Northeast Adventure: Vermont and Philly

We rounded out our tour of the Northeast with a visit to Vermont and Philadelphia.  After our stop at Santa's Village, we headed to Burke Mountain to stay with Grammy and Papa for five nights.  We packed in as many outdoor activities as possible as we toured around my home town.

We visit the Wildflower Inn each year so Whitley can see the closest thing Vermont has to a zoo.  By zoo I mean a few horses, goats, cows, and a donkey.  Whitley liked posing with these goats as they stood on the giant spools.

I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone who thinks I could see a donkey and not make a comment about what a beautiful ass it was.

Papa and Grammy pose with Whitley with Burke Mountain in the background.

...and another photo with Mommy and Daddy.

Welcome to Vermont in August!  We actually have had more than one summer where the temperatures have been quite high.  On this day, we went to Willoughby Lake and the wind was blowing quite hard.  Papa and Cristie alternated between the beach and the car so they could get a break from that cold wind.

We always have to make our way to Chappy's for some soft-serve ice cream.  Mychaela, Scott, Liam, and Whitley enjoy a tasty treat before they went down to throw stones in the river.

Delicious!  I was so excited!

Uncle Mike got in on the ice cream action as well.

We woke up early after our last night in Vermont to drive down to Philadelphia.  It was a long drive, but we had no trouble with traffic at all.  We arrived at our hotel at Penn's Landing by around 4:00 in the afternoon.  We had a very comfortable room on the 17th floor, so the view was great!  Pictured above is our real Philly Cheese Steak from Campo's Deli.  We saw online that this was the best place to go.  Of course, when you tell people that, they all tell you it is not.  Oh well, I think I like Jersey Mike's in Mebane better anyway.  

We planned ahead to go on the Philly Duck Tours.  The captain of this amphibious vehicle drove us on a tour of the city before driving right into the Delaware River to round out the tour along the water.  It was a fun way to get an overview of a town.  Whitley had a fun time, especially when they gave her a duck bill honker.  She honked this at the tour guide at the end. 

Mommy and Whitley on the Duck Tour!