philly//part one

my in-laws just sold their home and are retiring to colorado. and it's bittersweet. the hubby lived there his entire childhood--from birth til he met/married me. so when the news came, we made a last minute 10 hour roadtrip to philly to say goodbye to the house, pick up some childhood memorabilia, eat some cheesesteaks, and of course visit with bob and sheryl and shawn and mandy and caleb and chloe and ellery and adam and mandie and on and on and..... needless to say, philadelphia holds a special place in our hearts. and with its colonial buildings, vibrant leaves, cobblestone roads and rich american history...well, it's right up my alley.

we started the trip in philly off right...we headed straight for the cheesesteaks that scott grew up eating. how do you know a cheesesteak is legit? amercian cheese or cheese whiz. NO provolone.

later we played around at Kohler Farms. scott and i were running on minimal sleep here. our eyes are a titch sleepy. haha. but i love the pic below of jake and scott with grandma and grandpa garrison.

the next day we took the train to philly. i think riding the train is so fun! (prbly because i'm a west coaster.) we grabbed some hot chocolate and a donut at the train station cafe. it changed my life that donut did. when we got there, we did all the touristy stuff. independence hall, liberty bell, betsey ross' house, etc. and now after visiting, i want to decorate my home in hunter greens, blacks and tans and have everything look colonial :) i'd kill for a handcrafted windsor chair like George Washington's!

 

we also made the lonely trek to Edgar Allen Poe's house which is situated far away from the main tourist locations. it was long, but we did get to see the skyline and pass some homeless people's beds under the bridge. that was fun (not.)  EAP only lived in the house for a year. and boy was it creepy and old. what a mysterious guy he was. the experience definitely got me in the creepy halloween mood and i'm aching to find some alone time where i can read The Tell-Tale Heart. 

but my absolute favorite sight of the day? Elfreth Alley. it's the oldest street in America. and i want to live there. the cobblestone road between the facing homes was just wide enough for one compact car to glide through. there was a little gift shop/museum in one of the homes that i perused. at the back courtyard a girl was setting up chairs for some kind of event. i asked her what event they were hosting. that night a one man play of Dracula was going to be performed under the stars. Uh...I died. totally my thing. i begged scott to bring me back that night for it. a one man play... of Dracula... under the stars...in the oldest street in America. he didn't share my enthusiasm. i think "uber boring" was his choice of words in response to my plea. haha.

a second cheesesteak run revived us after a long day of walking. sonny's makes my favorite cheesesteak. and jake dug the onion rings.

 

stay tuned for philly//part two!