Our trip to Cleveland

Vacations are awesome.

Photos from a trip I never blogged about: 

For spring break 2011 the Strings went to Philadelphia, much like we did the year before. We stayed in the same fabulous hotel room (with the gigantic jacuzzi bath, perfect for entertaining chilled children after a long day of walking in the rain), at the cozy, historic inn in the Jewelry District. The kids loved the dining areas, which have continental breakfast in the morning and warm cookies after 3 p.m. The back dining room also had a floor-to-ceiling library with an eclectic collection of books. Dash pulled encyclopedias while Rosie perused the art books, and both of them generally acted like goofballs.

One fortuitous difference between this trip and the last one was that Kelly, Mike, Liam and Thea just happened to be in Philly at the same time we were! I had caught a tweet of Kelly's the afternoon that we were headed there; they had gone to New Jersey on a day trip, but decided to take a spur-of-the-moment side trip and had no idea we would be there too. How often does that sort of coincidence happen?

We met up for breakfast the next morning at Reading Market, and the Strings and the O's headed straight from there to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. [Kelly, if you have any pics of your family from that trip, send them my way and I'll add them in!] Featured works from the museum: Duchamp's Fountain and The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. Rosie and Dash are on the far side of the room in The Bride's photo, near the window, and if you look closely, you can see Liam's reflection in the glass, lower right.

Dash with Marcel Duchamp's Fountain

Duchamp's The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even

We split up from our friends after the museum to see different sights, but had such a fun time as a group, much more so than if we had gone solo. All the kids love goofing around with each other so much. We visited the Franklin Institute again—Rosie and Dash were clamoring to climb through the giant heart once more, Rosie wanted to visit the Mutter Museum (Dash thought it was too scary last time, so he and I went to a yarn shop instead), and Monkeyrotica wanted to try the Famous 4th Street Delicatessen, a historic Jewish deli in Queen Village. We also spent some time poking around an old-school second-hand book store, complete with an in-store cat. One of the highlights of the trip for me was sneaking away from the fam to the 12th Street Gym for the best step aerobics class EVAR! Not kidding. DC doesn't do it like that anymore.

We ended up at our favorite restaurant from last time, Jones, where Rosie and Dash split the fried chicken and waffles dinner (waffles for Rosie, chicken for Dash), and Monkey and I enjoyed some delicious cocktails with our comfort food.

Photobombing at Jones

Rosie and Dash are already asking to go back! I know there are many other wonderful, educational vacation spots out there, but Philly is just far enough away to feel slightly exotic and just close enough for a day trip. There are still plenty of spots there that we haven't seen yet, so until the kids insist they've had too much of Philly, it's an awesome destination for us.

Somehow, in NOLA...

In my dream, it was like I was just waking up, except I was driving. It was morning, but still dark; the car clock said 2:25. Strange, brightly colored lights and signage were all around me, was I at an airport? I tried to recall the last thing I could from the night before... I was leaving Philadelphia for home, but was I alone then? I was alone now.

While I navigated the airport exits—departures, arrivals, parking decks—I looked at the interior of car I was driving. Unfamiliar. In, fact, there was nothing in the car except me and what I was wearing. No purse, no luggage, just clean new car smell. A rental? Then the fact that I had no wallet hit me and with the realization, as always, a wall of panic. No ID, no access; no credit cards, no money. And where am I? The airport signage didn't give location data.

I hastily parked the car somewhere on a side street and got out. There were many pedestrians, heading swiftly to their destinations. I stopped a couple, asked them, where are we? Louisiana, they said, near New Orleans. I reeled. I want to go to New Orleans! But, with my family, not like this. Where were they? What day is it? Was someone waiting for me somewhere? Where is my wallet, my cell phone? I need to make a call.

And just like that, my dream ended. I awakened to the sound of a child opening his door, feet padding the hallway, heading for the bathroom.
........

The night before, I was dining with friends and the subject of vacations had come up. We discussed a springtime trip to Philadelphia and a summer trip to New Orleans. See how those destinations featured above? We haven't worked out the plans yet, though Monkeyrotica has been bugging me to book travel and hotels for weeks.

Rather than trepidation about the destinations, I think this dream is about my feelings on the unsettled logistics of the trip. How will we get there? Driving? Flying? Will we have enough funds to support a single vacation, let alone two?

Philly, Day 4: Come Again Some Other Day...

On our last day in Philadelphia, the sun came out. I swear, with the rain clouds gone, the temperature jumped 40 degrees within hours. We took the kids straightaway to a playground that was already heavily populated with all the local kids, happy to playing in the bright, lovely air.

We picked up some deli sandwiches to have for a picnic lunch at Chickie's Deli. The grass was really, thoroughly wet on the circle in front of the Academy of Natural Sciences Museum, but that wasn't stopping me from eating al fresco (Monkeyrotica ate from a comfortable, dry bench, several meters away). What a beautiful day!

















Inside the museum, we experienced a looming Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, Rosie admired the taxidermy polar bear, Dash sampled what life might be like as be an amateur archaeologist and tortoise wrangler, and we saw a butterfly habitat up close.





















Goodbye Philadelphia! You're not too far away, and we didn't really catch you at your best. We'll visit again soon.

Philly, Day 3: Damn, it's Cold!

I know, I'm really dragging these posts out with details on the only trip we've taken as a family unit EVER (all other overnight trips have been with extended family). Here we go with more photos and riveting commentary!!

So, for you, my friends, here's the obligatory shot of us with the Liberty Bell — done. See, there we are! Don't we look stiff and cold, with our hats, coats, and extra layers? We were so frigid that immediately after leaving the Bell's museum, we decided to scrap our tickets to Independence Hall (a mostly outdoor tour) and go straight to a children's clothing store to buy shivering Rosie some extra clothing and Dash a raincoat. I did pack a lot of extra clothes (Dash was wearing my 2nd scarf), but we just weren't prepared for it to be in the 30s, raining and blustery when it was practically April (it would be 70 degrees the next day). True to form, Lolli Lolli was selling bathing suits and Summery frocks, but I scrounged a few items out of the deep-discount, off-season sale rack.

From here, we had lunch at Lee How Fook's Tea House in Chinatown, where we were the only customers. Dash made friends with the waitress and ensured us some excellent service (he's such a charmer). After lunch, we went back to the hotel, had more baths and stayed warm until dinner.

We ventured out again for the HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY, Jones Restaurant! We scuttled the four blocks to Jones, hobo-umbrella flapping inside-out and back, and settled in immediately. The atmosphere was comfortable and family friendly, the waitstaff was quirkily pierced and tattooed, the music piped in was eclectic 80s and 90s tunes (I recall hearing The Cure and Love and Rockets, among other familiar bands—I was their demographic), and the menu was pure comfort food. The kids split fried chicken (Dash) and waffles (Rosie). Even better, there was a full bar offering fabulous cocktails. Here are a few photos of us really enjoying ourselves at Jones. I don't think there's anywhere quite like it in DC. I suggested to our waitress that they open a franchise in our area, to which she responded that they did have plans to start a location in Atlantic City. If I do make it to AC, I'll check it out. Going to Jones is like visiting an old friend's house—an old friend that loves to cook and has a great bar.




It's time to get these kids in bed:

Next up, Day 4: Come Again Some Other Day

Franklin Institute & Brauhaus: Okay, there were more photos

Philly, Day 2: Museums We Loved (but didn't photograph)!

On Monday, we got up bright and early to enjoy the hotel's complimentary breakfast, where we found that all the other guests were foreign (well, one couple was from Montana, does that count?). Thankfully, all the items they served were foods that both Rosie and Dash would eat. After we filled up on cereal, bagels, muffins, fruit and coffee, we bundled up in extra layers, raincoats, hats, scarves, and gloves. With umbrellas at the ready, we headed out for the one-and-a-half-mile walk to the Franklin Institute.

At the Frankin Institute, I waited in the long lines to get tickets for everyone. The basic tickets included just enough of the exhibits to engage the kids—the "Body Worlds and the Brain," IMAX theatre and all the extras would be too much. As we walked in, we were just in time to line up for the Planetarium, where they were showing a special presentation, "Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity," narrated by a particularly classy voice-over actor, Liam Neeson! Rrowr. The animation for the visualizations were spectacular. They were showing planetary phenomena that no-one has actually seen, all speculation, but it was so well-executed (and well-narrated!) that heck, I believed it! When Red Giant stars go super-nova, they implode, and the energy plus the gigantic force caused by that implosion feeds on itself, sucking everything around the star inside, causing the black hole. Then, there was a bit about Einstein's theory of relativity and some really cool grid-line simulations that I though I understood at the time, but, um, *shrug*.

Then there was a bit about big locomotives, then some fancy aerodynamics hand-on exhibits where Dash sat in the cockpit of some stinky old shabby aircraft DASH GOT TO RIDE A PLANE! Now, Monkeyrotica had been playing up the "climbing through the giant heart" that he recalled from his grade-school field trip. The kids loved it—we went through twice, when many other claustrophobic souls dropped out shrieking early on. Sure, it was some painted fiberglass that has seen better days, but it's a great teaching tool. Squeezing through the tight "ventricles" while a throbbing "lub-dub" surrounds you and simulated red and white blood cells speed past overhead was pretty exciting.

From there, we hit the gift shop and headed just a 1/2-mile away for lunch at Oh! Shea's, which served acceptably decent pub food with a nice house-brand root beer. Just three blocks away was our next destination, the Mutter Museum Of College Of Physicians Of Philadelphia. This oddity actively prohibited photographs, with burly security attentive docents ready to give you the smackdown if you attempted a cameraphone pic. If you can hunt down the Discovery Channel's special on the Mutter Museum, you'll pretty much see everything we did, jugged guts, dessicated foetal mutations, eye and skin diseases, genetic disorders. Needless to say, our kids were the only ones in there under 14.

We schlepped it back the 1.5 miles in the rain to the hotel, with one stop for me to replace my hobo-umbrella, which was turning inside-out with every other gust of wind. We stayed in for a breather, let the kids splash in a hot bath, then headed out to the Brauhaus Schmitz, an authentic German restaurant about 5 blocks away. The kids were getting kind of loopy at this point, crawling under the table, playing with our phones (photo of Dash doing exactly that!) and such. We ended our day with cookies and tea back at the hotel.

Next up, Day 3: Damn, it's cold!

Philly, Day 1: Road Trip!

After departing for Philly, handing the kids an iPhone and a gameboy micro so they could be perfectly distracted and play games while we drove, we planned a stop at Maryland's Havre De Grace vintage prefab, Bridge Diner.

Dash patiently waited for his order (a hotdog, of course) while leaning on the vintage formica tabletop. Rosie cheerfully watched all the locals playing Keno. She was unsuccessful at figuring out the game (as were we all).

I started out our trip with sunglasses on, but somewhere between DC and Philly, the sun disappeared, the shades came off, and I didn't need them until Mr. Sun reappeared about four days later. We dropped our bags at the lovely Morris House Hotel and immediately set off for somewhere to get a drink. Despite Philadelphia's Blue Laws we managed to find a bar in the Jewelry District that had its Sunday sales permit, Coco's. The kids were in a great mood, munching potato chips and watching the easiest to follow of television sports, BOWLING, playing on all the big screens.

With umbrellas in tow, we stopped back at Morris House to have tea, check in, and unpack. We really enjoyed our room, which had a master bedroom (with its own door!) and a fold-out couch for the kids in the living area. The one item that we all looked forward to at the end of a cold, wet, Philadelphia day was the bath. It was large enough to fit both kids (and a couple of friends) AND had jacuzzi jets! Heaven for itchy-fingered four-year-olds.


After changing out of our hobo-traveler duds, we walked the five city blocks to City Tavern, an 18th century tavern with too much Flash on its website. The kids tromped wistfully past darkening, moist gardens that beckoned them to scamper through, but we had reservations to make. Monkeyrotica enjoyed the historic microbrews very much, with Yards Brewing Company's General Washington's Tavern Porter as a favorite. He picked up a 6-pack of the selection before we left town. For appetizers, Monkey had fried oysters and I tried out the duck sausage. I ordered the Braised Rabbit, which was lovely (but waaay too much food for little me—I finished half), and Monkey had the Rack of Lamb, and for some reason, we ordered Dash $18 worth of sausages. Rosie picked at an item from the "Award Winning Children's Menu."

We allowed the kids to scamper through one garden that was still open as the wind picked up, and the drizzle really got annoying. We were fairly blown back across Washington Square as we headed back to Morris House and its promise of hot tea, a roaring fireplace, and freshly baked cookies in the lobby. I sipped green tea and pretended interest in W Magazine; Dash and Rosie scarfed several chocolate chip cookies before we hit that delicious bath and turned in for the night. Next episode: Day 2: Museums that we loved, but didn't photograph! (Have you noticed that for some reason, the Strings family only takes photos while we're at meals?)

Spring Break? Me?

Our plans for Spring Break started out with me arranging a camp to take Rosie all week, while her school was closed. I hunted down a great place to take her, pleaded for a spot, pulled the moolah out of the budget; she was enrolled! Then, I told Monkeyrotica that it was all arranged, figuring that he'd be relieved that he didn't need to worry or at the very least pleased that Rosie's days off school would be occupied without inconveniencing Grandma Sheila too much.

His answer was totally unexpected: "Why don't we go somewhere instead?"

I was flummoxed. "Wait, what? ...Who are you?" I asked. "And what did you do with Monkey? We never go on trips!" He dislikes traveling (especially with kids) and it's usually me that talks (and gets vetoed) about taking the kids places to see sights, get culturally enriched, all that good stuff. Beyond that, he and I rarely have even taken our personal vacations together before kids. This was almost entirely unprecedented.

After talking it through and determining that Monkey was serious about a Spring break trip, we narrowed locations down with these factors: driveable in less than a day, educational/fun for kids, not too cheesy or expensive. We came up with Philadelphia, just 150 miles (3 hours) away. Lots of excellent museums, parks, interesting history, SOLD!

I picked out a charming room in Philadelphia's Historic District, the Morris House Hotel, and started planning and reserving events. Monkey was in charge of picking out places to eat for lunch and dinner. We packed, we left! (more to come...)

Ever seen a dog chase its tail?

It's probably nothing like this, but it'll make you laugh just as hard.