Our trip began on Friday, September 14th. We traveled for two days to get to New Jersey. We were able to take the children through 9 states, 4 of which they had never been in. On Sunday, the Houses took us into New York City!! What a fabulous day!! We began by stopping on the Jersey side to see Manhattan. We saw Jersey City, Ellis Island, and the Twin Towers Memorial on the Jersey side. Then we drove into Manhatten where we walked through Battery Park, rode the Ferry across to Stanton Island passing the Statue of Liberty. After that, we walked through Ground Zero, explored the Subway, drove through Little Italy, Soho, Chinatown, ate at Katz's Deli, went to Rockerfeller Plaza, went to the Top of the Rock, walked around and shopped on 5th Avenue, and hung out in Times Square after dark looking at all the lights and people watching.
Monday, we enjoyed a restful day. Susan and I took the kiddos to a beautiful park where they played, climbed trees, explored waterfalls, and enjoyed climbing around on the rocks.
Tuesday, Susan and I head out to Chester to walk around the shops and a treat at a local coffee shop. That evening, Glen took the big boys to the new Batman movie and Susan and I took the younger ones to the mall to shop.
Wednesday, Robert and Susan to us all to Philadephia, PA. We stopped at Washington's Crossing, saw the Liberty Bell, toured the Senate, Congress, and stood in the room where the Declaration of Independance was signed. We also stood in the spot where the first peaceful tranferance of power happened between Washington and Adams. We walked through historical streets, saw the United States Mint, Benjamin Franklin's home where he penned the Declaration of Independance, Betsy Ross' house, and run up the steps to the Museum where Rocky was filmed. We ate dinner at Tony Luke's.
Thursday, we enjoyed a day at the house so the kiddos could play together.
Friday, Susan took all of us to the Jersey Shore. We had a BLAST playing in the water, building sand castles, a picnic lunch, and walking along the Broadwalk. The waves were huge and the kiddos loved playing for several hours before we headed back to the Houses' for a yummy dinner.
Saturday, we headed out on our two day journey home. We stopped in Hershey, PA for a quick look around the Hershey Musuem and then off to Gettysburg, PA where we took a bus tour through the Battlefields. It was a LONG day but so worth it!!
Sunday, we arrived home late. It was a great trip but it was nice to be back home again.
