Lemons turned into Lemonade

For our summer Philadelphia vacation, we rented a home in Drexel Hill for us, Jacyln, Blake, and Lilly, Lizzy and Stas, and the IL Grandparents to stay for the week.  The house had never been rented, so Tammy and I had visited the home and the gentleman who owned it back in February.  It met our needs for parking and bedrooms/bathrooms.  It was a little far from the city, but choices are minimal in the Philly area to rent.

Two weeks before arrival, I emailed the owner with a question about early check-in.  I received no answer.  I tried again a week before and still received no answer.  I looked up the rental on HomeAway and noticed it was no longer listed on the site.  I called customer service and was told we would have to go to the home and be denied entrance before any action could be taken on their part.

Tammy and I left for our vacation early Friday morning with the intent of stopping by the house to see what was up before everyone's arrival on Saturday.  When we arrived, we came upon an elderly lady dragging a box out the front door.  We asked if she lived here to which she replied yes.  Great I thought.  The house has been sold.

We explained to her that we had rented the home for the week from a gentleman.  She said the gentleman was her son who had been hospitalized for some time.  She was there cleaning up because a squirrel had gotten into the home.  She was not comfortable with us staying there.  We told her we would be willing to not stay but her son would have to cancel for us to get our money back.  Upon learning our money would need to be reimbursed, she was willing to have us stay but would need to check with her other son who was coming by later that day.  We exchanged phone numbers and left.

A few hours later, we received a call from the other son saying we could not stay at the home.  We said that was fine but he would need to call HomeAway to cancel so we could get our money back.  He did, and a half hour later we received a call from HomeAway to begin the process of getting us a home for the next day that met our needs.

The rental that HomeAway found for us far exceeded our needs and the price we had originally paid.  We made out really well that week with the new house -- See Philly Summer 2018 entry.  A real negative turned into a huge positive.

Philly Summer 2018

On Friday, August 10, Tammy and I headed to Fort Washington, PA for the Gangwer Family Reunion on Saturday, August 11.  We stayed in Horsham at a hotel with the VT and NY Gangwers, the Beauchmins, Stas and Lizzy, as well as Blake, Jaclyn and Lillian.


The reunion on Saturday went very well.  We had 74 in attendance including my dad's three sisters from the area with lots of cousins and their children.  It was catered by Mission Barbecue with lots of salads and desserts brought by those in attendance.  It was a hot and muggy day for the first half.  Then a really good thunderstorm moved in to the area cooling things down.  The day wrapped up around 5pm.

After the reunion, Tammy and I headed to our rental in South Philly.  (The rental ordeal is another story for another time -- see Lemons turned into Lemonade entry.)  The Kelly's met us and Jaclyn, Blake, and Lilly there the first night.  (Lizzy and Stas stayed one more night at the hotel in Horsham.)   The house was really nice.  It had a rooftop deck, and contrary to our worries, parking was not that big of an issue for us with the four vehicles.

Sunday morining we headed into Old City to met up with the Beauchmins and the NY Gangwers to take the Philly Phlash to some of the highlights of that area.  We hit the Liberty Bell, outside of Independence Hall, the Rocky Statue, the Reading Terminal, and the Franklin Institute and Planetarium.

Monday was suppose to rain so we decided to cash in Stas' Christmas gift from several years ago of an all expense paid visit to an escape room.  We did the Liberty Escape -- which even Grandpa Kelly participated in.  We also had lunch at the City Tavern.

On Tuesday, Stas and Lizzy and Jaclyn and Blake went to Citizen's Bank Park to see the Phillies vs the Red Sox.  Tammy and I took Lilly to the Please Touch Museum.  She loved to pretend to drive any vehicle she could get a seat in.  Wednesday, we all headed to the zoo thinking Lilly would enjoy it.  Wrong.  She  wasn't that impressed; so Tammy and I took her home and visited the local playground near our rental.  The others spent the day exploring what and where they wished.

Thursday was a day of baseball for some of us as Jaclyn, Blake, Stas, and I headed back to Citizen's Bank Park for a double header between the Phillies and the Mets.  It was a scorcher of a day both literally (it was so hot and humid) and in scoring (Mets 24, Philies 10 in the first game).  Tammy, Grandma Kelly, Lizzy, and Lillian visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art where Lilly enjoyed making art but not showing it off.

On Friday, the Kellys left for home.  Tammy and I stayed put with Lilly in the rental while the rest did more exploring of Philly on their own.  They did bring us some soft pretzels to snack on, and we ended the night playing board games.

Saturday was departure day for all of us.  First, Jaclyn, Blake, and Lilly to catch their plane.  Lizzy and Stas next to for their drive back to CT.  We were last as we weren't heading home but to Aunt Joan and Jerrilyn's house for a visit.  We had some time to kill so we stopped at the King of Prussia Mall.  We then headed over to Aunt Joan's for a good home cooked dinner.   We spent a good five hours there talking about family.

Sunday found us on the road for our three hour trip back home.

Pictures of our vacation can be seen at https://photos.app.goo.gl/CKkWyxuDaMHW2qcz6