Monday....On To Philadelphia

I am writing this from the 27^thfloor of the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Monday night. (There is some glitch that it preventing me from posting now,so I will try again in the morning). This high-rise building definitely scrapes the sky and has been here since 1816, although it has only been a Loews hotel for the past 10 years. As we came up the elevator, our ears popped and re-popped several times as the elevator shaft moved ever so slightly.  Not one who enjoys heights at all, this is testing my parameters for fun. Back in DC, we stayed on the 10^th floor and that was high for me. Despite my personal feelings about being eye-to-eye with the man on the moon, I am trying to be a good sport and must admit, the views from our rooms are incredible, especially now that the sun has disappeared and everything is alive with lights. It's beautiful!

We arrived here later than anticipated, due to more sights to see this morning before leaving DC. We woke and were surprised by the glorious weather that had changed from hot and humid to cool and dry – it was gorgeous. There was a huge storm that hit DC yesterday while we were in the Smithsonian. The storm actually caused some significant damage to the area, but we were tucked safely inside and did not suffer and ill effects. In fact, the storm blew through and left the area blissfully cool. We headed downtown to the US Treasury building in DC where we got a look at how money is printed. The kids were not at all interested in the process, but very interested in the end product. Buck was probably the most excited as he found a shirt that he claimed was made “just for” him. It was a bright pink t-shirt that says, “The buck starts here” across the back and he was thrilled to walk out with it. Wade, on the other hand, was disappointed that he could not purchase newly minted coins, but they told us we could go down to Union Station to purchase them. We made the trip down to the huge train station and enjoyed seeing the architecture, all the stonework, the enormous vaulted and domed ceilings and large, carved pillars. There were shops and dining inside, along with terminals for buses, trains and light rail. Wade was thrilled to find his 2010 US Proof set and then we were off.

Our next stop was the Washington National Cathedral and I was the most excited. We did not take an official tour, so I did not immediately walk away with all the history, but we did take our time going through the enormous church. The stained glass was exquisite and there were many, many chapels and prayer rooms throughout the cathedral. The enormity of the main sanctuary immediately reminded me how very small we are compared to our great God. I do not believe that God desires us to build lavish churches, temples and cathedrals in oder to worship Him, but I did enjoy the beauty of this structure.  Buck asked if I would kneel and pray with him, which we did in one of the smaller chapels and we were also blessed to be part of a small prayer given by one of the Episcopalian priests.

One of the coolest sights along the way was Embassy Avenue, where all of the Embassy’s are located for each country.  I wish we would have had time to go through and visit some of them, but it was really an awesome sight to see all of their flags waving over each residence.

We are slowly adapting to East coast time and tonight I am actually tired at the appropriate time. We hope to wake early tomorrow to go see the Liberty Bell and a few other historical sights before traveling an hour north to see my sister. We will be dropping our girls off and taking her two oldest boys back to Philly for the Phillies vs Dbacks baseball game.  It’s been another fun-filled day and we’re looking forward to God’s blessings tomorrow.

Due to a camera snafu, I am unable to post photos tonight but am hopeful I can download tomorrow. Thanks for checking in to follow us along on our travels!