This is another in my efforts to catch up in blogging. This post is devoted to our trip home from Philadelphia. We made the trip in three days, with three big stops!
We left later Tuesday evening (instead of Wednesday morning) so we'd miss the morning traffic in the Washington DC area. Before we actually headed out of town, we took one final picture from the top of the Museum of Art steps.
After saying goodbye to Philadelphia, we headed towards DC and arrived there around 10 p.m. which worked out in a way, as there wasn't very many people out at all the monuments. We saw the Washington Monument, and my new favorite, the World War II Memorial.
Ian got some good shots of the Washington Monument, the grounds of which were recently redesigned by Olin.
They keep the Capitol building well lit.
The World War II Memorial is just beautiful.
We spent Tuesday night across the river in Arlington, then left early the next morning. Our next big stop was Monticello, just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. The ticket was a little pricey, but it covered a tour of the house, and then you were free to roam the grounds, with several other tours of the grounds for no extra charge. It would definitely be a great deal for a family to spend the day there! Here are some of our favorite shots.
We couldn't figure out how it worked that the tree was growing into the ground, then back out. Since when do trees send out runners?
Ian enjoyed the steps up to Monticello.
Monticello on the nickel at Monticello.
They had activities for kids, one of which was writing with a quill. These are some of the kids' efforts hanging up to dry.
Thomas Jefferson was quite the gardener. They still keep the garden growing from many of the varieties he created (vegetables, orchards, vineyards, and more), and harvest and share with the families of the workers.
Thomas Jefferson's grave is in the family plot.
We spent that night in Lexington, which gave us a lot of time the following day in Louisville! We first stopped by the Louisville football stadium, then toured the city.
Here's a self-portrait of us on the field at Louisville after meeting Ian's Uncle Jim's friend, Louisville's equipment manager.
Unfortunately, it was off-season at Churchill Downs, so we didn't get to see any horse races.
Ian in front of the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory: we had to take the tour!
Ian wanted to see the riverfront, designed by Hargreaves Associates.
As we walked along the riverfront back to the car, we saw this sign and wondered if they were serious... they wouldn't pollute the river like that, would they?
After departing Louisville, we made our way to St. Louis to spend the night at Anthony's house. It was fantastic to see familiar faces again, and Anthony's folks are amazing! The next day, we cruised into town just in time to check into our apartment. Home sweet home! And once again, thank you to our friends and family for putting your time and muscles into getting our stuff into the apartment and getting us settled. We love you all!
You still have a couple hours (give or take, pending your time zone) to vote, if you haven't yet! Ian and I voted this morning. It was my first time to get a sticker, as all my prior votes had been cast via absentee ballot. Yay!
Another in my efforts to catch up! Here I'll semi-detail our final days in Philly, again, with lots of help from fun photos! First up, we finally made it to see the Real Pirates exhibit at the Franklin.
Here's the bell of the Whydah, the Pirate ship the exhibit explores.
These are some of the artifacts they had on display (photographs apparently weren't permitted... oops).
Here's the replica of the ship.
Here's us before our IMAX presentation. This is take 4. Ian couldn't keep his eyes open in the prior photos, so this is his attempt to keep them open.
Here's the view from the steps of the Franklin. This is where Riley was sitting waiting for the clues from the kid, if you're a National Treasure fan.
Ian was feeling a little under the weather this day, so after we got home, he took some DayQuil. The following is the photo series of him taking his medicine.
Before leaving, we also went to South Jersey with Fred and Laura to indulge in an authentic Filipino restaurant, which has a Filipino channel on, and a grocery store. Here's Ian with the canned squid in natural ink we discovered.
We went back up to Olin so Ian could get more work done, but on the way home we tried some old-fashioned ice cream at The Franklin Fountain. The prices weren't old fashioned. Ouch. But it was tasty!
Kissy picture, because it's fun!
The next day was back in studio. I got bored, so I made art with the gummies. Here, the school of Swedish fish is trying to escape two dinosaurs. Note the dinosaurs got one, which they ripped in half.
After our final bible study, we enjoyed some dinner at The Urban Saloon with our good friends, Luke and Amit. Ian had a burger with peanut butter on it!
On our very last weekend, we squeezed in the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival and the historic circuit.
Here's the Amish making the best doughnuts you will ever experience.
As demonstrated by Ian.
We took a lunch break from the Constitution Center, which we visited after the market, and Ian had fun "feeding" the birds in Independence Mall.
All of this, of course, was squeezed between Ian working on projects and us packing. Talk about crazy! But we enjoyed every final moment of our 8-month honeymoon!
