amazing time spent with family.  We left Thursday for the long road trip down.  Timed perfectly with Abby's nap and bed time, we entertained briefly with a brand spanking new DVD player and DVD's from the library. We had a bit of a melt down when we got to the hotel and being scared of new surroundings.  However, on day three she now calls the Renaissance home and looks forward to eating breakfast on her table.

Friday we spent at the glorious Pennsylvania Zoo where we saw monkeys, lions, tigers, bears, and turtles!  We of course saw more beautiful creatures, but these were Abby's favorite!

Saturday was a very busy day and it was planned and executed flawlessly.   We hit the Please Touch museum in the morning with our friends Rikker and baby Alina.  A spectacular museum for kiddos with plenty to do and dozens of fun exhibits.  It's easy to see why it's rated one of the top 10 children's museums in the nation.  We are fortunate to have a much smaller version in Portland, and used our reciprocal passes to enter Please Touch on Abby's birthday gift from Mimi.  (THANKS, Mimi!!!!)

In between our morning activities and the below mentioned Sesame Place, we met a high school friend of mine at Clark Park, where she organizes the youth soccer program.  Abby fell asleep on the way and I "wore" her in the ergo during lunch.  A great way to catch up, catch a two hour+ nap and get ourselves fueled for the funnest park ever!

We made a late-in-the-game decision to add Sesame Place to the agenda.  How can you go all the way to Philadelphia with a 2 1/2 year old and NOT go to Sesame Place??  We didn't share the exciting news until we were on our way - you know, just in case for some reason we didn't make it.  Well, it was absolutely the best decision, regardless of the astronomical price - even with Twilight passes (entrance after 3pm).  To witness the joy in meeting Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster; the pure excitement on the tilt-a-whirl and carousel; and the open-mouthed-wow expression during the end of the day parade was worth every penny.  We closed the park down and Abby still didn't want to leave.  All in all the four hours was perfect.  We could only go on a handful of rides because of height restrictions, met some of Abby's pals, and  took in a few shows.  

For the adult entertainment we snagged tickets to the Sox game - we won 5 -1!  Abby loved the game!  She napped for a bit and looked so darn cute!  Abby's jersey was one we gave her cousin on a former birthday!  Good thing Ortiz is still playing for the Sox. 

A fabulous trip with awesome memories.