Chaletmomma

As most of you know we took a quick trip to Philadelphia for a few days last week. I had such an overwhelming amount of friends and followers reach out to me and ask me to share the details of the trip. So I put this together. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out via email.

For our trip which was only 2-1/2 days I had a detailed itinerary. I spent 4 hours setting it up - googling locations and making sure our route made sense. You’ll see I have a time estimate next to each destination. What I hadn’t counted on was the reversal of mask requirements that had just gone back into effect - this coupled with the fact that less tourists were allowed inside exhibits at a single time meant we waited a bit longer for the Liberty Bell and to get into Congress Hall then I had allotted. I had not factored wait times into my schedule. Oh well the only thing this effected was we missed getting inside Carpenters Hall Tuesday afternoon and moved it to Wednesday. I added the real time with an * and you’ll see I made a note of properties that close at 4pm.

Tuesday:

9am Departure / Arrival approx 11:30am.

The Franklin Institute: open 10-4. 271 North 21st Street Philadelphia (2 hours) We enjoyed a wonderful program in the Fells Planetarium.

Morris House Hotel: 225 S 8th St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 – check in, eat snack (30 mins) We chose a hotel in the Historic District knowing this is where we wanted to concentrate our visit.

Around 2pm:

Independence Hall: 520 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (30 mins) Unfortunately, I neglected to secure advanced tickets for Independence Hall and none were available while we were in town.

Congress Hall: next to Independence Hall (30 mins) *45 mins

The Liberty Bell: 526 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (20 mins) *40mins

5pm: Go back to Morris House Hotel: get ready for dinner.

We met up with family who live in town.

Dinner Bleu Sushi 7pm. 262 S 10th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 - Delicious!

Wednesday:

Museum of the American Revolution: open 10-5 101 S 3rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (2 + hours) - These tickets are good for 48 hours!

Christ Church: 20 N American St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (30 mins)

The Betsy Ross House: 239 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (30 mins)

Around 1pm: Eat Snacks for Lunch or find a spot.

Elfreth’s Alley: 126 Elfreth's Alley, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (20 mins – Museum closed)

Christ Church Burial Ground closes at 4pm 340 N 5th St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (30 mins)

Arch Street Meeting House: closes at 4pm 320 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (30 mins)

Carpenter’s Hall: 320 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (30 mins)*15 mins

Benjamin Franklin Museum: 317 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (1 hour)

We made a stop at Craftsman Row Saloon and someone enjoyed one of their famous Milk Shakes!

Everything closes at 5pm - Go back to Morris House Hotel: get ready for dinner.

Dinner The Olde Bar 7:30pm. 125 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 This used to be Bookbinders and we had another Delicious meal and the signature cocktail Penicillin was terrific!

Thursday:

Check out of Morris House Hotel. Leave bags in Car. The hotel utilizes a parking garage located on 8th Street. After the discount from the Hotel we were charged $26.00 per day.

National Constitution Center: closed Mon & Tues 525 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (2 + hours)

Independent Seaport Museum: 211 S Christopher Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (2 hours) (general admission + a 2pm tour of the submarine if tix are available / tour 30 – 45 mins long) We ended up skipping this museum in end we wanted to get on the road but, I wanted to leave the information here for you.

Depart for the Chalet.

National Constitution Center

We lucked out when we happened to be the only ones in Elfreth’s Alley with another family - we happily took snaps of each other.

We thoroughly enjoyed getting away for a few days. It was great to see family too! There is definitely more to see in Philadelphia and we look forward to visiting again soon!

A few have asked what my favorite exhibit was. The Museum of the American Revolution was opened in 2017 it’s stellar - the entire second floor takes you through the history of the revolution starting in 1760 and ending in 1783.

The museum posses an incredible artifact President George Washington’s War Tent. After watching a film the walls ascend and you will be moved by this tent where Washington led the Army fighting for freedom.

Have you been to Philadelphia?

Til next friends be well!

Last weekend we were in VT at Stratton Mountain. Even thought I don’t ski - I’m happy to have a weekend away enjoying yummy food and wonderful family time. My BIL Bob doesn’t ski either - so while the gang (my sister Noreen, niece Christina, Steven and Liam) hit the slopes we chill.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself… It was a four day weekend - we left Friday morning heading towards the NY Thruway - It started to rain you can see the low cloud coverage in this image from around Harriman, NY. and like last year we met up for lunch in Kingston, NY at the Bowery Dugout Restaurant. It’s a kitschy place with really delicious food! (yes, it’s in a basement!)

The weather had changed by the time we got to Troy and the Gristmill Antique Center but, undeterred we went in and I picked up a postcard of Park Avenue, New York City from 1907.

Man of Kent is an institution! You can’t go to VT without stopping by for some excellent food, a beer, or to grab a bit of swag and enjoy the decor!

Instead of heading out in the morning and rushing to VT - we take our time and enjoy the journey.

This year the last few hours were rough though, the roads were not good and at one point there was a complete white out and we couldn’t see the road in front of the car. We made it to the condo at 7:30 pm.

After unpacking and yummy dinner prepared by Noreen we played a marathon game of UNO!

Saturday was crisp with early morning temps in the single digits! Steven, Noreen, Liam and Christina had a blast!

While these four happily skied amid snow squalls - I read my book. We had an early dinner reservation at Verde. The drinks and food were amazing!

On Sunday there were less skiers on the mountain and since we’d be eating left-overs for dinner at the condo - Bob and I met them for lunch at Mulligans.

Stratton Mountain Resort is very family friendly and the Resort makes it easy to get around - providing a shuttle service from the condos to the Village. Stratton Village has wonderful eateries and shopping. I picked up this retro hoodie for Liam.