We Three Jacksons

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Philly for the Fourth (2012)

Since we've been in Connecticut, we've tried to go various places for the Fourth of July to see the fireworks. The first year we were here we went to NYC (really really good fireworks), last year we went to Boston (also amazing), and this year we went to Philadelphia (good fireworks, but too short).
Even though the fireworks were less impressive than anticipated, we had an AMAZING time! Philly is such a great city, and truly an amazing place to be for this particular holiday. There is SO MUCH history there to take in. We were only there for two and a half days, so our trip was a bit of a whirlwind, but so worth it. We were joined by my brother and his girlfriend. Andrew and I took the train (Amtrak) down to Philly and it was so nice not having to deal with a car there. We went down on Monday night and were joined by Jamie and Christy Tuesday morning. We immediately went in pursuit of a Philly Cheesesteak, and successfully found a delicious one at Jim's.

After chowing down, we wandered around the city and did The Constitutional Walking Tour, seeing Benjamin Franklin's grave, Betsy Ross' house, Christ Church, the original foundation of the President's house, the Second Federal Bank, Franklin's Library, and the Quaker Meeting House.

After the tour, we walked over to Elfreth's Alley, one of the oldest existing inhabited residential streets in the country - built in 1702.

We also saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square, before hiking back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

On the Fourth of July, we got up and went to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

We got to see the chair that George Washington sat in while leading the Continental Congress. So cool! Then we bussed it over to the Eastern State Penitentiary. This was the first penitentiary built in the US. Originally, the prisoners were kept in solitary confinement and were not allowed to talk or make noise. This was because the prisoners were supposed to be repenting of their crimes through prayer. It was also to protect the prisoner's identity so that when they were released, they would not be known as a criminal and unable to find work. As the prison grew, this idea faded away. We were able to view much of the prison (crumbling after being abandoned for 20 years before becoming a historical landmark) including Al Capone's cell. We also got to go into "the hole", where I was able to stand up straight, but Andrew, Jamie, and Christy had to crouch.

After exploring the prison for several hours, we hiked over to the fireworks location, near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We saw (from a distance) the Rocky statue and stairs. There was a concert we could hear (and occasionally see) featuring The Roots, Queen Latifah, Common, Darryl Hall, Joe Jonas, and a few others to fill the time before the fireworks started at 11:00. (Not really music either of us listen to...) The fireworks were pretty, but they only lasted about 10 minutes, which was quite disappointing.

On our last day there (Thursday), we got up and ate at Profi's Creperie in the Reading Terminal Market. It was DELICIOUS. I had a nutella and strawberry filled crepe. YUM!

Jamie and Christy left after breakfast, but Andrew and I weren't catching the train until 5:00, so we had time to walk around and see some more sights. We wandered around and saw the Declaration House, where Thomas Jefferson rented a room and wrote the Declaration of Independence. We also saw Carpenter's Hall, where the First Continental Congress met, as well as (the reconstructed) New Hall where the first architecture school was located. The first class of 40 students paid $1.00 tuition! We also got to see the Old State House.

All in all, this was SUCH an AMAZING TRIP! We had a wonderful time and look forward to returning another time because there was so much we missed! We highly recommend visiting Philly if you haven't before. Really incredible place and truly the city of brotherly love.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

(insert book title here) Take 2 (or 3, or 4, or 5...)

I have a confession to make. I love to reread books. That's right. I said it. I reread books. Most people don't understand this compulsion and frequently tell me I'm crazy. "Why?" I ask. It's no different than seeing a movie multiple times, right? I was never able to clearly tell people why I enjoy this so much ... until recently. After several mind-numbing minutes of searching Pinterest one day, I found a quote that enabled me to finally put this compulsion into words. The quote said, "I get absolutely and undeniably attached to book characters to the point where I cry and laugh with them, and physically miss them when I finish reading the book." That is exactly how I feel! I get extremely emotionally invested in the stories I read and grow to love these characters. They become my friends and I miss them when they are gone. So, I reread my books to visit my friends - checkup on them and see how they're doing. I have to make sure that Bella still ends up with Edward, that the O'Malleys still find their perfect matches and catch the bad guy, that Harry Ron and Hermione still defeat Voldemort, and that Sarah can still overcome her past and live happily with Michael Hosea. I love the characters in my books and always look forward to visiting them. It does make it a bit of a problem though when it comes to reading new books and making new friends. So, I am trying to make sure I do a bit of both. For instance, I have recently made friends with Ron Hall and Denver Moore (and I look forward to visiting them again too!). But, I am also looking forward to visiting my Twilight friends again soon. About every year to year and a half, I reread Harry Potter, Twilight, The O'Malley series, The Shopaholic series, Redeeming Love...and the list goes on (and tends to get bigger each year based on the new books I've read!). And, even if I'm not currently reading a story, or visiting my book friends, I still find them creeping into my thoughts. I think about what certain characters would do in a given situation, or just simply randomly reflect on the story I know so well. So there you have it - my confession. my deep dark secret. and my reasons for doing it. I LOVE TO REREAD BOOKS!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Christmas Favorites

Favorite Christmas Carols:

1. O Holy Night
2. Silent Night
3. Once in Royal David's City
4. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
5. Do You Hear What I Hear?
6. What Child Is This?
7. O Little Town of Bethlehem
8. Joy to the World
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. O Come All Ye Faithful

(I couldn't pick just 5!!! There are too many good ones!)

Favorite Christmas Songs:

1. Glorious Impossible
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
3. Baby, It's Cold Outside
4. Ave Maria
5. It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus

Favorite Christmas Movies:

1. It's A Wonderful Life
2. The Christmas Carol
3. The Family Stone
4. The Holiday
5. The Family Man

Favorite Christmas (Eve) Traditions:

1. Matching Christmas Pajamas!!
2. Eating Hamburgers
3. Christmas Eve Service
4. Looking at Christmas Lights
5. Reading The Night Before Christmas

2007 - not an exact match, but both green plaid

2008 - red with reindeer

2009 - gray with candy canes

2010 - blue with polar bears

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanksgiving this year was a little different from normal. Normally (since we've relocated to CT) we all "meet in the middle" at my brother's house in North Carolina for Thanksgiving. This year, my parents were unable to make it, and since my brother would be working most of the time anyway, Andrew and I decided to stay in Connecticut and go down to NYC for the Macy's parade. We figured it was the only time we would be able to go, so we decided to just do it. We are SO GLAD we did! It was wonderful, and if you're in the area for Thanksgiving (and the weather is nice) I HIGHLY recommend doing it. We took the train down to the city on Wednesday evening.
The very first thing we did after getting off the train? Stop by Crumbs to grab a couple of delicious cupcakes to go before they closed! (We've been trying to do this on our last 2 trips to the city this past summer and they always closed before we got there!) Our hotel (The Dylan Hotel) was on Madison and 41st street so we were really close to the parade route. We weren't far from Times Square, so for dinner that night, we wandered down that way and ate at Dallas BBQ. It was good, but the name is misleading - it was on par with the kind of bbq you might find in Chili's, but not the really yummy Texas bbq most of the readers of this blog are accustomed to. However, my burger was absolutely delicious. As we made the trek back to the hotel, we passed through Bryant Park and stopped to watch the ice skaters there. Then, back to the hotel to relax and prepare for our early morning.
We got a wake up call at 5:30am and got up and ready and out the door before 7:00am. We walked over and grabbed a spot across the street from Bryant Park - right in front of Dylan's Candy Bar - and waited. I held our spots while Andrew went in search of warm drinks and breakfast. He eventually made it back with coffee (hot chocolate for him) and breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's. I didn't drink much of mine (anyone who knows me well...or at all...knows why!). Then it became a waiting game. We watched as work crews worked to turn street lights and traffic lights so they would hang over the sidewalk and not the road. We visited with people around us. I took some pictures of our surroundings and the crowd. Finally, at 9:00 am the parade started . . . of course, it didn't get to us until about 9:40am! But when it did, it was wonderful! It was so cool to get to actually be there and see all of the balloons up close. There was only about 1 row of people in front of us, so we could see really well. The weather was gorgeous, and we were actually feeling a little warm by the end of the parade. I think I took a picture of every single balloon - except the ones of characters I absolutely don't like (Spongebob, for instance). It was an incredible experience and I recommend it (but not with small children...wait until they're older. Seriously.)

Here are some of my favorite pics: