Walking in Philly

Brian and I went to Philadelphia for several days two weeks ago so that I could attend a work conference and interview 30+ people for our Hall Director position. Since I am in the third trimester of my pregnancy, I could not fly and therefore we drove 12 hours there and 12 hours back. I am being completely honest when I say that the drive was one of the highlights of the trip - Brian and I actually got to talk, play, and have fun together without a toddler. A novel idea.

Jeremy was sent packing to Memphis to spend a week with his Nona, Pop, and Aunt Cheri. I will have a later post on this, but they are incredible and he was so happy he did not want to come home.

Brian and I meanwhile, took this trip as an opportunity to reconnect a bit before our lives run completely out of control with the arrival of baby #2. The car ride to Philly sealed the deal. I love my husband, but more importantly I really like him a lot. I think the day to day drill of work, diapers, chores, and sleep deprivation can make you forget about your loved partner. Brian is quite funny, smart, cute, and silly - all things I knew but have not had a chance to enjoy in quite a while. We played every single car game I could think of, from license plates (37 of 50 states!) to Hi-my-name-is-Amy-and-my-husbands-name-is-Andy-and-we-live-in-Alabama-and-we-sell-Apples. 12 hours is a long time, but 12 hours with a smile on your face is nothing!

We stayed at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, which was ok. It was a bit disappointing in that they were doing renovations on the floor above us so it sounded like airplanes were landing on our ceiling - at midnight. The valet gave us bad directions, our door lock broke, and it advertised a mini fridge that did not actually exist. Oh well.I spent most of my time at the Philadelphia Convention Center interviewing people at TPE (The Placement Exchange) and attending sessions at NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education - yeah, I know, that acronym makes no sense). It was a nice center and the security was insane. Since Brian was not registered and had no name-tag, he could not get past the front door. Crazy!When I was not meeting candidates or pretending to be an important student affairs administrator, I played tourist with the hubby. Here are some historical places we visited:
The Liberty Bell (smaller than I thought, but free!)Independence HallCarpenter's Hall (I had never heard of this place, but Brian informed me it was where the first Continental Congress met)Betsy Ross's House (apparently she liked cats and ran an upholstery business before being the flag lady)Elfreth's Alley (the oldest residential neighborhood in the country - and super narrow! People actually live here, it was really cute.Christ Church (we sat in Ben Franklin's pew)One of the best parts of the trip was the food. On our way in from Knoxville, we stopped in Baltimore for dinner at a dive Brian had seen on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Chap's Pit Beef was really good and totally worth driving through the scary part of Baltimore in the dark (the restaurant shares a parking lot with a strip joint advertising free lap dances - tempting). We almost even stopped again on our way back home.The Reading Terminal Market is a really cool market in downtown Philadelphia that is so huge and packed it is kind of overwhelming, but the food was all amazing - and we went several times to try different things. They had grocery-type food, fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade pastries, ice cream, chocolates, pig's feet, seafood, asian, southern, cheese steaks, pretty much everything under the sun.Ralph's is the oldest family-owned restaurant in the United States. It is the second oldest period, but the oldest still owned by the same family. 5 generations have owned it and it was AMAZING Italian food. Expensive, only takes cash, and tiny, but seriously delicious. I highly recommend.In the same neighborhood as Ralph's is the Italian Market, which Brian went to when I was working and he loved all the fresh veggies and fruits and specialty foods.I had been told by all my northern friends that I had to try a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's. They said they were basically life-changing drinks. So, I tried. It was pretty good, basically a mint vanilla milkshake. The problem was that we somehow found the shadiest and creepiest McDonald's in the entire country. Worst service and cleanliness I have ever seen. Kinda ruined the experience a bit for me.And finally, the vaulted Philly Cheese Steak. We decided to try Sonny's Famous Steaks since it was highly recommended by the locals. My assessment - eh. I guess I am just not a cheese steak gal, but it was lackluster to me. Oh well!Overall, Philadelphia was fun, but I must admit I am not really in the proper physical state to enjoy it. 7 months pregnant and with arthritic swollen feet is not the way to walk miles in a large city looking at old historic houses. My husband is a saint for putting up with me needing to rest every 3 blocks so my feet would return to normal size.

Philly was fun, but I am glad to be home, and boy did I miss my little man!!