Philadelphia Trip - Part 3 (last one)

(Part One)
(Part Two)

Okay, I'm finally going to finish up with our Philadelphia trip posts.

On Saturday (our last full day before we came home), we rented a car to do an "explore the states near Pennsylvania" day (kind of like our Maine-New Hampshire-Vermont day that we did last year while staying in Boston). 

We started out by driving southwest to Wilmington, Delaware.  We got out and walked along the river for a little while, and then bought some fresh berries at a little food market. 

We continued heading south until we got to Rehoboth Beach.  We ate lunch at a little pizza place, and then walked along the boardwalk and thought about going swimming (it was really hot).  I found a perfect little shell to bring home as a souvenir for Oliver - ever since he was a little kid and started studying maps (which began at age 2), Ollie has had a fascination with Delaware, and has always wished he could go there.  I think he would love this beach!

Our next adventure was boarding the Cape May-Lewes Ferry that goes back and forth from Lewes, Delaware (which is right by Rehoboth Beach) to Cape May, New Jersey.  It was about an hour and a half ferry ride, and very relaxing (but windy).

Before we left on the ferry, we called our kids back at home and told them what we were doing.  They were so excited to go find Lewes and Cape May on the map on our kitchen table and see the little stretch of ocean we would be crossing.  They thought it was soo crazy that we could just drive our car right onto the boat, so I took a picture to show them (that's our rental car in the bottom left):

Coming up on New Jersey in the distance:

Once we got to New Jersey, we drove up to Atlantic City, where we spent the evening.  We walked out on the beach and dipped our feet in the Atlantic Ocean (this time I didn't wish we were swimming - it was much chillier in New Jersey than it had been in Delaware that day).

Walking along the boardwalk in Atlantic City (that's Daniel on the left, looking for a place to sit down and put on his shoes):

We found a really good view of the city as the sun went down and all the lights started coming on:

We ate dinner at an awesome restaurant that Daniel found, called The Continental.  It had really cool interior design, with funky lighting, water running through it, and a fire pit.  I didn't take any pictures, but here are some that I found online:

This is the room that we ate in:

As cool as the atmosphere was, the food was even better.  The menu theme was "global tapas", which our server told us meant appetizers/entrees from all over the world that are meant to be shared.  We ordered the roasted red pepper and feta cheese dip, served with grilled pita, the Shanghai vegetable dumplings, and grilled Thai chicken skewers with jasmine rice and peanut sauce.  Everything was so good!  I think it was our favorite meal of the trip.

After finishing up our dinner, we left Atlantic City around 10:00 and headed back to Philadelphia (this time driving northwest and crossing the bridge over the Delaware River to get back into Philly).

Here's a map of what our day looked like:

I'm glad we explored and were able to see Delaware and New Jersey - states that we probably won't have a chance to see again.  It was a really fun day.

The next morning we hung out in Philadelphia for awhile before heading to the airport.  When we got there we were informed that our flight had been canceled (due to bad weather in Tennessee).  Luckily we were able to get things sorted out, and after flying to Chicago and waiting there for quite a while, we eventually got home to Austin that night (although much, much later than had been scheduled). 

I wish I had gotten a picture of my mom with all of the kids together, but after everyone coming to the airport with her to pick us up at such a late hour, Henry was the only one wide awake and wanting to party when we finally all pulled in.  He was happy to see us (and oh, were we happy to see him!), but this kid definitely had a great time with his grandma while we were gone (thanks again, Mom, for making our trip possible!).

In fact, all the kids had a great time with grandma.  She made them cinnamon rolls with lemon icing during her stay, and the first thing I noticed when I walked in the kitchen was this note from Tristan on the fridge:

Also, the whole first week after my mom left and I was back in charge, I kept getting comments about my mom's superior mothering skills:

Rachel (when I was cutting apples):  "Mom, I hate to tell you this, but Grandma Orva is a waaay better cutter than you are.  When she cuts apples, she doesn't waste any of it, and she only has to throw away a teensy, tiny piece."

All the kids (when I'm pulling into our driveway):  "Mom, can you please just park it like Grandma Orva?  She turns around and drives in backward."

Henry (when I'm reading to him before nap):  "Two books!  Just read two books!" (I usually only read one, but my mom read him two, and he knows which system he likes better)

I guess I've still got a ways to go.