The Best EVER sandwich

Our second day in Philadelphia greeted us with rain and cold temperatures so we stuck to the indoor activities of swimming and eating.

Our family made an afternoon visit to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch.  This is one of the largest indoor farmer's markets in the country.  It was started in 1893, has over 80 vendors and covers over 1.5 acres.  It's huge and busy.  They have everything there from fresh produce grocers, to butchers, to fish mongers, to Amish bakers, to crafters, etc.  You also have a huge choice of prepared foods to choose from.  Chinese? Greek? NY style delis?  Cheesesteaks?  Amish food?  Ice cream? Chocolates and candies?  They got it all.

Reading Terminal Market

This was my second visit to the market and this time I was determined to taste the renowned Roast Pork Sandwich from Tommy DiNic's.   I have seen it on tv, I've read about it, and now I was finally going to have one.  But first, I had to wait in line...the longest line in the whole market.  Well, the line doesn't lie.  The sandwich was glorious, delicious, the BEST.  It was also huge.  In fact, when I took it back to our table, I told Dave to split it with me, which may have been one the best things I have ever done for him, because he also declared, "that is the BEST SANDWICH I have ever eaten!"  If we had been there longer, we probably would have gone back for more, because we seriously couldn't stop thinking about this sandwich.

Okay so here it is...

The Sandwich to End All Sandwiches

Don't let this picture fool you.  The sandwich is simple, but man, is it GOOD!!  Basically, it starts with a delicious Italian roll, sliced and layered with sharp Provolone cheese, filled with tender and juicy roast pork and topped with "greens" in this case garlic-sauteed broccoli rabe.  The combination of the three ingredients just makes for the perfect bite of flavor and the Provolone definitely has to be sharp.

Who needs a cheesesteak when you can get a pork sandwich???

Okay, enough ranting about DiNic's.  The girls did well in their eating adventures as well.  They started with a traditional Pennsylvania hot pretzel.



The girls, waiting for their hot pretzels

Then Ashley had a sandwich that was also pretty awesome.  It was a traditional turkey sandwich but the turkey was cut hot from the oven right off the breast bone, almost as good as Thanksgiving.  We also enjoyed some of the other treats offered at the market such as fry pies and sticky buns from an Amish bakery, creamy ice cream, fresh-made fudge (strawberry cheesecake) and whoopie pies from the Flying Monkeys bakery. 

Creme brulee, Red Velvet, and Irish Creme whoopie pies

Sorry, but I'm sucker for bakeries!

This eating frenzy, was just par for the course during our stay in Philly.  We met Debby and Sameer every evening for dinner and it was always a good time.  We went to a Brazilian steakhouse one night---to the delight of Ashley and Debby, the "meat and potato" girls.  We also went to a fancy restaurant called Buddakan, it is Asian fusion and very good.  We went to that one for Paige who saw their "dim sum doughnuts" on a tv show and had to have them.  The doughnuts were good but I loved the crab and lobster spring rolls and the pork dumplings...yummy!

Dim Sum Doughnuts, dusted with sugar and five-spice served with
three different dipping sauces.

 



Debby and Sameer

Philadelphia, Here We Come

Day two, we hit the road after breakfast to start our 7 hour drive across Ohio and Pennsylvania to Philadelphia.  We were quite surprised by the scenic beauty of the Pennsylvania countryside.  It is heavily wooded with rolling hills, rivers and mountain passes.  The girls were surprised to be driving up hills for a change.  Dave and I couldn't remember the last time we saw runaway truck ramps----they definitely don't have those in the flatlands of Illinois.

This was a pretty uneventful day.  We stopped for lunch in a small town outside of State College, PA that looked like it was straight out of the movie, Deer Hunter, steep streets with rows of historic homes, it was really interesting.

We pulled into Philadelphia about 6pm that night and were greeted by my sister Debby and her boyfriend Sameer.  We stayed with them at their downtown condo in the Ritz-Carlton Residences, as hotel rooms were scarce due to a huge medical and nurses convention in town.  The girls were happy to take advantage of the swimming pool and hot tub!

Philadelphia is really a charming city, probably a tad under-rated.  It really is an interesting blend of big city, historical charm, and architectural creativity.  I was also very impressed by the city's commitment to public art.  Sculptures and public works of art are all over the place.

The day after we arrived, our family took a tour of the city on a double decker bus.  This really is a great way to see the whole city and learn about it's history, etc.  There are a total of 21 points of interest or stops on the tour and you can get on and off at any time.  The whole time you have a tour guide giving you information and explaining stuff such as "cheese whiz on your steak sandwich is a tourist thing, real Philadelphians eat real cheese, whiz is a gut bomb." 

We basically got off at two places: the Museum of Art and Indepedence Hall.

The Museum was a must, I mean you HAVE to run the stairs!



Our next stopping point was Old Town for lunch and some history.  We ate in a cute little place called Soho that had the best pizza and coolest atmosphere (I love exposed brick!)



After lunch we then walked up the street to do what we came for: see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall!  The girls learned a lot and once again, you are amazed to be walking in the footsteps of people like George Washington, James Madison, and Ben Franklin.

Ashley and 1st amendment

The Liberty Bell



In front of Independence Hall



Inside the very room where the Continental Congress met



George Washington's desk and original chair up front



Independence Hall



After our day of sightseeing we headed back to the condo to get ready for dinner.  Debby, who is in serious contention for "favorite aunt" gave the girls make-overs which included doing their nails, hair and make-up.  They loved it!

Kirtland, Ohio

En route to Philadelphia, you have to drive through Ohio.  Cleveland is about the halfway mark from Chicago to Philly.  Just outside of Cleveland is a little town called Kirtland, the location of the first Mormon temple built in 1836.  It still stands today.  Also there are preserved and refurbished buildings from the early days of the Mormon church. 

Our family had never been to Kirtland and so this was a perfect time to stop, see the sites and learn a little more. 

We didn't pull into Kirtland until about 3 in the afternoon, which didn't leave us much time to see the sites.  Fortunately, we were able to catch the last tour of the day at the Kirtland Temple.  What a magnificient structure.  It was very touching and amazing to stand in this building, knowing the sacrifices that were made to build it and the events that took place inside.

Dave and the girls at the front door.  This huge green door is original, even the color is the same.  Pictures are not allowed inside, but fortunately visitors are able to tour inside.  We were able to visit all three floors climbing the steep steps and seeing a lot of original handiwork.  There are so many windows in the temple that the whole building is bright, white and filled with light.  There really is a peaceful and spiritual feeling surrounding the building.

After our temple tour was complete, it was after 5pm and we figured that the other historic sites were probably closed, but we decided to drive by just so we knew where they were.  As we came upon the LDS Church visitor center, we found that they were still open and "would give tours as long as there were people who wanted them."  We were not turned away but rather welcomed.

Our tour here mainly consisted of visiting the Newel K. Whitney Store.  It is here that Joseph Smith lived for a short time and received many revelations.  About 80% of everything here was original.  Again we were overcome by the thoughts of what took place in this small building so many years ago.

The original desk where Joseph Smith wrote down many
of the revelations he received in this very room.



The kitchen of the Whitney home

 After almost two hours here, it was time to leave.  Unfortunately, there were other historic sites around the area that we didn't get to visit because we didn't have enough time...but that's okay just another reason to go back.

We checked into a nearby hotel that evening, had a late dinner and the girls had a late, late swim before bed.  Then were off again in the morning.

Spring Break - Americana

We hit the road for Spring Break this year, for a big dose of Americana.  We drove through the American Rust belt from Chicago, to Elkhart, to Cleveland, to Youngstown, to Pittsburgh, to Philadelphia.  We soaked up lots of American history and walked on hallowed ground.

We packed a lot of stops and miles into our trip and a lot of tasty food into our bellies.

We also successfully survived our first family road trip--over 1750 miles.  We made it just in the nick of time because the morning after we got home, Paige and I both went to the doctor.  I had strep throat and Paige had a horrible upper respiratory cold that left her with double ear infections and in need of inhalers.  Fortunately, we were mostly healthy during our trip and had the weekend to recuperate.

So stay tuned for some Revolutionary War history, Civil War history, Mormon Church history, Rock and Roll history and the best sandwich ever eaten.

The W I N N E R S

Ashley's Activity Days church group had a Daddy Daughter Dinner and Dance.  They were told to dress in a matching way so you could tell who belonged with who--suggestions included matching hats, bandanas, etc.  Some girls wanted to dress up fancy, but we don't roll like that:

Ashley and Dave are more of the duct tape, sweatbands, & t-shirt types, or in this case the "Winners"  Ashley was #1 and Dave was #2.

Part of the dance portion of the evening was a Just Dance 2 competition--right up Ashley's alley.

They had a great time, laughing, eating, dancing and just hanging out.

March Stuff

While hoping, waiting and praying for Spring, we have kept busy with lots of different activities:

First up, is Ashley with some work and some play:

Ashley's research project for English.

Ashley's Choir performance at the district Fine Arts Festival

Trampoline poses!

I also finished up all my Relief Society responsibilities.  My final project was the RS birthday dinner and program.  The theme was Simple Gifts: Our Relief Society Heritage.  We kept it very simple and overall I think it turned out very nice.

Relief Society Birthday Celebration

Now for Paige.  Her life right now is pretty much playdate after playdate.  This school year, I have been babysitting our neighbors' daughter before and after school a few times a week.  She is the same age as Paige, so basically it is pretty much a playdate day after day.  Paige loves it!  She always has someone to play with.  Add this to the requests from friends at school and church and she is never without something to do. 



Paige and her school friend Riley feeding the fish at our neighborhood lake



Finally!  Warm enough (sort of) to play outside!

Poor Dave, I don't have any pictures.  I could have pictures of him working on the computer or talking on the phone, but you get the point--he is just working away.  Fortunately, in his new position, he has been able to work from home a lot, so that is a new thing.  He is definitely around a lot more which is GREAT!    Recently, if he has not been working he has been sick.  So far he seems to be the person catching all the yucky stuff out there --- strep, colds, flu, etc.  Hopefully, he will continue to keep it to himself.

Freschetta House Party

So I won another House Party!  This one was sponsored by Freschetta Frozen Pizza.  The party kit included free pizza, pizza cutters, coupons, plates, napkins and some of my very own Freschetta oven mitts!

The particular theme of this party was "Fresch from the Silver Screen" in honor of the Academy Awards.  So we had a little movie party with friends, which included eating Freschetta pizza for dinner, "gold star" cookies, peanut butter bars, popcorn, and movie theater candy.  Thanks to our dinner guests we did have fruit and salad too!  Someone had to be healthy, but it wasn't me.



The goodie table

 After dinner, we filled out prediction ballots for the Oscars and then played a movie trivia game.  We made Dave be the question reader, because he just knows way too much about movies...he would have had an unfair advantage.

I thought it was a fun evening and very easy.  What could be better than free pizza, movies and friends? 

P.S.  I got lots of extra pizza cutters if you want one...