Aunt Peggy's Special Adventure

Sunday afternoon I drove to my Mom's house because I wanted Robby (and Timmy) to spend a few days playing with their cousins before the end of summer. On the drive to her house I had a brilliant idea, and I couldn't wait to put my plan into action. As soon as I arrived at her house I went to work on the details. 

Robby and my niece Tiffany knew the plans, but everybody else only knew that we were going on one of "Aunt Peggy's Special Adventures."  They woke up early and were fed a substantial breakfast. My nephews were in a tizzy with excitement and curiosity, but we never revealed our secret. When we arrived at the "real" train station they were absolutely gobsmacked!

It didn't take long for our fellow passengers to surmise that this was the first time on the train for three of the four kiddos. They were enthusiastic about absolutely everything, from the paper doily on the back of their seat to the recline of the "super duper comfy chairs." Of course, nothing was able to surpass the wonder of being able to use a bathroom on a moving train. I'm fairly certain that each child visited the restroom no fewer than four times on our 90 minute trip.  As my youngest nephew proudly told the conductor, "It sure is fun sitting on a moving toilet."

In retrospect, I probably could have limited the adventure to a train ride and everybody would have been happy. But I wanted the day to be epic, and I knew that the next surprise would certainly fit the bill.  We went to visit the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.  (Each child has expressed an interest in seeing the Liberty Bell, so I figured it was time to make it happen.)

After the Liberty Bell, which was deemed smaller than anticipated, the crew spied the double decker tour buses that tour the city. I could see the gleam in their eyes, and decided on a whim that it was a beautiful day to sit on the top of an open air bus and drive through the city. The smiles on their faces shone almost as bright as the noon sun. Considering the walking that it saved us, it was perhaps the best investment I made on the trip.

We hopped off the bus to visit the Betsy Ross house, which was a bigger hit than I expected. After that we ate lunch at Reading Terminal and enjoyed ice cream from what was purported to be the oldest ice cream store in America.  The final tour was, in my opinion, the best. We visited Eastern State Penitentary, deemed the fourth most haunted location in America.

Three of the four thought the abandoned prison was awesome.  The large wet spot on the bottom center of my youngest nephews green shirt revealed that he was not amused when locked in the abandoned prison cell.  (Thankfully none of his siblings or Robby mentioned the obvious accident and the evidence dried quickly in the August heat.)

Everybody had a wonderful and exhausting day visiting Philadelphia.  Three of the four fell fast asleep on the train ride home.  Of course, they did manage to wake up in time to use the bathroom a few more times before disembarking the train.