Toppall's Travels

My Toppall team and I hit the road at the end of December 2011.  I wanted to make good use of the kids' Winter Break from school and Jeff's vacation time he had built up at work.  I thought it would be fun to see a few things up in the Pennsylvania area.  There were some hits and misses, but overall, a good time was had by all. 

OUR ITINERARY:

Monday, December 26 - the Toppall Hanukkah party at Jeff's parents house in Baltimore.  Spent the night there to get a jump start for our trip on Tuesday.

Tuesday, December 27 - Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ, and dinner with my aunt and uncle in Cherry Hill, NJ

Wednesday, December 28 - Please Touch Museum in the morning, Franklin Institute in the afternoon - both in Philadelphia.

Thursday, December 29 - Crayola Factory in Easton, PA.

We got very fortunate and one our favorite families to hang out with was available to travel with us.  Plus, my cousin Leslie and her family, who lives in Connecticut, was able to join us for our Tuesday's activities.  So this was almost a guarantee of a good time because the kids would have someone to do everything with.

TUESDAY:

Traffic was not an issue and we made it to the Aquarium quickly.  I have to say visiting the aquarium was the only thing I would change in our trip. The kids had fun, but I was a bit disappointed. In years past, I had been to the Baltimore Aquarium and was completely blown away by how fantastic this place was.  Everyone has raved about the Aquarium in Camden and I was expecting something equally as great.  However, I found the building to be closed-in, unable to handle the size of the crowd, and just not as spectacular as I had built the place up to be in my head.  Granted, the rain outside may not have helped and this kept us from watching the Seal show.  Who knows?  That could've changed my mind completely about the place.  If I had not been to the aquarium in Baltimore, this one in Camden may have stood a better chance. 

The name of the the cafe was called "Feeding Frenzy" and this was very appropriate.  It was crazy!  I still can't believe we managed to get 3 tables near each other to sit our crowd of 6 adults and 7 kids.

 
After the Aquarium, we drove to Philly and checked in to our hotel (after a quick stop at my favorite Gluten-Free bakery to pick up some treats).  My sister hooked us up with her guest rewards program profile at the Downtown Marriott, next to the Convention Center.  It was a great location.  The four of us had never stayed all in one room before.  We usually make sure we get a Residence Inn type room and have a door in between the living room and bedroom.  This gives us lots more room and more sleeping options.  This trip was going to be the first time we had to sleep with the kids in the same bed, same room.  Were we setting ourselves up for disaster?  Time would soon tell.

Tuesday night we drove in to Cherry Hill and met up with my Aunt, Uncle, cousin Leslie and her family for dinner.  My Aunt and Uncle took us to a favorite Italian restaurant, Pasta Pomodoro, that has an amazing gluten-free menu.  It was a very yummy dinner and before we knew it, we were driving back into Philly in blinding rain to the hotel.  Good thing I was driving!

Stay tuned for Toppall's Travels:  Part 2 -- Did we make the right decision in our hotel choice?  Did anyone get a good night of sleep?  Was the Please Touch Museum going to disappoint too?  Was this whole trip going to be a let down?   These questions and more answered in part 2.