Spirit Of America August 7 - 14, 2009 & WDW August 14-22, 2009 Trip Report

[arlenesp]

I love that you brought Stitch along. I forgot him on the TOAL.Looks like you are having fun.

 

[sayhello]

Glad you and Stich are having fun! Looking forward to more Report!

Sayhello

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Hi everyone!

We met our ABD guides tonight..Mike and Milca....we had our welcome reception at the hotel tonight and met everyone.

We rejoined for dinner at the City Tavern...very nice dinner..enjoyed a glass of wine and DH enjoyed some ale. Dinner for me was beef medallions with mashed potatos and roasted squash. DH had salmon. Was also served with a salad and a peach cobbler. DD had the same as I. We enjoyed a talk with Thomas Jefferson and had a nice walk back to our hotel.

Unfortunately my DD spilled a littlelcider on herself so we had an emergency clothes washing experience..

A group of the kids headed off for an evening swim before heading back to the room for some rest.

We are heading off to sleep now...early morning tomorrow!

Nite!

 

[Bobo912]

Is this your Mike?

If it is, you couldn't ask for a more fantastic guide!

 

[sayhello]

Is this your Mike?

If it is, you couldn't ask for a more fantastic guide!

Or is it this Mike?

He's also great! (He was a shadow guide on my SWS ABD...)

Bobo912, I've heard a lot of fabulous things about your Mike. I really hope he's still doing Alaska in September!!!!

Sayhello

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Is this your Mike?

If it is, you couldn't ask for a more fantastic guide!

That's our Mike! He is really great with the kids and seems to be great fun! Both of our guides seem like they will be a lot of fun. He was in Alaska up until Thursday he said.

We are off for our final day in Philly! I lose my internet for the day in about 1/2 and hour so I will update when I can!

 

[sayhello]

That's our Mike! He is really great with the kids and seems to be great fun! Both of our guides seem like they will be a lot of fun. He was in Alaska up until Thursday he said.

Ask your Mike if he knows who will be doing Alaska in September, please!

Sayhello

 

[dwonders]

Sounds like you guys are having a great time! Can't wait to hear the rest of your trip!

 

[knewton64]

Hi everyone!


Got up about 7 this morning..even Stitch had to rise and shine!

We are in the middle of day two here and thought I would stop in a drop a few lines and post a couple of pictures of Stitch's adventures.

We started out the morning meeting up with Linda and the kids and headed over to ride the duck! Great fun...splashed into the Delaware River and drove through the streets of Philadelphia. We quacked along on a great tour.

After the Duck...we walked over to Betsy Ross' house and toured the home. It is incredible how small and narrow her home is and yet she raised 5 girls in the home and shared it with another family! We spoke with character actors acting as Betsy Ross. Tori shared Stitch with her. She asked if Stitch was the same as a sewing stitch....Tori found that amusing!

We headed over to Christ Church after the home tour. It is a beautiful church where George Washington, Betsy Ross and Benjamin Franklin attending amond others. There were plaques in the pews to tell you which family's pew it was.

After the tour of the church we headed over to Campo's to enjoy a traditional cheesesteak sandwich! We were going to go to gthe more famous ones but found out how far the were. The sandwiches were yummy! I had mine with onions and provolone cheese.

After lunch we stopped by Benjamin Franklin's post office. Tori sent herself a postcard because they stamp each letter/postcard there with Benjamin Franklin's signature!

Linda returned us to our hotel long enough for us to drop everything off. We were headed to the U.S. Mint and they do not allow you to bring in anything! Linda dropped us off at the Mint and we took a tour. We saw how they make the medals given to people for Congressional Awards, Military and other honors. We also saw how they make the coins. Unfortunately, they were done making coins for the day... but it was fun to see.

We walked back to our hotel and gathered our things together. While on the Duck...we saw a ferry that takes you over to Camden, New Jersey. Since my DD is on a quest to visit states..we thought what the heck! We grabbed the ferry and headed over. Long enough to get off and take photos and head back.

We are now in our room waiting for our welcome reception to start in a few minutes and our welcome dinner...more later!

....just put a smile in my heart! Glad to see u r having fun. Can't wait to read more.

P.S. hope Mike is one of our Guides come Sept! ......that Stitch.....always hungry!

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Ask your Mike if he knows who will be doing Alaska in September, please!

Sayhello

I did ask Mike and he said he would not be going back to Alaska for awhile

Sorry!

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Hi everyone!

We got up early to start our final day in Philly...the trolley picked us up at 8:45 A.M. and we headed off. We were met by Colonial Kate as our guide.
First the bad news, I forgot Stitch! so no photos of Stitch for the day....

The tour took us to the new Comcast building..it has an incredible HD TV screen that runs the entire wall! It was beautiful to see.

We then headed off to something I wanted to see but didn't think we would have the chance...the Rocky steps (The Italian Stallion!) We headed up the steps and had pictures taken and then headed over to have them taken by the statue.

We headed over to the Constitution Center for an incredbly moving experience. The theater you sit in is in the round and the hostess who told the story of how America came to be just brought tears to my eyes...she was so elequant and powerful...you felt as thought you were there. We then went to Signers Hall to see the life size statues of the signers. A wonderful experience all the way around.

The trolley then took us for our tour of Independance Hall...what an incredible feeling to be in the same room that all those important documents were agreed upon! We had a little adventure while were there...we were kicked out! It seems they were expecting a special visitor and couldn't tell us who....then we saw all of the Secret Service men and women...no chance to see the Liberty Bell as that was now blocked off too!

Change in plans...early lunch call....we headed over to the Bourse to have lunch....food was okay..nothing very exciting.

After lunch...still no Liberty Bell so we headed over for our Colonial Kids Quest. I can see where some people love this and some not so much...the kids loved it! But it was really aimed at the kids...I thought it was well done and the characters were wonderful!

After Kid Quest...we were released to do our own thing...we decided to see if they had opened the Liberty Bell...while we were waiting to cross on the street corner..the special guest walked out of Independance Hall! What a once in a lifetime experience for my DD!

We couldn't believe it was....

I will post some trip pictures in a bit...gotta run to dinner!

 

[sayhello]

I did ask Mike and he said he would not be going back to Alaska for awhile

Sorry!

Shucks! Oh, well, I'm sure whoever we have will be fabulous, but I was kind of hoping to experience the famous Mike!

Thanks for checking!
Sayhello

 

[Turtlemom]

We had "famous Mike" as our guide in Hawaii in '06. He was great!
The kids had such a great time that they were crying when we left because they wanted to take Mike on every vacation!!!

Enjoy your trip! Can't wait to hear more. . .

Turtlemom

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great TR! Glad you are having a wonderful time!

 

[Bobo912]

The kids had such a great time that they were crying when we left because they wanted to take Mike on every vacation!!!

My son cried too. And I felt like crying when I got home and had to go back to doing everything for myself.

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Hi everyone!

ok..so yesterday..we were waiting..and out comes Michelle Obama and her daughters...they waved and got in their cars. We have a great picture of her daughters but missed her. Oh well..

We went over to the Liberty Bell and got it to see it. It is an amazing sight to see something so historic..almost doesn't seem real.

After the Bell...we headed over to see Ben Franklin's gravesite at Christ Church cemetary. I love old cemetaries..they tell such a story. By now it was 4PM and we were racing...had to have some ice cream!

We headed over to Franklin Fountain... I could eat ice cream here everyday! Yum! I had cotton candy and also a scoop of teaberry. Teaberry is a wintergreen type of flavor. they serve the ice cream in little containers that look like chinese take out containers.

By now we had to head over to the Independance Center to meet up for our Independance After Hours tour. We meet up with our tour guide and Dunlop the printer...Dunlop (and I may be spelling it wrong) directed us to the City Tavern for dinner. We were treated to a performance at dinner of what was going on regarding the current situation in 1776 and the writing of the Declaration. After dinner...we were taken to Independance Hall and "allowed in" by the keeper of the Hall. He gave us a tour and we were seated to "listen in" on a converstaion between Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams arguing over the changes in the Declaration. Upon "spotting" us we were sworn to not say a word. The park ranger was invited in for any questions...he showed us what was original in the room and what was antique but decoration. Very enjoyable evening.

We then moved on to what is called the "Lights of Liberty" show. If you are ever in Philly - I strongly suggest this show....you meet at the PETCO building and pick up headsets. You head out with your group where a story unfolds. You travel the streets after dark. the first stop is Franklin Court. At each stop, a story with lights, projections and sound is performed for you. The projections are shown on the buildings that the events occured. It is the story of the Declaration of Independance and the men involved. After each "performance" you move on to the next location. Very well done and very moving.

We crawled back to our hotel with exhaustion to pack...on to DC!

 

[Icemann]

were the liberty of lights and the independence tour part of the ABD package

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

So...morning arrived early today! We had to have our bags by the door by 7:30 AM and us in the lobby by 8:30. We also woke up to rain! That's ok tho..it was sunny in DC and we were heading that way!

We loaded onto a coach with a great driver by the name of Fred and started off for DC. The movie on the coach was National Treasure. Watching that movie after visiting a lot of the locations made it all seem so different.

I have to tell you - our guides Mike and Milca are awesome! they have everything we need and are really great at helping you in any ways. Nothing specific...just really great!

We drove thru 30 miles of Delaware and stopped in Maryland for a rest stop. Got myself some mini cinnibons...yum! We headed onward and arrived in DC just before noon.

time for lunch (Did I tell you - I feel like all I am doing is walking and eating!) We stopped at ESPN for lunch. A really nice lunch buffet was set up for us to enjoy. We were each given 40 credits to enjoy in the game room. The kids had a blast!

Back onto the coach for our tour....by the way..its really hot here...high 90's and humid! We dropped a group off for thier bike ride...about half of us stayed on the coach for a tour.

We were taken to the Jefferson Memorial...lots of stairs! But worth everyone! It is incredible.

We have a great tour guide named Greg with us. He is very knowledgible about everything Washington DC!

Next...onward to the Korean Memorial. I did not realize how powerful these would be...wonderful to look at.

We met up our bike group at the Lincoln Memorial and Mike bought us all ice cream!

After enjoying our treat...we headed up to the Lincoln Memorial. I thought the Jefferson Memorial had a lot of stairs! When you get to the top...you turn around and the reflecting pool and Washington Monument in the distance is breathtaking! Things you see on TV all the time and then you are there!

The next stop was the Vietnam Memorial...this was the stop that I did not realize how strongly it would affect me. There are books that you can look up names so you can locate them on the walls. I found 2 cousins names and located them on the wall. Seeing all those names just does something to you...it brought tears to my eyes and I wasn't expecting that. Something so simple and yet so powerful.

We headed off to our hotel...we are staying at the Mayflower..very nice hotel..very famous for celebrations and a few scandals as well. Tonight was the Jr. Adventures Dinner and movie while to parents were able to enjoy a grown up dinner.

We had a little free time so we busied ourselves with postcards (there is a very cool mail slot on each floor) You put your postcards or letters in the clear slot and they fall to the main floor mai box. DD loved it! I will try and take a picture tomorrow.

The kids had a great party of pizza, PB&J and fruit. Followed of course by popcorn for the movie (Wall-E).

We enjoyed a dinner in the hotel restaurant. I had crab cakes for appetizers, a salad with candied walnuts, gargonzola cheese, and a vinegrette. A NY steak with a lemon tart for dessert...I had to leave a little of each thing so i could try it all! It was wonderful.

We finished dinner and the kids finished about the same time.

We have called it a night as tomorrow is another early mornign!

When we arrived in our room...there was a little surprise for us...I won't post it publically so not to ruin it but if you really want to know..send me a PM and I will respond.

Until tomorrow!

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

were the liberty of lights and the independence tour part of the ABD package

No...they are separate things...we booked it for our free time. I really want to see the spots we are going to so I booked several extras. The cost for the Independace after Hours and Lights show was 80 pp but you can do each separately.

The After Hours is 70 and the lights is about 20..you got a deal if you did both.

 

[knewton64]

pack some post cards.


Looking forward to hearing about Wash Dc -

i figure I will catch up back with you around wed or thurs of this week -