We met the decoy guy at 2pm at Exit 7a of the NJ Turnpike, and by 4 we were at the Hampton Inn Center City Philadelphia on Race Street. Gaffer and Ava took a swim in the pool for an hour, then we walked a couple of blocks to Fogo de Chao, taking pictures along the way. It was warm and we had a nice time doing a little exploration of downtown Philadelphia. We loved this painting of a library bookshelf!
Ava loved having dinner in the "fancy restaurant" - chandeliers and bottles of wine and ornate woodwork - and had fun trying all the different meats. The waiters were so good to her and made her feel like a special little lady - we had a wonderful time. We slowly made our way back to the hotel and had a good night sleep.
In the morning Ava and Gaffer went down to the breakfast lounge and got trays of food to bring up to the room so we could have breakfast together while I was getting ready to "go to work", then we packed up our stuff and drove over the Ben Franklin bridge to meet up with Joe just over the river in NJ. I headed off to appointments in Philalphia and York, while Gaffer and Ave spent the day with Joe and his wife, Janice. When I arrived at Joe's house (in the pouring rain) at 5:30 to pick them up I found out that Ava had had a great day, and had even given a beaver a bath!
From there we drove to our next hotel in Fairfield, NJ. I had two appointments the next morning, so Gaffer and Ava were going to swim all morning at the hotel until I got back. It was a long ride in the rain on the turnpike, but Ava slept and we read out loud to pass the time until we got to the hotel. We had been upgraded to a luxury suite, with double-doors to get into the room, a living room, and a jacuzzi! It was 8pm or so by the time we checked in, so we ordered room service while Ava tried out the jacuzzi, and then by 9 we were settled in to watch the season premier of Deadliest Catch.
After breakfast together in the restaurant, they went back to the room to change into their swimming stuff while I went off to work. I was back to get them at noon, and we headed north. I knew Ava would be exhausted, and she fell asleep shortly after we left the hotel, but woke after less than an hour with the "sandies" in one of her feet - that's what she calls it when something falls asleep on her body - she's really sensitive to it and will wake up shrieking when it happens. So she never slept again, and was still going strong when we got back to the house. But she didn't go to school the next day - she slept until almost 9!
