When Charley turned 10, it hit me like a ton of bricks that we've passed the half way point to 18. That had my head spinning for a lot of reasons, but particularly on how would we ever meet her 50 states before graduation goal after not getting to go on our big trip we had planned for 2020. After a little research and the most amazing babysitting offer from Amma, we decided to take the big girls on a trip. To make things even more fun, we let them skip school. They were scheduled to be in school until June 4...which is insane...so the girls really lucked out when we were gone and the school board announced that the last day was moved up to May 28. We got home just in time for the last three days of school. I call that perfect timing!
As a family, we are really into the Broadway play Hamilton, so we took this opportunity to mark six states of their list and see some really important sights in America's history, as Hamilton related as possible. We had a BALL! It was the perfect mix of fun and education, and it really was great to give the big girls some much needed, undivided attention. We missed baby sister like crazy, but Craig and I felt like it was a win for all 3 girls.
Just going to the airport for the first time in over 18 months was a treat. We almost forgot how to travel, but we quickly got back into the swing of things...except when we forgot Carter's booster seat at the Baltimore airport and had to go back once we got in our rental car. The girls were so excited for our trip, and Carter was hilarious. She looked at one man and said, "Hey, I think I know him. Is he the guy from Jumanji? Oh, nope, not it!" hahaha!
We started our first day at Naval Bagels, which is one of my favorite places in Annapolis. Then we covered a lot of ground. We drove by the Naval Academy, walked around the Maryland State House, went on a "pirate ship" according to Carter, browsed the cutest shops and ate the best ice cream of our entire trip at Annapolis Ice Cream. In hindsight, we should have spent longer in Annapolis, but we left there to check out Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was the top attraction on every single Delaware list we had read, but we weren't impressed. We can say we've been there, but I don't think we will ever go back. The best part about that drive was when Carter said, "the sun is in my hi-Pad's eyes!" After settling into our hotel in Philadelphia, we thought we would get a head start on our check list and walked to get Craig a Philly cheesesteak...the hotel clerk said it was a safe walk, but we've decided that might have been one of the dumbest parenting decisions we've ever made. Yikes...I'm not one to ever really be scared or worried about my surroundings, but it was certainly a relief when we got back to our room. Carter never really noticed, but Charley said that little outing was "sketch!"
Thankfully, day time Philadelphia was a totally different scene than night time Philadelphia. We didn't get to see as much as we would have liked, because lots of things were still closed or restricted for COVID, but we still had a full day. We toured the Carpenter House, where the First Continental Congress met. We saw Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, and we learned that the Liberty Bell has been a symbol of freedom through multiple stages of American History, other than just the American Revolution. For a second I thought I recognized some important historical facts about the Liberty Bell, but Craig quickly pointed out that my knowledge was coming from National Treasure...another movie we referenced multiple times on our trip...regardless, Benjamin Gates would have been proud.
Our tour of Betsy Ross' house was so neat. How cool is it that General George Washington walked into the house where Betsy Ross worked as an upholsterer with a sketch of the flag that he wanted her to make for America? Fun fact...his original sketch had 13 six point stars, but Betsy suggested a pattern for a five point star would be much easier to replicate! I can't even! Another fun fact was that Betsy never owned the home, and she worked on the flag in secret in the bedroom she rented in case any British officers entered the house. I can't imagine how brave she must have been to take on such a revolutionary task. We finished our historical tour of Philadelphia with a walk down Elfreth's Alley and a stop by Christ Church.
We realized that New Jersey was just across the Delaware River, so we drove over to add another state to their list. Before leaving Philadelphia, we had one last, very important stop to make...the Rocky Steps! Cue "Eye of the Tiger" as Craig ran up the stairs! The girls ran/giggled their way up, and everyone did the cutest boxer shuffle and made sure to pump their arms in the air and yell "Adrienne" once they got to the top! I dressed for success that day in my favorite tiger shirt, and our pictures with the infamous Rocky Balboa statue were the perfect ending to Philly!
I've been convinced for a long time that my phone is reading my mind, and somewhere along the way I started getting advertisements on my social media feed for a cookie store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We did not have plans to visit Lancaster, but Taylor Chip hooked us with their marketing, and we made a pit stop on our way to our hotel in Hershey. OMG...those were some of the best cookies ever! We couldn't decide on what to order, so we got a dozen and savored every last bite. They were all delish, but the Oreo was our favorite!
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