A Busy Saturday in the Philly Area

To put the finishing touches on the Gangwer Family Reunion and our August vacation, Tammy and I took a quick trip to Philly on Saturday, April 21.  We left at 5am and headed down 91 to 95. 

Our first stop was the transit station at Frankford Avenue to get some information concerning travelling on SEPTA.  Unfortunately, the internet was not correct, and the customer service offices are not open on Saturday.  We ended up calling the 800 number for customer service to get our questions answered. 

We then had an hour and a half to kill before our next stop.  The  Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion happened to be just down the road from us; so we spent that time there before heading to Sweet Lucy's to try their food as a possible caterer for the reunion.

After eating a sampling of barbecue and sides, we headed to visit a house we are thinking of renting for the week in Drexel Hill.  I thought I could find the house by Google Earth.  Wrong!  There were several houses that looked like it.  We tried two houses before finally getting the right one.  Luckily, the people in the neighborhood were nice.

After a tour of the house, we took a quick walk to the two nearby SEPTA stations.  We then decided to take a look at another house in mid-Philly.  We found the house but not a single parking space despite several circles around the neighborhood.  Tired of trying, we headed to the art museum where we parked and sat for awhile on the steps next to the Rocky statue.

For the night, we decided to stay in Fort Washington.  After checking in, we decided to eat at a second catering option for the reunion -- Mission Barbecue.  It was a hit -- they would be the caterer for the reunion.  On the way back to the hotel, Tammy noticed one of our home choices for the week vacation was nearby.  We drove by it and decided to contact the owner by email for a possible tour the next day.  We also made a stop at the Fort Washington SEPTA station.

The next morning, we received a reply to our email stating the house had been sold, and they needed to take it off the web as a rental.  You think?!?  So we headed back home the way we came --  95 to 91.

An East Coast Visit April 2018

On Monday, April 9, Jaclyn and Lillian arrived with Grandma Kelly for a visit to our house in CT because Blake and his sister were going to a conference in KY.  Lilly's first airplane flights were all great with early arrival times each leg of the trip.

For the visit, Tammy took Tuesday and the rest of the week off.  Lizzy and Stas had off Thursday and Friday.  I took off Friday.

Tuesday was spent in preparation for the "welcome back party" at our house that evening. In attendance were Pastor and Bev, Jim and Elaine, and Chelsea and Carsten.  Wednesday, Lilly and all went to the Enfield library.  She enjoyed playing with the toys inside and then on the playground outside.  Thursday a visit was made to the Springfield Quad Museums.  Friday a visit to Forest Park.  Each evening was spent taking Lilly for a walk around the neighborhood and watching her run around the house entertaining us with song and antics.  After Lilly went to bed, the adults stayed up talking.

The week went too fast and found Saturday upon us.  After a walk to Dunkin Donuts so Jaclyn could get a Dunkin coffee, Ariana and Isabella came over for a play date.  Later that afternoon, Chelsea, Christian, and Carsten paid one last visit before the trip home back west for Jaclyn and Lilly.

We dropped Jaclyn, Lilly, and Grandma K off at the airport at 4am Sunday for their trips back home.

Pictures can be seen at https://photos.app.goo.gl/NXuQcoEQG7x68vD22