Philadelphia

We wanted our boys to visit Philadelphia since that is where Casey

served his mission. 

It is only 3 hours away from DC, so it worked perfectly to
split the trip into 2 segments. 

It rained non stop the whole drive.

The east coast was getting hammered!

We had appointments for baptisms for the dead in the Philadelphia temple right when we arrived.

More spires!

This temple is pretty special.

It is directly downtown in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the historic city.

It was no feat to get this temple built.

Lots of obstacles to overcome with arguing of the design, to 

construction workers not being available. 
It was announced in 2008, and not dedicated until 2016!
It is amazing in the sense that it is a new building, but matches the style of the 

old buildings that have been there for years. 

It is the first temple built between the DC temple and the Manhattan temple.

 I can only imagine the patients of these members was worth it!

I really loved the 2 story underground parking lot.
We didn't have to step outside in the pouring rain.
An elevator took you directly up to the check in desk!

Our experience in the baptistry was lovely.
Lane is able to help baptize which is just crazy to me.
So the 3 boys got wet while Grammy and I witnessed:)

I wanted to see the rest of the temple.
Casey wasn't so sure, since it was still on a strict appointments only policy.
It didn't stop me, so off I went exploring.
He didn't have any choice but to follow me, lol!

Before getting to the stairs, I saw a temple worker.
 I explained that we had just done baptisms,
were from out of state, and wanted to peek inside the temple real quick.
She was SO sweet and said that it was actually her first day, but didn't see
a problem with it. She gave me general directions on where everything was,
and said if someone asks, it wasn't her, lol!

The inside was BEAUTIFUL.
The most unique I have yet seen.
It had a Georgian style to represent the early history of the United States.

I have never seen an all wood floor temple before.
It was plank cherry wood to reflect the time period.
With the most gorgeous hand made rugs.

The furniture was dainty with wood arm rests.

Antique brass lamps.
The fixture in the second instruction room is designed  to match
the crystal fixture hanging in the assembly room of  Independence Hall.

Bronze stair railings and massive solid wood doors constructed from cherry wood. 

I LOVED that there were windows you could actually see out of!
It made the light come in with such an airy and happy feeling. 
Soft sheer curtains on the sides. 

You felt as if you were in a modern time-period temple.

We were on the top floor peeking into a sealing room
when the Matron walked by!
I stopped in my tracks and tried not to look guilty.
She actually was so friendly and told us some history about the temple, and
wondered if we had any questions!

Such a special temple experience.
 The spirit inside was like nothing else I had felt before. 

I had to get a picture up close of the temple out front, even if it was pounding rain.
It was a gray quarry, to match the surrounding buildings.
The grounds were super small, but it is just perfect. 

Grammy braved it with me while the boys were underground in the car!

Time for lunch!

We found a gem of a place.
Reading Terminal Market.
A market of all markets I tell ya!

An old railroad terminal turned to over 100 merchant stalls, yes please!

So big they had "street" signs to help direct you.

Everything from fresh produce, meats, fish, artisan cheese, groceries, 
baked goods, they had it all!

It was a divide and conquer type of situation.
Whatever looked good, grab a few to share and we would 
regroup to taste all of the things!

Word on the street was you stop at Dinic's for a sub. 

The Amish had many stalls.
These pickles looked divine.

The pretzels, oh the pretzels!!
I thought I would never find one better than QT.

10 thumbs up on these Pennsylvania Dutch twisted carbs of heaven.

Time to dig in!

Round 2 was dessert.

We hardly sampled an eighth of the offerings.

We had to get out of there before our stomachs exploded!

We only had 1 day planned to sight see the city.
Half of the day was gone, so we were on turbo mode.

The Rocky steps were a must!
I made sure Lane watched the movie on the flight over so he would get 

the significance of this dude, lol!

Of course you have to run up the iconic steps!

Up at the top looking out to Logan square.
You can't tell, but it was raining pretty good. 

This guy was filming his own Rocky movie apparently. 

We went on a tour of Independence Hall.

The room where the Declaration of Independence was signed. 

Kind of cool we saw the real deal a couple of days prior!

We walked down the street to the Liberty Bell, with Independence Hall behind it.

Betsy Ross' house!

We paid for the inside tour.

For being tall and skinny, it was a decent size house. 

Our toddler on the trip playing with toy food:)

I didn't know her home was her burial site!

Had to find the LOVE statue. 
And made sure our stinker teenager showed us some love before 

we said he could be done taking pictures!

Seriously, are we that bad?

Good enough, ha!

Everyone was frozen and done with site seeing.
And/or terrified of scary homeless people interactions. 
Legit crazy people roam the streets!
One told Rusty to "f "off.
We laughed pretty good at that one...
of course once we were safely locked inside the car. 

We were so close to Benjamin Franklins grave.
Nope, no interest.
Come on, their elementary schools namesake and hero!
Nope.

Well, I overrode their decision, perks to being the mom.

The cemetery gates were shut and locked.
They got lucky.
I could see his gravesite right by the fence!
I shoved by hands through the fence to get a picture.

Old cemeteries are the coolest. 

Can you guess where we went back for dinner?
I laugh as I type this.

As if we even needed more food.
We got probs. Or fomo. 
  There was so much more Reading Market to try!!

Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra

This. Cheesesteak. 
MONEY!

What a day!!!

We said goodbye to the city with full hearts and tummies. 

 Off to the countryside areas where Casey served his mission.