We spent 2 days/1 night in Philadelphia this past weekend and here is some of what we did while in the City of Brotherly Love.

We started things off with a tour of the Philadelphia Phillies ballpark – Citizens Bank Park.  While we may be Phillies haters, we couldn’t have been more impressed with the stadium and what we were allowed to see behind the scenes.

Someone looks like a natural in the press box.

Who knew how great a wall full of baseballs could look (16,000+ screwed individually by the way)?

The Phillies locker room. A lot smaller than I ever imagined.

The dugout was a lot of fun. I just missed catching my wife making a call to the bullpen.   

The tour was followed by what else, cheese steaks. When in Rome Philly.

After checking in at the Hotel Monaco (which was perfectly funky and old, not to mention, perfectly located), we walked around Old City and visited some of the historic spots like Independence Hall.

While we didn’t take any photos, we were all impressed by the Benjamin Franklin Museum. I knew he was an interesting cat, but I had no idea he did THAT much. I am now on the hunt for his autobiography. I should have paid more attention in  school.

And in the interest of full disclosure, my kids still can’t stop talking about the fact the good old Ben used an alias of “Fahr-ting” from time to time. That is some solid parenting right there.  

We also managed to check out the Liberty Bell through glass only as waiting on an hour long line didn’t seem like the best use of our limited time. Kids see famous bell, sort of understand its significance, check it off the list. History rules.

A nameless building with like the coolest columns ever. I know what it is important when touring an historic city.  

Overall, it was an incredibly beautiful Fall excursion.

The hotel allowed us to borrow a pet while staying there. Someone had an attachment to “Goldie”.

The kids were more than thrilled to have fresh cookies delivered to the hotel at 11:00 PM. Again, another shining example of some sick parenting skills. Who cares if the sugar kept everyone up the entire  night while in close quarters.

Insomnia Cookies is a fantastic concept and the cookies are absolutely stellar. It is no exaggeration that they are the BEST I have ever had.    

The next day, we hit up the Reading Terminal and even though it was completely chaotic, the food choices were off the chain.

We loaded up on just about everything and the doughnuts from Beilers Bakery were the absolute highlight. My teeth still hurt and I friggin love it.

Even after being on our feet for like 42 hours straight, my daughter still managed to make it through her soccer game with ease after we  returned home.

And other than observing the new awesome fall color on my Viburnum ‘Aurora’, I didn’t give my garden a thought the entire weekend.

It kicked that much butt.