In South Philadelphia, born and raised...

We flew into Philly Monday night. Tuesday and Wednesday were mainly spent exploring Reading Terminal Market, Amish Country, and the Franklin Institute. Let me just say right off that I think the East Coast is awesome. Let me also add that we might as well have climbed that one big mountain in Nepal rather than endure a four hour plane ride with our kids. (It was that bad. Especially coming home.)

Milo was obsessed with Papa on this trip. Obsessed. He would basically hiss if anyone else touched him.


Pearly and Nana are BFF. No one else could get her to sleep. (Pearl had a horrible horrible rash as well as a cold on this trip. She wasn't at her happiest. Yesterday we found out she has strep in her bum-bum, eczema, and a yeast infection. Yikes!)

Reading Terminal was really fun. Tons and tons of food. Jamie and I each gained about 3 pounds on this trip, but boy was it worth it.

The Franklin Institute was a really fun, kid-centered, interactive science museum. They currently have a Star Wars exhibit with original costumes, etc. A few of us rode the "sky bike." I was definitely the most nervous about it, but that is only because Mom refused to do it. Neil is on it in this picture.

We ate at Viet Huang one night. Vietnamese food. My first time with Pho (above), which I love love. They had those bubble drinks too, so of course I got one and made Jamie get one too. You can tell Milo is my son because he wanted them all to himself. Jamie and I came back after NYC and ate here again. Ryan also took us the first morning to John's, home of the best cheesesteak in Philly. So good and authentic and big. I only managed half of it.

Keeping it real at Ryan + Jessica's. They live very near the Italian Market (below). Actually, they live very near everything. They were such lovely hosts, especially considering Milo threatened the lives of their cats on a regular basis.

Amish country was gorgeous:

We sampled Shoo Fly Pie and got excited every time we saw a buggy on the road.

Thursday, around noon, we set off on the infamous Chinatown bus for NYC! But not before we ate some authentic cannoli from Isgro's. (Side note: Ryan + Jessica have a shower curtain with words and their definitions on it. While conditioning my hair I learned that you should only use "infamous" if something has a bad reputation. I think I thought it meant "really really famous." In the case of the Chinatown bus, "infamous" still applies.)

Come back tomorrow to see if we survive the Chinatown bus!

(I'm sorry for the barrage of pictures. I'm my mother's child in that I enjoy a good, comprehensive trip rehash. Also, I took no less than 400 pictures, so you better believe I'm posting some more.)