The LAST DAY (or so I thought)

Thursday 9/14

I thought we were going to get on a plane in the afternoon. It turns out that I forgot we had booked a later flight so we could have some more free time in Philadelphia. We didn't have to be at the airport until 6pm. I suggested we might be able to get an earlier flight. But, we didn't do anything about it. Instead, we got ready to go and loaded up the car. Before this travelogue ends, I just want you all to know that the Sheraton City Center in Philadelphia is the worst conference hotel I've ever stayed in. The service was sub par (especially the concierge--the valet guys were okay) and the rooms were stinky (they overbooked the non-smoking rooms and the super-smeller that I am got stuck in a smoking room---luckily I spent half of the time at Eric and Connie's). Next year the conference is at the Rio hotel in Vegas. Anyone want to volunteer to watch my lovely children? ;)

Okay, back to the last day (or so I thought). We hadn't had an opportunity to go get a Philly cheesesteak. So, we drove around and found the corner with Pat's and Geno's. We decided to go to Pat's. We got a parking space right there and they serve Pepsi. We both ordered "Cheese Whiz wit" and got some fries for the kids. You all know I had a diet Pepsi (w/ cherry added-yum!) and I'm glad I did!

After lunch (and chasing Caleb repeatedly--he went straight for the street a couple of times), we drove down South Street and then up to the historical sights. We found a place to park and then we were off. It was kind of a drizzly day and we got rained on a little bit. The kids were okay with their stroller shades and it wasn't enough to make us soaking wet. But, it was enough to make the roads a little slick and that was my downfall. Or should I say, fall down? Yep, this is the scene of the crime.
That's what I get for wearing Crocs on slick streets. I scuffed up my knee, bumped my butt, and bruised my ego. It all happened right in front of one of those big sightseeing Duck busses. A lady crossing the other way helped me up since Carl was speeding along (which is why I was going faster than I should have been) ahead of me.

We decided not to go through security to see the Liberty Bell. We just walked around and saw it through the window again. I took some pictures of Indpendence Hall. Then, we walked over to Franklin Court. That's where Benjamin Franklin's house and printing shop were. They have a printing shop there. I was less than impressed with the park rangers. I think I'm spoiled by having gone to the church history sites. They always do such a good job with the presentations. We had to practically beg them to explain anything to us at the Franklin sites.

The kids started to get a little rowdy about this time so we started walking back to the car. I noticed that the Red Hat society was out in full force.

We also walked by the US Mint.

We had a couple hours to spend so we took a drive down to Delaware so Carl could add that state to his list. We got gas in Wilmington and saved about 10 cents a gallon compared to Philly prices. That made Carl happy for about 5 seconds until we turned a corner and he found that another station had gas for 8 cents cheaper than the one we got. Oh well. We drove back to the airport and found a place to have dinner. We had successfully wasted enough time before we needed to be at the airport.

My post from when I got back from Philly kind of explains what happened on our flight but here are the basics. We were supposed to leave at 8pm. Our flight was delayed until 8:27. That was enough time for us to make our connection in Chicago so we went ahead and checked our bags. While in the airport, our flight kept getting more and more delayed and there was no way we'd make our connection and it was getting too late to find another connecting flight from Chicago. So, we decided to cut our losses and stay the night again in Philly and leave as early as we could the next morning. Luckily, the kids went to sleep pretty well and we got a good 5-6 hours in before we had to leave the next morning.

And, that my friends, is the end of my travelogue!

The LAST DAY (or so I thought)

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2006/09/last-day-or-so-i-thought.html