A shout-out to our Peeps... from Philly!

We had a great weekend in Philadelphia!

We flew in for a quick weekend to visit Karen and Kevin and see their renovation project. They have done so much work on their house and it looks great! The have turned a tired looking row house into a warm, cheerful home with a new kitchen and fun bamboo floors. We loved it!

We went to the Franklin Institute to see Gunther Von Hagens’ Body Worlds which is an anatomical exhibition of real human bodies. This was really interesting, a little creepy, and impossible to turn away from. There are real human bodies and body parts that are preserved with a “plastination” technique which prevents decomposition and adds stability to bodies and parts to allow for incredible displays in which people can view all the systems of the bodies.

We did the “Rocky” dance at the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, although to be fair some of us were forced into it and may not admit to it. (…Kevin)

We ate lunch at Kevin’s workplace which was really interesting, especially seeing his office which was mad-crazy! He will say it is because in the job he does he needs to have a quite place to meet with clients, but we really know that it is because he rules. He speaks softly and carries a big stick.

The Liberty Bell had airport-style security and it was interesting to see the bell, but apparently you are not allowed to lick it. They frown on that. We also saw Independence Hall, but I don’t think you are allowed to lick that either…

Dinner was at a neat Italian place where the wait staff will sing opera and other show tunes. The food was great and the entertainment was excellent, but sometimes a little too close for comfort (…Mr. Cellophane from Chicago.)

Karen and Kevin live right next to the Italian Market and we ambled through (not Rocky style) on our way to breakfast the next morning before we left for the Philadelphia Zoo!

We had a lovely time at America’s first zoo and we saw a lot of fun animals. There were bears, penguins, gorillas, orangutans, elephants, giraffes and some cheetahs that seemed pretty close to us… I wonder if tourists are part of their diet.

It was a great trip packed into just a few hours and we can’t wait to go back. We had so much fun we made Karen sick and for that we are sorry. Hope you feel better!