This past weekend, Daniel and I drove a lot. It was worth it.
Thursday, November 10:
Right after I got off work, Daniel and I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to Pennsylvania--my home state :-). I drove first, but only lasted about 3.5 hours before Daniel made me pull over because I was making him nervous haha. For the record, I wasn't falling asleep. My contacts were just getting blurry. Daniel drove the rest of the way but it went by really fast because we were listening to the Davinci Code on CD. We got to Jessi and Richie's new apartment around 1:00am. We said some brief hello's and immediately hit the hay. We were exhausted.
Friday, November 11:
Jessi had to work a partial day, so Daniel and I decided to go into the city (Philadelphia).
Daniel had never been and there is some pretty cool stuff there! Because it was Veteran's Day, the traffic wasn't too bad. After several detours around the city (due to our GPS being stupid), we found parking and headed to the Historical District. We saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Cool.
I remember going to those places in elementary school and it was fun to go back when I actually appreciated them haha.
After that, Daniel and I just wandered around the city a bit and we eventually made it to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. We were torn between there and Pat's or Gino's (the famous Philadelphia Cheese Steak places). It was a tough choice, but lets just say we were not disappointed. We started off with an appetizer: a soft pretzel. We got it from what appeared to be a Mennonite stand (judging by the dress of the women). It tasted exactly as I remembered it from growing up. I never even knew that Philadelphia pretzels were special! But man oh man, Daniel LOVED them :-). After that, we went to a number of different stands and tasted all of the free samples of cheese, peanut butter, crackers, etc. until we eventually found the stand Daniel had seen on the food network--Hershels East Side Deli. "Classic hand-carved deli sandwiches & authentic homemade Jewish specialities." YES. I ordered a pastrami sandwich and when Daniel saw how big they were, we decided to just share it. We watched the man cut the pastrami off a huge slab of meat and then pile it on the bread. Literally. There was about 2.5 inches of meat on that sandwich! We got a deli pickle and shared a can of root beer.
We eventually found a seat (that's right... just one) at a table and shared that too so we could eat our lunch and listen to the jazz-like band that was playing. Eventually a second chair opened up and we relaxed out butt cheeks and ate away (at the sandwich). It was great! We picked up another pretzel on our way out and marveled at all of the delicious sweets that we can't yet afford but will one day devour haha.
After that meal, Daniel and I went to "LOVE" park. It was my first time there and I was so shocked. In my head I had envisioned this beautiful park with lovers left and right and a HUGE "LOVE" sign right in the middle. Instead, Daniel and I ran into a bunch of 12 year olds and foreigners standing in front of a 3ft tall LOVE sign which was placed in front of a cement circle. There wasn't even grass haha. To our further dismay, the 12 year olds and the foreigners were not adequate photographers (you'll see what I mean in a second), but we did get away with a couple good shots before my camera died (<---proof that I'm an Alexander haha).
From there, we headed back to the car. But not without a few random Philly Photo's :-)
Anyway, we wanted to be at Jessi's apartment waiting for her when she got done work, but traffic disagreed with us. Our thirty minute drive into the city turned into an hour and thirty minute drive out of the city. When we finally did get to Jessi's apartment (which is beautiful by the way), we jumped right back into the car and headed to Boyertown--my home town. We drove into my old neighborhood and I just stood staring at my old house. I was surprised at how many memories it brought back and how much I actually missed the place. We visited with my old neighbors (the Bertino's) for a couple of hours and it was like I never left. Well, minus the fact that Michael's a little more gray, Jillian is now taller than me, and Mr. Woody (the family dog) wasn't there :-(. It was fun to reminisce.
Our next stop was to surprise Joann and Gar--Jessi's parent's. They were surprised. We caught up on life and then we had to ship out of there. There were not enough hours in the day and we had to go to Zerns haha. That's right. Zerns--one of the largest flea markets on the east coast. A place that I actually went to quite often with friends and family when I lived close by. 1. They have the best beef jerky. 2. They have the most interesting people. haha.
From there we headed back to Jessi's place (about 30 minutes away IF that), Richard made us dinner (at 9:30pm), and then Sarah Kerns and her fiance Ryan came over. It was fun to just sit around and visit. A few other people said they were coming and then didn't because it was "too far away". They asked me to pick a "more central" location to meet up next time. Oh OKAY. See ya in Virgina next time JERKS! haha I probably shouldn't publish that tidbit of my trip, but I was very excited to see those kids and they broke my heart when they bailed on me for such a stupid reason. Boo. Oh well.
Eventually, Sarah and Ryan had to go to leave and the rest of us had to go to bed. I was exhausted.
Saturday, November 12:
Richie had to work Saturday morning so Daniel, Jessi, and I decided to go out for breakfast. We walked to a cute little breakfast/lunch joint called Annamaria's (recommended by the Bertino's) and met up with MATT HAUSE! It was so great to see him. Jessi and I supplied him with all sorts of highschool "dirt" that was never dug up back in the day and we spent the morning laughing away. As Jessi put it so perfectly (when explaining Matt to Daniel), "Matt Hause is the kind of guy that doesn't show emotion that easily, so we would do all sorts of stupid things to try and get him to laugh, and when we did manage to get him to laugh hysterically, it was like hitting the jack pot." Well friends, it still is. I felt like I had won a million bucks after eating breakfast with those kids. Poor Daniel had no idea what was going on, but I was so happy. I'm so grateful to have a husband who is willing to trek all over the place just so I'll have a few hours to reminisce my childhood. He was such a trooper the whole time. After we left the restaurant, (this is where my entry gets sad for a bit), we had to say goodbye. It was a quick trip to PA, but we were off to Baltimore to visit Nate, April and my adorable nephew's Edison and McKay.
I drove so Daniel could do some of his homework. It was a stressful car ride but I won't get into that haha. Lets just say that our GPS took us on these tiny back roads to avoid tolls only to put us thirty minutes behind and right on a toll road anyway. When we got to Baltimore, I was so sad that Edison wasn't running out to greet me. I absolutly LOVE hearing him say "Aunt (sometimes Uncle) Mandi" haha, but he was napping, so Daniel and I got to visit with Nate and April for a little bit which was nice. When the little boys finally woke up, we went for a quick drive and then to a park where the Baltimore skyline was absolutly beautiful. Edison was going crazy (putting on a show for us) and I loved every second of it. For dinner, Nate took us to a really awesome NY Pizza shop and we ordered 2 pizza's and a sub. I was disgusted at how much I ate... haha but it was so good. After that, we walked around a little and we got some Canoli (?) bits from an Italian bakery. Next time we go to town, we're definitly getting the eclaires from that shop too haha.
We went to bed early which was nice. This whole pregnant thing is starting to wipe me out fast, but it ended up being a good thing. Edison isn't sleeping through the night anymore and poor Nate and April have to get up with him atleast 3 times per night. They were both exhausted too.
Sunday, November 13
We went to church. Edison got kicked out of nursery because the teachers were "unable to control him" haha --he dumped out all of the snacktime water cups, and after church we went back to the house and played. McKay is absolutly adorable. His big blue eyes have so much emotion in them and he's so ticklish and squishy that I just want to squeeze him all day haha. Edison is just too smart for his own good. He loves having pillow fights and he loved shouting "Good Morning!" at baby Baird and then patting my belly. He also said that she would kick everytime he talked to her. (Actually, he referred to the baby as a boy the entire time even though I told him it was a girl. I don't think he's got the whole "she" vs "he" thing down yet). At one point, Edison told me that the baby would pop out just like buddy boo (what he call's McKay), but that she might want to go back in after a while because he might make her cry by bonking her on the head haha. Daniel had a one on one conversation with Edison at this point about how he was going to have to be nice to the baby. It was cute.
We ate dinner, we talked, we went for a walk, and then it was time for Daniel and I to head home. Daniel drove the whole way and I had the worst heartburn I've ever had in my life haha. We got home a little after midnight and went to bed.
It's so crazy to think that I'm all grown up & having a baby, visiting old friends in their homes, and visiting family--Nate and April (Christian was going to come, but ended up having a "situation" at his own apartment that made him unavailable. Boo. Next time.). It makes me laugh because I remember going to my Aunt and Uncle's houses when I was little but I never thought of it as "oh, my Dad visiting his brother!" But here I am, visiting my brother/s, and soon, my baby will be visiting her cousins. That's what I call a circle. I love it.
I love having family and friends close enough to do a whirl-wind weekend trip.:-)
Thursday, November 10:
Right after I got off work, Daniel and I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to Pennsylvania--my home state :-). I drove first, but only lasted about 3.5 hours before Daniel made me pull over because I was making him nervous haha. For the record, I wasn't falling asleep. My contacts were just getting blurry. Daniel drove the rest of the way but it went by really fast because we were listening to the Davinci Code on CD. We got to Jessi and Richie's new apartment around 1:00am. We said some brief hello's and immediately hit the hay. We were exhausted.
Friday, November 11:
Jessi had to work a partial day, so Daniel and I decided to go into the city (Philadelphia).
Daniel had never been and there is some pretty cool stuff there! Because it was Veteran's Day, the traffic wasn't too bad. After several detours around the city (due to our GPS being stupid), we found parking and headed to the Historical District. We saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Cool.
I remember going to those places in elementary school and it was fun to go back when I actually appreciated them haha.
After that, Daniel and I just wandered around the city a bit and we eventually made it to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. We were torn between there and Pat's or Gino's (the famous Philadelphia Cheese Steak places). It was a tough choice, but lets just say we were not disappointed. We started off with an appetizer: a soft pretzel. We got it from what appeared to be a Mennonite stand (judging by the dress of the women). It tasted exactly as I remembered it from growing up. I never even knew that Philadelphia pretzels were special! But man oh man, Daniel LOVED them :-). After that, we went to a number of different stands and tasted all of the free samples of cheese, peanut butter, crackers, etc. until we eventually found the stand Daniel had seen on the food network--Hershels East Side Deli. "Classic hand-carved deli sandwiches & authentic homemade Jewish specialities." YES. I ordered a pastrami sandwich and when Daniel saw how big they were, we decided to just share it. We watched the man cut the pastrami off a huge slab of meat and then pile it on the bread. Literally. There was about 2.5 inches of meat on that sandwich! We got a deli pickle and shared a can of root beer.
After that meal, Daniel and I went to "LOVE" park. It was my first time there and I was so shocked. In my head I had envisioned this beautiful park with lovers left and right and a HUGE "LOVE" sign right in the middle. Instead, Daniel and I ran into a bunch of 12 year olds and foreigners standing in front of a 3ft tall LOVE sign which was placed in front of a cement circle. There wasn't even grass haha. To our further dismay, the 12 year olds and the foreigners were not adequate photographers (you'll see what I mean in a second), but we did get away with a couple good shots before my camera died (<---proof that I'm an Alexander haha).
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| Foreigner's picture |
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| 12 year olds picture |
From there, we headed back to the car. But not without a few random Philly Photo's :-)
Anyway, we wanted to be at Jessi's apartment waiting for her when she got done work, but traffic disagreed with us. Our thirty minute drive into the city turned into an hour and thirty minute drive out of the city. When we finally did get to Jessi's apartment (which is beautiful by the way), we jumped right back into the car and headed to Boyertown--my home town. We drove into my old neighborhood and I just stood staring at my old house. I was surprised at how many memories it brought back and how much I actually missed the place. We visited with my old neighbors (the Bertino's) for a couple of hours and it was like I never left. Well, minus the fact that Michael's a little more gray, Jillian is now taller than me, and Mr. Woody (the family dog) wasn't there :-(. It was fun to reminisce.
Our next stop was to surprise Joann and Gar--Jessi's parent's. They were surprised. We caught up on life and then we had to ship out of there. There were not enough hours in the day and we had to go to Zerns haha. That's right. Zerns--one of the largest flea markets on the east coast. A place that I actually went to quite often with friends and family when I lived close by. 1. They have the best beef jerky. 2. They have the most interesting people. haha.
From there we headed back to Jessi's place (about 30 minutes away IF that), Richard made us dinner (at 9:30pm), and then Sarah Kerns and her fiance Ryan came over. It was fun to just sit around and visit. A few other people said they were coming and then didn't because it was "too far away". They asked me to pick a "more central" location to meet up next time. Oh OKAY. See ya in Virgina next time JERKS! haha I probably shouldn't publish that tidbit of my trip, but I was very excited to see those kids and they broke my heart when they bailed on me for such a stupid reason. Boo. Oh well.
Eventually, Sarah and Ryan had to go to leave and the rest of us had to go to bed. I was exhausted.
Saturday, November 12:
Richie had to work Saturday morning so Daniel, Jessi, and I decided to go out for breakfast. We walked to a cute little breakfast/lunch joint called Annamaria's (recommended by the Bertino's) and met up with MATT HAUSE! It was so great to see him. Jessi and I supplied him with all sorts of highschool "dirt" that was never dug up back in the day and we spent the morning laughing away. As Jessi put it so perfectly (when explaining Matt to Daniel), "Matt Hause is the kind of guy that doesn't show emotion that easily, so we would do all sorts of stupid things to try and get him to laugh, and when we did manage to get him to laugh hysterically, it was like hitting the jack pot." Well friends, it still is. I felt like I had won a million bucks after eating breakfast with those kids. Poor Daniel had no idea what was going on, but I was so happy. I'm so grateful to have a husband who is willing to trek all over the place just so I'll have a few hours to reminisce my childhood. He was such a trooper the whole time. After we left the restaurant, (this is where my entry gets sad for a bit), we had to say goodbye. It was a quick trip to PA, but we were off to Baltimore to visit Nate, April and my adorable nephew's Edison and McKay.
I drove so Daniel could do some of his homework. It was a stressful car ride but I won't get into that haha. Lets just say that our GPS took us on these tiny back roads to avoid tolls only to put us thirty minutes behind and right on a toll road anyway. When we got to Baltimore, I was so sad that Edison wasn't running out to greet me. I absolutly LOVE hearing him say "Aunt (sometimes Uncle) Mandi" haha, but he was napping, so Daniel and I got to visit with Nate and April for a little bit which was nice. When the little boys finally woke up, we went for a quick drive and then to a park where the Baltimore skyline was absolutly beautiful. Edison was going crazy (putting on a show for us) and I loved every second of it. For dinner, Nate took us to a really awesome NY Pizza shop and we ordered 2 pizza's and a sub. I was disgusted at how much I ate... haha but it was so good. After that, we walked around a little and we got some Canoli (?) bits from an Italian bakery. Next time we go to town, we're definitly getting the eclaires from that shop too haha.
We went to bed early which was nice. This whole pregnant thing is starting to wipe me out fast, but it ended up being a good thing. Edison isn't sleeping through the night anymore and poor Nate and April have to get up with him atleast 3 times per night. They were both exhausted too.
Sunday, November 13
We went to church. Edison got kicked out of nursery because the teachers were "unable to control him" haha --he dumped out all of the snacktime water cups, and after church we went back to the house and played. McKay is absolutly adorable. His big blue eyes have so much emotion in them and he's so ticklish and squishy that I just want to squeeze him all day haha. Edison is just too smart for his own good. He loves having pillow fights and he loved shouting "Good Morning!" at baby Baird and then patting my belly. He also said that she would kick everytime he talked to her. (Actually, he referred to the baby as a boy the entire time even though I told him it was a girl. I don't think he's got the whole "she" vs "he" thing down yet). At one point, Edison told me that the baby would pop out just like buddy boo (what he call's McKay), but that she might want to go back in after a while because he might make her cry by bonking her on the head haha. Daniel had a one on one conversation with Edison at this point about how he was going to have to be nice to the baby. It was cute.
We ate dinner, we talked, we went for a walk, and then it was time for Daniel and I to head home. Daniel drove the whole way and I had the worst heartburn I've ever had in my life haha. We got home a little after midnight and went to bed.
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| We did eventually get a semi good one |
It's so crazy to think that I'm all grown up & having a baby, visiting old friends in their homes, and visiting family--Nate and April (Christian was going to come, but ended up having a "situation" at his own apartment that made him unavailable. Boo. Next time.). It makes me laugh because I remember going to my Aunt and Uncle's houses when I was little but I never thought of it as "oh, my Dad visiting his brother!" But here I am, visiting my brother/s, and soon, my baby will be visiting her cousins. That's what I call a circle. I love it.
I love having family and friends close enough to do a whirl-wind weekend trip.:-)
Jealous. Your trip sounds awesome. For a moment I forgot you were pregnant, then I saw the bump picture at LOVE park. AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteMandi, I'm so glad I got to see you and Daniel, even if it was only for a few hours! I feel like nothing has changed when we get together, even though pretty much everything has changed! I love you lots and miss you all the time <3. P.S. I'm coming to North Carolina this summer to visit, whether I'm welcome or not :)
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