Isaac's tuckered out after a long day of sight-seeing--and a long night of on-demand nursing.
As many of you know, this past week, our family traveled to Philadelphia for a six-day, five-night stay. The purpose of this trip was for Anique to attend the ASCB (American Society for Cell Biologists) meeting. Our original plan had been to fly, but at the last minute we decided to drive and we were so glad that we did: Isaac is awesome in the car and we had so much stuff to bring (he comes with a lot of winter accessories). Plus, we were able to make a quick stop in Larchmont to see our friends, the Reists (Ali and Jason, sorry we didn't call you, but we figured you would still be at work).
Anique says: "While the trip was a lot of effort to prepare for, I got a lot out of meeting people in my field. And, it got me thinking about what to do after Brandeis."
While Anique spent her days listening to talks on cilia and centrosomes, Isaac and I took in the sights. From our hotel in Center City, we were super close to Independence National Historic Park, so on Saturday, I strapped on the Bjorn and we headed out into the cold to take a tour of Independence Hall. I took a couple of quick pics, but as you will see from the one shot of Isaac and me together, he was rather nonplussed by all that history. Later in the week, we returned to see the Liberty Bell and to visit the National Constitution Center; there, with Isaac asleep in his stroller, I was able to check out the Art of the American Soldier exhibit. Not sure if the website captures it, but for those in/near Philly it's really worth seeing.
On another frigid day (20 degrees), we visited the Franklin Institute, where we saw the Cleopatra exhibit -- very cool! -- and Isaac got to hang out by their giant walk-through heart, a Philly institution that's been there since 1953. Sadly, we didn't actually walk through it, though based on the cacophony of screams we could hear bouncing around its chambers, the experience must have been 25% educational, 75% fun house. (As you can see from the pics, Isaac was most impressed with the taste of his stroller's safety harness. Sometimes it's the simplest things.)
All in all, it was a fun trip. Anique's poster session went really well and even though she was working most of the day, we still had some quality family time, most of which we spent eating. We became regulars at the Reading Terminal Market and on the recommendation of our Philly friends, Morris and Rachel Levine (who we saw for dinner on Monday), we stopped for gelato at Capogira on our way out of town ... even though it was 21 degrees out, even though it was 10:30 in the morning. And let me tell you, it was worth it.
