That really is the first thing I think of when I think of Philadelphia! I was definitely a Fresh Prince fan! 🙂 Our initial plan before I became an Automattician was that we were going to be going back home after the NKOTB concert the next day and then start our drive again the following Friday. Sandy really didn’t love that idea, and neither did I, but at the time that was our only alternative. When the new door opened, Sandy suggested us working for this week somewhere we haven’t been before and explore a new area instead of going back home and then continue our journey to AB. He found a great deal on an apt outside of Philly through AirBNB so we decided to go for it.
This is my very first time working away from home! I decided that I would work 6 days this week in smaller chunks. I start every morning at 5am and by the time all of the kids are up around 9am (Noah wakes up a bit earlier), I am just about done my morning chunk. Then after supper I start again for a few more hours. It gives us a chance to explore for the rest of the day. I can’t express how perfectly it has worked out. The kids are awesome at getting ready for their day and then playing a game together or finding something to do while they wait for us to finish, since we are both working this week. They are really seeing the benefits of this amazing job first hand! Next week I will be off for the week and then I will work this same routine when we get to AB and then I am off the last week. I was so happy to get a couple of weeks vacation after just started the position. Automattic is amazing!
Now onto our week. 🙂 We had a long drive day from Boston to Philly on Sunday. Mainly because traffic in and around NYC causes slow downs. But we made it and were ready to explore Monday. We decided to book Parking Panda (which I LOVE btw) and head to the Philly waterfront and up to the Liberty Bell. After some exploring in the heat (I am the only one who enjoys that part), we headed to the Franklin Institute. What an awesome place!
There was SOOO much to do in this huge science center. The kids loved it! We spent almost 3 hours there and we didn’t even touch one of the floors. We could have spent hours longer. A great must see with kids in this area and us adults had fun too. I love that our Discovery Centre pass covers these great places.
Tuesday we decided it was perfect weather for a beach day! I have always loved seeing pictures of the Jersey shore. The beaches always looked so amazing and so many boardwalks to explore. Atlantic City has always been on my city bucket list. We decided to try a quiet beach since a few years ago we tried a busy one and it took a long time to get to the beach area. We found Strathmere Beach and WOW, what an amazing beach. Whitish sand as far as you could see. And there is a channel between this beach and Ocean City NJ. Tons of free parking and a close walk from any parking to the beach. I could have a second home in this community. 🙂
The kids loved walking up and down the shore and checking out new sea finds. We found a couple of Horseshoe Crabs that were washed up on shore. I don’t remember ever seeing anything like it before. The kids loved the different shells and sealife! And the water was nice! 🙂
On the way home I wasn’t sure how busy Atlantic City would be, so I told Sandy we should skip it and I will see it some other time. I love this man! He does the mapping and I do the driving typically and I rarely pay attention to where I am most of the time because of it. On the way back I noticed a lot of billboards. And then I realized. He was mapping me to Atlantic City afterall. I was very excited. We found quick easy parking and hit the boardwalk. Loved it! We walked down the Monopoly Streets and found an Ice Cream shop called Rita’s where I had the best Chocolate Oreo Milkshake of my life! Ella had the same, Sandy had Strawberry Shortcake and Caile had a Fruit Pebbles Milk Shake. Noah had their Italian Ice. We were all super happy and it was nice just to stroll along the shops. It was a great day!
I think growing up in the Yarmouth area and living in town, to get to the nice beach areas you had to drive out of town to the country area. I remember when I would see pictures of cities on the beach I was always fascinated. I know for some this is a nightmare and ruins their beach scene, but for me, all of my favorite things in one area, it just seems perfect! 🙂
I Dream of Summer 
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