Jon turns 40!!!
Not one to desire a large shebang for his birthday, but still desirous to celebrate, we took off on a new adventure to celebrate Jon turning 40 this year! What a great excuse to try new things and visit new places and help Jon feel loved! Jon loves history and travel and new places, and as his birthday is in fall, we thought it would be nice to soak up some fall sights as well! So off we headed to Philadelphia, New York City and the Poconos!
And we are off!
Our parents were so gracious to help watch our kiddos while we went on our trip!
As we had a short time in each place we wanted to make the most of it! We started in Philly with a walking tour (Urban Adventure tours!) of all the historical sites in Philadelphia - from Betsy Ross (alleged) house to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It was neat to sit where Franklin and Washington sat in Christ's Church and see firsthand more examples of the impact they had on not only on our nation but on the birth of democracy!
Here we are in the oldest still inhabited street in the nation - Elfreth's Alley
The Liberty Bell
And of course the Famous LOVE Statue in JFK Plaza
And we did an insiders tour of the Masonic Temple which was really interesting!
That evening we went to an evening museum night at Philadelphia Museum of Art - amazing - and had dinner across from the Eastern State Penitentiary which was all decked out as a Spooky house for Halloween. Very spooky!
View from the Rocky Steps from the Philadelphia Museum of Art at night!
The next day after exploring Reading Terminal Market for some yummy philly cheesesteaks - yes they had a vegetarian version - and yummy Beiler donuts and chocolate, we took the Amtrak to Penn Station New York!
In New York, we went out to Ippudo for Ramen and off to see "Spoiled Rotten" Broadway play! It was very entertaining and well done play!
Jon and his favorite airplane!
We started the day early at 7:30 at the Empire State Building and were not disappointed! We loved the early views with no crowds there yet!
Then we explored the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and got to see the Shuttle Endeavour too! Its still hard to belief this thing was in space!
We visited the 9/11 Memorial which was very sobering to say the least. Our tour guide was a boat captain that took many people from downtown to Jersey that day and had a cousin die on 9/11 so she had some stories to share and they were very touching. She told us about the Boat Lift on 9/1 which was a pretty amazing feat - check out this Youtube video about it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg.
Then, after the memorial, we were buoyed up by the sight of Lady Liberty!
And then we went over to the Brooklyn Bridge and explored Brooklyn and had some great Brooklyn Pizza at Juliana's Pizza and some Shake Shack Ice Cream! What a view of the city!
And of course a bit of Double Decker Red bus to get around (cheaper than taxi!) but those streets were packed! Was faster to walk than do the bus or taxi!
Goodbye New York!
Note - NEVER EVER schedule a Amtrak train out of NYC Penn Station into Jersey on a Friday night at 6 pm around rush hour of people trying to get home! It was a MAD house and they are not very clear about how and where to catch your train - but we found it!
Hello Poconos!
We stayed at Villa at Fairways and entered a Fall wonderland! Our little place for a few days.
Here in East Stroudsburg, PA, Jon turned 40! We spent the day at Treetop adventures climbing through the trees and doing obstacles!
It was so pretty and such an adventure! We celebrated Jons 40th with a yummy dinner in Stroudsburg at a restaurant called Garlic!
The next day we went hiking and exploring the beautiful Bushkills falls! Loved it!
Such beautiful fall colors!
Then we said goodbye to Pennsylvania and headed home! It was a great trip and memories to last a lifetime - or at least another 40 years! Now I need to start planning my 40th birthday trip!
And because we took so many more photos as well! Here is a link to more photos from the trip! Enjoy!
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