A few weeks ago, John, Holly, and I returned from a fabulous vacation to Philadelphia, PA, West Orange, NJ, and Washington, DC. WE HAD THE BEST TIME!!! Our 1st reason to go was for the wedding of our nephew, Eric Wellington to Kristy Sandello. We decided to make it a longer vacation to celebrate Holly graduating with her Master's degree. It was different not having Heather along, but I guess some things have to change as children get married. (We will have to work on a big family vacation when everyone can go.)
Our vacation started in Philadelphia, visiting National Landmarks there. We followed lots (and by lots I mean swarms) of school children around Liberty Square. We were with school children our entire trip as we visited the sites. It must have been field trip week for the schools.
INDEPENDENCE HALL
Our tour guide was quite a character. This is the signing room and she is holding a copy of the Declaration of Independence.
Nancy (and all her school buddies) by the Liberty Bell.
Holly eating a famous Philly Cheesesteak at a local restaurant that was featured on food network for their cheesesteak sandwiches.
WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY
Eric and Kristy's Wedding
The Chateau where the wedding was held.
Eric's dad, Bishop Wellington, performed the ceremony. On cue, two deer came down to the pond behind Brad (so I am told by my husband - I did not see them). It was a beautiful location and a lovely ceremony.
This is Anne and Thatcher's daughter, Makennah. She is adorable and didn't seem to mind hanging out with me on occasion. This is the first time we met her since her birth.
This is Hannah, the flower girl, dancing with the father of the bride. She stole the hearts of many on the dance floor. She danced the night away!
This is a picture to prove that John actually danced with me! I know - it was hard for me to believe that he would do it too! I think he felt peer pressure as his older brother asked his wife to dance first. That's them to the left side of us.
The happy couple!
OUR TWO DAY VISIT TO THE NATION'S CAPITAL
Holly outside the National Archive Building
Air and Space Museum
Natural History Museum
This is us posing with the statue that was seen in the movie "Night at the Museum".
John imitating the hippo
John and Holly on the Mall with the Smithsonian in the background.
Korean War Monument
Lincoln Monument
World War II Monument
Vietnam Monument
Monument honoring nurses during war time
Holly outside the Library of Congress
Inside the lobby of the Library of Congress
Holly and John
The Capitol Building
Plaque honoring the passengers of the flight that went down in Pennsylvania after the passengers overtook the high jackers on 9/11. This plane was supposed to crash into the Capitol.
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Abe Lincoln's top hat
Abe Lincoln's timepiece
Vote for John for President?
Piece of the Berlin Wall
John with our sweet ride - a Jeep Patriot.
MOUNT VERNON
The George Washington Family with part of the John Wellington Family.
Check out all the school children waiting to get inside President Washington's home. Lucky for us we were able to reserve a time by paying a couple of dollars more and we didn't need to stand in this line.
This trip was filled with many movie references from both National Treasure movies as well as Night at the Museum - a night at the Smithsonian. John is big on movie trivia and received many warnings from Holly that there needed to be ten minutes between references. We grew to appreciate our forefathers even more and feel greater pride in belonging to such a wonderful nation. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and appreciated the one on one time with Holly. It was really nice to be able to spend time with Brad and Marilyn and their family and go to Eric and Kristy's wedding. We wish we could visit them more often as we really enjoy their company. It was a difficult time for Marilyn, as her mother passed away a few days before the wedding. She was so good to feed us on Sunday after church, even though they needed to pack and be ready to leave the next day for the funeral. We so appreciate and love them!!!!
Sorry this blog is so long, but we rarely go on such big adventures and I don't often have anything exciting to blog about.
Looks like a wonderful and a fully packed trip. I am happy you could go and have so much fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! Glad you all had a good time and it was great to see you.
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