Weather in NY rainy. Philly 80 and sunny.

Somehow we made it through New York unscathed and accomplished. It was pretty easy transportation wise. We rode taxis, subways and trains. We walked for miles in sun an rain. They did GREAT! These are times that I (we) take to teach appropriateness in restaurants, subways, public places. How to be safe and not look like a target. Ben is a worry wart we have discovered. We have been teaching him to be a kid and let us worry if worrying is needed. Both of us can be dramatic when something is happening which triggers him. Teaching and learning moments. We want him to push through his fears. Yes, we are protective and cautious but we are adventurous too.

So, we walked a couple of blocks in the rain to take the train from Grand Central this morning back to Stamford, Ct. I like taking trains. The kids didn't blink an eye. We could not have confidently taken them to New York without Paul's brother taking us around and showing us NY when he lived there. It's an hour back to CT. Our Beast was safe and sound waiting for us. Off to NJ.

Our plan was to go to Liberty Park in NJ but the weather dictated our plans. It was raining and not such a nice day for a boat ride. The kids were ok with that. They saw her and were satisfied.
Elizabeth and I wanted to go to Carlos Bakery in Hoboken. Buddy beats Lady Liberty. Daddy obliged. We detoured into Hoboken. We parked a half a mile away from the bakery. Not a touristy area. Just local folks, restaurants and apartments. We wandered in the direction of the Cake Boss's bakery. She and I were excited. Along the way, I passed a car and something made me look back. Buddy's mom was sitting in a van with her window open. I looked and said, "It's Buddy's mom!" Then she motioned us to come over. We chatted a moment about her health. She told me she was in Israel for stem cell treatment for her illness. She was just as excited to see us as we her. Like she was the mom of someone we knew. She was a classy lady. A couple of other girls passing by to go to the bakery saw us and realized it was her too. She told them to come over for a picture. She is such a doll. Made my day! Made Elizabeth's day. At lunch Elizabeth made a noise and said she was thinking about meeting her. She loves cake boss. The bakery line was too long so we had lunch in Hoboken and headed on our way.

Now we are in Philadelphia. Not sure about it. We are in a Marriott again. Really nice. A few streets over, not so nice. A bit seedy around here. We got in around dinner time. We ate at a local place and had a great waiter who told a bit about the town and where to go. Tomorrow, we will head over to the historic district and look around. Then off to Deleware and Maryland.

I feel like I'm in another country. Nobody speaks English. It is crazy how many foreigners are everywhere. We are in the pool in Philly and two different families in the pool are from somewhere else. Crazy. Melting pot.

Finally doing some laundry here. We have been doing great with the plastic drawers and backpacks. Works great. Everywhere we go, people are impressed at our efficientness.

Updates tomorrow.