For the parents out there, the Natural Science Museum in New York is way cool. It’s big and would take you close to a week to see all of it, so be ok with not catching everything. It’s also cool to just get lost. It was very enjoyable with Sabrina as she’s doing a lot of reading now and can read some of the displays instead of just moving on. Also, the habitation maps were a hit with her so she had an understanding of where animals lived. The C train will drop you off with an entrance right into the back lobby of the museum so it can’t get much easier to find the place.

The Statue of Liberty was a big hit too. I realized after talking with some other people who have been there pre-9/11 that the reservations for the museum and pedestal are a new requirement which tends to keep the crowds down. Go on an off day and hope there’s a break in the weather as it’s WAY better than the summer crowds. I don’t think there would be much more enjoyment to be had if the weather was much warmer. It did help when the sun peaked from behind the clouds and shown on the city for a brief moment. That had a bit of magic in it.

Philly was a lot more fun than I expected, even after being there a couple of times (the bad stomach bug I got last time didn’t help). Kim and Sabrina did some good exploring and as a family it was fun exploring the deserted waterfront and historic district. The Park Service has obviously put a lot of effort in that area and it shows. History buffs will love it but so will children who can catch a glimpse of how people lived in another time. I’d find out what kind of summer programs there are but the power is out at our house right now, so I can’t. The museums are another big attraction and I’d love to spend a week just hitting them all. They are all within a good walking distance from Center City so you don’t need a cab. They are also close to the Whole Foods which served us well and kept the food budget in check.

I really like Kim’s idea of spending a couple days in Philly the next time we go back to visit family. It’s a nice way to have some time together as a family and there are still a TON of adventuring possibilities in the city. Getting to and from the airport is a breeze as well. We’ll be back for sure!!

Technorati : Philadelphia, park service, statue of liberty

©2010 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Kim is at the hotel gym at the moment but from all the walking we did, I wonder where she has the energy! It wasn’t really a long hard day, just a fun day seeing some neat Philly stuff without the crowds.

The day started around 9am with a slow start by the parental units after Sabrina got up and drew us some Ritz Carlton drawings. It’s nice being woken up to the image of a lion. It soon began to rain so we put on our rain gear that has thus far gone unused due to the very warm weather on the East Coast. Our first stop on the subway we decided would be 2nd street and we’d checkout the Seaport Museum. This place is really cool and you get a $1 AAA discount (it never hurts to ask and today it saved us $3!). At first we thought the museum was just kinda empty but we later found it was TOTALLY empty. Except for the boat workers and some contractors putting in new flooring, we had the place completely to ourselves. And I mean completely; it was incredible!

Lucky for us the penny squisher was right by the coat room that also has lockers (25 cents). We’ve been collecting squished pennies for a while and the linked site above is quite handy. Anyway, the museum is empty so the three of us can try out all the cool boat stuff at our own pace. There are plenty of hands on experiments that help kids (and adults) learn about ballast, wind, how boats are built, etc… It is all really well done and useful and not too overloading. They have a whole room where people working for the museum are building actual wooden boats. One gentleman chatted with us for a bit, noting that the two main boats being built now were commissioned by citizens and a third one was being built by volunteers who just wanted to learn the craft. It was very cool, my Dad would surely like it a lot.

We skipped the upstairs for now and went straight out to the World War II submarine Becuna and historic Cruiser Olympia. This was yet another ultimate tour…..we had both ships entirely to ourselves. Well, actually, there was someone doing some painting on the Olympia but other than that…

I was a giddy school kid in the sub. We had all the time in the world to just check out all the STUFF!! And there’s a lot of stuff on a sub, really. You can see from the pictures how intricate it could be to manage such a ship while at sea. Kim could tell I was like a kid in a candy shop as I would point out things to Sabrina and even at one point went running back to the Control Room because I missed looking up into the conning tower. I highly suggest touring these boats on a rainy, winter Friday if you are in the area. Sabrina and Kim both thought the sub was cool. Kim hadn’t been on the boat since childhood and very much enjoyed it without crowds. I liked this sub better than the Hornet in San Francisco.

After the boats we walked up past the Korean War Memorial (very well done and quite artful) and on toward Independence National Historic Park. We stopped, we gazed, we looked like tourists and enjoyed it all in a fairly uncrowded atmosphere. By now the rain was gone and the skies were getting a bit blue here and there. Independence Hall has a LOT of fence around it but we chose not to take the tour. Liberty Bell was in a different location than Kim remembered it, housed in a nice newer building. Only a quick bag check at the door and entrance is free. We knew there was another penny squisher at the National Constitution Center (Sabrina already has the one from the Independence Information Center) and headed in that direction planning to hit the US Mint and then the Information center for some stamps for National Park Passport stamp book. The squishers (2!) were easy to get to but we figured the NCC was best for Sabrina when she’s a little older. The Mint closed at 3pm and is something that would have been good to look up before hand (which Kim informs me she said we should do the night before). The Park also had a Junior Ranger program which would have been good to ask about to get Sabrina another badge like the one from the Statue of Liberty.

After some shopping for books for Sabrina we headed to City Tavern for dinner. It’s a neat little place that is a recreation of the original on that location that used to be the haunt of our Founding Fathers. Which reminds me, we also saw Benjamin Franklin’s tomb before heading there. Not having reservations and wearing not the fanciest of clothes put us in the basement for dinning but we were rewarded with live harp music just outside our room and the room, once again, all to ourselves.

It was a very magical day with a relaxed pace that suited us all. No one whined (well, maybe just once) and we saw a lot of history.

Technorati : bacuna, independence park, liberty bell, philadelphia, seaport museum

©2010 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

This is just more clear proof, you shouldn’t work late no matter what. It’s just not good for your health.

Technorati : danger, paper cups, whiskey

©2010 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

The two beat cops I found outside Fergie’s Pub on my way back to the hotel. They looked bored so with some liquid courage I figured why not really find out. The answer to my question can be summed up by the one cops final comment, “Unless you do something really stupid, no.” He says they WILL site you if you get hit by a car, which he’s only seen twice in his career. So make sure nothing hits you in Philly and you’re ok. I knew it was ok in New York, but just had to find out if Philly was the same.

Other than that, it was a long day at work followed by a strong need to have a beer and not just head back to the hotel. Fergie’s has a great atmosphere and serves the Guinness up right. The barkeep, Tony, even apologized for nearly serving me an improperly poured Guinness that had waited too long. The spinach salad was quite tasty with just the right amount of dressing and conversation from ‘dude at my left’ about the book When We’re Gone, about what would happen to the Earth if mankind was gone tomorrow, sounded interesting.

I might head out to Whole Foods now but it’s getting late. Maybe I’ll watch Night at the Museum to see what Sabrina has been trying to explain to me ever since we visited.

Technorati : cops, fergie’s pub, jaywalking, philly

©2010 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

There was one nice spot to the day and that was checking in to the hotel. The Ritz-Carlton is one place I don’t see myself getting a chance to visit any time soon in our planned travels. With a hefty room rate and our penchant for cheap and ultra cheap travel (we like to spend no more than $50/night for the three of us if can help it and usually accomplish this by camping often) this type of five star accommodation isn’t first on our list. But, as work is paying for it, we might as well enjoy.

First off, Kim and I stayed here back in November on another work trip and it was a great time. Kim often just relaxed the morning away before heading off to visit a museum or do some shopping while I worked in our Philly office just blocks away. So this was actually my second trip to the hotel in as many months. Upon entering the front doors I noticed some rather large white screens pulled up around the center court area. A sign on the side noted construction of a new restaurant to be completed May 20th, 2007 and to please pardon the inconvenience. Skirting the edges brought me to the front desk but not before passing 3 friendly staff members all wishing me a good evening with a genuine smile.

Ample help and courtesy was again extended by the front desk and bellhop even when I declined to have him carry my backpack (don’t ask me why, I’m weird like that). I grabbed a juicy looking granny-smith apple and headed to my room, ironically enough (or maybe not so ironic if they plan it that way) 3 doors down from our last room.

The worries and stress of the work day vanished when I walked in the room. The lights were on, the TV had what Kim and I thought was a cheesy TV station that just played a crackling fine but when viewed upon entering a room, actually gave it a nice touch. Yummy mint coins on the pillow with a water and clean glass waiting by the bed and quiet music playing from the clock radio really made for a welcome feel I’ve never experienced in a hotel stay before.

Now onto something not very Ritz-like….laundry. Kim and I (and Sabrina without know it) are attempting to reduce the amount we carry on longer trips by washing more often. Some people agree with this idea, some don’t, but the basic premise is to carry about 3 or 4 changes of clothes, wear them more and wash them often, instead of bringing 7-8 changes. For this 11 day trip away from home we each brought 3 changes, more or less, including what we were wearing to the airport. I’m finally to the point where I need to do laundry (Kim, I’m suspecting, is using her sister or Dad’s washing machine ). With no other cheap option, I decided to give washing in a hotel sink a try.

I decided to let my wits give it an attempt before consulting my all knowing, all seeing, never wrong friend; The Internet. I laid out a towel on the floor to lay the clean stuff and filled the sink, pouring in just a little shampoo from the shower. A quick dip and scrubbing with a few dirtied items and it was time for rinsing with a pleasing, or maybe not so pleasing, amount of dirt clearly removed for the clothing. Rinse, wring, squish and time for hanging. It’s been two hours and they are still pretty damp. I will probably wring them out a little more. And for a longer trip I’ll take a serious look at some fast drying items as the big thick socks I have will probably take a week or more without heated air.

After doing some quick searching, I really like what Jeanna Leblanc has to say on her blog entry. I’ll be grabbing some of the items she noted to make my next sink based washing machine experiment a success.

Technorati : laundry, philadelphia, ritz-carlon

©2010 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.