Outing in Philly

Welp, we FINALLY made it out into the city on a Saturday!  This is a major feat as last Saturday we went to Amish country to meet up with our friend Brandon and the two Saturdays before that we spent in our apartment fighting the fleas.

We decided to hit up the Reading Terminal Market, which is home of Dinic's Roast Pork and Beef.  We have been waiting to eat at this establishment since first watching the Philadelphia episode on Man v. Food.  The line was probably 70 people deep and wound around the market.  Kind of a big deal.

As you can (kind of) see, the market was pretty busy.

Standing in line, anticipating our roast pork sandwiches.

Try to tell me they don't look amazing...

I actually paid the whole extra $.25 and got the pulled pork as opposed to the roast pork.  Clark liked my pulled pork better than his roast pork sandwich. But oh my goodness, they were delicious!

We took a stroll outside after eating as we were kind of overwhelmed by the masses.  This market was just so packed.

City hall. On the left is the Masonic Temple.

Clark wants the brothers to know that this area including Love Park, which is just North of City Hall and right around the Philadelphia Street Department, is completely skate-proof.  Look at them there benches. Ain't no one skating off those!  Love Park was once the place for skateboarding, I guess. 

Chess pieces and sorry pieces were all over the place.

Loving the LOVE sign.  And each other.

And on our walk back to the car we saw a giant paint brush right next to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.

After our outing, I went to the nursing school building to study (because our internet went out on Friday--of course!) and then walked home and had a relaxing evening with Clark.  Aaand I found out I got an A on my first advanced physiology test!  This is the only time I will post a grade, because I highly doubt I'll maintain an A average.  

All in all, it was a great Saturday.  Now we just need to get Clark a job.  And maybe get a sofa at some point, too.

Charlie and Greta

Early last week Clark and I made a quick day trip down to Baltimore.  Kyle has been gracious enough to let me borrow some of his personal medical supplies that are required for my physical examination class.  Thank goodness.  Otherwise we'd be out $500.

This visit we made a point to take pictures of Charlie and Greta.  They are so much fun and have such cute personalities.  We love these little people.

 Charlie likes to drink his milk out of a goblet. He likes the finer things in life ;)  

We drove down to Baltimore's inner harbor.  It was fun to hold Greta's entire hand in my fist so that she wouldn't run off of the pier.  She's so curious.

This photo cracks me up.  There is so much happening all at once.  Kim is trying to talk on the phone as Greta is running toward her whilst Charlie is climbing all over Clark.

Painting her nails on a bench.  She's such a girl.

Here's a better photo of her adorable face.  You can't really see it in the others.

We feel extremely lucky to have so much family so close by.  The great thing about Baltimore is that it is only one and a half hours away.  We are already looking forward to Halloween but hopefully we'll make it back down that way sooner than the end of October!

The Cross Country Move

Clark and I have always wanted to do a cross country road trip together.  Though we would have loved our drive to be more of a road trip than a cross country move, it wasn't. We had plenty of long days on the road and it wasn't like we planned a schedule devoted to leisure and sight-seeing.  We missed the world's largest ball of twine in Kansas.  It was just too far North.  Dang it.

So, we still have yet to do our grand tour de America.  And if for some reason we don't find the time to do the grand tour, maybe we could just move to states in different regions of the U.S.  We're kind of on a roll and obviously we don't settle in one place for too long.  We've lived in the West and Southwest.  Now we're living in the Northeast.  I guess next we'll have to move to the South (I've lived there, but Clark hasn't) and then somewhere in the Midwest.  That should do it.

But we did make some stops on our trip.  Our first stop was at Early Castle Valley between Utah and Colorado. 

This picture makes me miss the Southwest already.  Ahhhh, am I really homesick for the desert?

 The drive from Grand Junction, CO through Vail, CO was unbelievable.  One of the prettiest drives I think I've ever been on.  The below picture was taken before we really started increasing in elevation in the Rockies.  This photo does not do it justice as there weren't many places to pull of the road on this particular stretch of the drive. I would have liked to take some photos of our drive through the Rockies but it was too dark.  

Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas were less than impressive.  But I expected that.  We did stop at the Cathedral of the Plains in Victoria, Kansas.

There was even a mini replica of the church!

We followed the road to the Oz Museum in Wamego, but it ended up being closed.  I get distracted easily by super cute churches, so I had to take a picture of this one.  It's so picturesque!

Closed.  Technically it was 6 pm but I guess we just believe that if the sun is still out, places should stay open. 

We had an uber chic hotel room in downtown Kansas City, MO.

We visited the Liberty Jail in Independence, MO on our way out of Kansas City.  Note to all: do not take the tour.  Just ask to see the jail.  I may or may not have personally renamed the jail  the Bore-House after we left.  Don't get me wrong, it was interesting.  I just don't think it warranted an hour long, tedious presentation.

Original key to the jail.

Though this isn't the original structure, it has the same dimensions of the original Liberty Jail, and the floor of the structure is the original ground of the site.

St. Louis, MO.  Lewis & Clark & Dog.

Gateway to the West.  Or I guess to the East, for us.

Tired of driving and cranky.

Unfortunately after St. Louis we didn't take any more pictures until we reached Alexandria, VA where my brother and his wife live.  We stopped one night in Louisville (I regret that we didn't go see Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby) and then stopped outside of Lexington to see Clark's cousins Trisha, her Husband Eric and their little girls, and Clark's cousin Cristy and three of her children.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to stop and see them.  This was my first time meeting them and they are all So SOOO nice!  Then we stopped in Charleston, West Virginia to wait out hurricane Irene.  My brother really wanted us to "wait out the hurricane together" but Clark and I opted to stay inland and thus stay safely out of harms way.  West Virginia is really hilly, by the way.  Beautiful, but I totally get why it is nicknamed the Mountain State.

When we got to Scott and Dagmara's we noticed that there wasn't too much damage left over from Irene.  Broken tree branches, but that's about it.

I feel like I should post this table for Scott and Dagmara.  We were a part of their success in finding a cheap dinner table at Ikea.  Way to go, guys!

Scott took us around the George Washington National Masonic Temple.  We arrived 10 minutes late and so we didn't get to see the inside.  

He also took us down to the Alexandria waterfront.  (Scott, you didn't lie when you said it wasn't that impressive.)

Scott and Dagmara's super cute neighborhood.  I would give my right pinky to live in a neighborhood like this.

And that was our drive to the East Coast.   Can't say we've seen or done anything exciting since moving in to our flea infested apartment here in Philly.  We've been combating the fleas and even had an exterminator come by this week.  And we'll be calling the rental company Monday to have them send the exterminator back our way.  Because... the fleas are not gone.  How did the last tenants live like this!?  We truly only feel safe in the shower.  Please, if you wouldn't mind sending a few prayers or good thoughts our way, we would really appreciate it.  We'd like to move in and unpack at some point.  And not have to worry about problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.  

Anywho, school is really busy and the only reason I am finding time to blog is because I need an outlet from studying that is semi creative and cathartic.  There is just too much stress here with school, an unemployed spouse (I love you Clark and I know you are trying!) and a flea infestation.  The blog is helping me keep my sanity.

Happy Friday, hope you all have a great weekend!

  

Crib bumpers...BAD!

Ok, since I have two sister-in-laws who are currently with child and I am sure more of my sister-in-laws will have future children and some of you blog friends may have kids and want more kids too, I thought I would share some news with y'all.  I am just a wealth of knowledge now that I'm back in school.

Not really.  But I did think this was an important bit of information to pass on:

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR ANY REASON, EVER, FOR ANY REASON, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (Channeling my inner Michael Scott here) USE BUMPERS ON A BABY CRIB!!

Seriously, the American Association of Pediatrics does not support or endorse the use of bumpers.  They can lead to suffocation and an increased risk of SIDS.

All you need is a well fitting crib mattress and appropriate flame retardant sleepers for the baby child, and if absolutely necessary, a blanket tucked under the mattress allowing the bebe's arms to be free is ok.  

Beware that most cribs are still sold with bumpers even though bumpers should NOT be used!

This is one good looking crib.  Aren't you glad you read my post today?

Bryce Canyon, the condensed version.

Oh my gosh, I am SO far behind!  Moving sucks, not having internet sucks, and moving in to a flea infested apartment also sucks.  More about that later.  *shudder*

Before we made our grand move to Philadelphia, PA, we met up with Mom and Dad Tobler at Bryce Canyon National Park.  It was glorious.  I am also ashamed to admit that I don't have the patience to wait for many photos to load, so I am posting only a few.  My advanced physiology studies are calling me.

The beautiful Bryce Canyon.

Look at all those hoodoos!  I must admit, I thought Karl was making up the word hoodoo when he kept referring to the unique rock formations.  Turns out, it's a real word.

Enjoying the start of one of the most popular hikes in the world.  It's a big deal.

Down amongst the hoodoos.

Queen Victoria in the Queens Gardens portion of the hike.

The scenery is just unbelievable.

Hangin' out at the camp site before walking to get ice cream.

Old  Bryce Town.

I love this one.  Clark is the ULTIMATE TOURIST.

It was a great couple of days of camping.  Thank you Mom and Dad Tobler for meeting us up in Bryce Canyon!  We had a ton of fun!