Baby Steps: Philly: A cheesesteak for Josh, and so much more...

Remember what I said about "to do" lists? How I am obsessed with being organized? Well I was determined not to waste more time than necessary during our trip. The last vacation with sightseeing that Josh and I took was also up north to see my Opa Horst (he passed away later that year) and my Oma Lya. We were staying with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin in their beautiful home, but ventured out to New York City during two days.

The first one, a Saturday, we drove our rental car in, went to the Met, walked around Central Park and walked and walked and walked. Sightseeing we did, but I also was completely miserable due to the weather and the fact that we ended the day VERY far from where we parked. With no knowledge of the subway system, this meant that we walked even more. My legs were very happy to rest that night when we went to sleep.

The other day was a Monday. We decided to take the train in. Suffice it to say we had some issues with parking permits (going to a City Hall where they only take cash and take about 20 minutes to get you the permit). So we wasted a fair bit of time before we could finally get on the train. Once we got on the train, it was actually quite nice. We were able to enjoy looking out the windows until we arrived in the Big Apple.

We arrived and continued our "let's walk around and see what happens" technique of sightseeing. I was able to go to H&M, but we got lost somewhere between Little Italy and Chinatown and spent way too much on a lunch because we were starving.

Fast forward 3 years and 1 month, to our trip with Benjamin - a baby. Like the Johnson & Johnson commercials say, "Having a baby changes everything." That is no exaggeration when it comes to travel. We were fully aware that even if Ben was good, there were things we could and could not do (unfortunately we could not see Conan, not only because of Ben, but also because he was done taping in NYC by the time we arrived). We also wanted to be as efficient as possible so that we could maximize the time we spent with my family.

To alleviate our concerns, we discussed our plans for Philadelphia and New York City ad nauseum. I created an itinerary which included driving directions, attractions, hours and phone numbers so that we would know when we were going where. That itinerary started out in Philadelphia.

Of course, itineraries are made and often not followed exactly - which is what happened to us. But unlike the morning travel frustrations, the afternoon was wonderful thanks to Ben's continued great behavior and to a vast improvement in the weather. Unlike the massive rainstorm that morning, by the time that we started to sightsee, it was sunny outside and slightly chilly. Perfect.

Our hotel was on Penn's Landing, walking distance to Old Town. We put Ben in the jogging stoller and headed out. I loved walking on cobblestone streets, but they aren't quite so idealistic with a stoller :). However, we now have affirmation that we should always pack a jogging stroller for travel. We passed by City Tavern, a restaurant that we would eat at if Ben weren't with us (luckily they have a cookbook coming out soon so I will try to create some of the dishes at home later this year). We walked up a few more blocks and found ourselves near the Independence Park Visitor Center.

It was almost 4 pm, which was the time that attractions started to close. Since Independence Hall tours were full on Friday, we had already reserved our tickets for Saturday morning. (Another lesson learned for traveling with a child - always start out in the early morning. Less people means easier to get things done!)

We continued to walk around and went by the Christ Church Burial Ground. Although it was closed due to the rain, we were still able to see Benjamin Franklin's grave.

Then, we walked down to see Christ Church, which was open.

While we were looking around, I took Ben out of his stoller since he was getting restless. Josh and I both really enjoyed seeing Christ Church. He was so interested in that, I can only imagine how much he'll like Westminister Abbey if he gets the chance to go!

Christ Church even has the baptismal font that William Penn was baptised in. One thing I love about the Northeast (which Houston does not have) is centuries of history.

After that, we continued to walk around for a little while longer, absorbing the scenery.

After a very efficient 90 minutes, we arrived back at Penn's Landing, and got ready to head out for dinner at the Reading Terminal Market.

At Reading Terminal Market, we saw amazing food. If only such a place existed in Houston! (Although maybe the fact that there is not is good for our waistlines...) Josh finally got his Philly Cheesesteak, and yes, it was everything he hoped it would be!

I'm not a fan of onions, so I opted to try Delilah's macaroni and cheese, which is supposed to be some of the best in the country. While it wasn't a bad meal, Josh and I agreed that we prefer our normal homemade macaroni and cheese with roasted tomatoes.

After dinner (Josh and I skipped lunch so we were starving), we had some Gadzooks! ice cream from Bassetts. Josh said he just have a taste, but ended up eating more of it than I did. I can't blame him - it was excellent. The smooth chocolate ice cream with chunks. Yum.

We drove around Philadelphia and stopped at a Target to pick up additional diapers, snacks and other items we forgot. We headed back to the hotel and played with Ben. Soon after, we all went to bed for some much needed rest.

We woke up early to get our Independence Hall tickets. It was nice and quiet outside. We obtained our tickets and wound up in Independence Hall much earlier than our tour time. We waited outside, but we were able to join an earlier tour.

When the tour started, Ben kicked off his socks, as he tends to do regardless of temperature. He made lots of noises (happy ones) while the tour guide started.