Sunday, September 21, 2025
We hit the road right after church, drove 5 hours, and stayed with a new friend, Emily. She had homemade chili waiting for us on her beautiful farmhouse island along with donuts and apple cider. It was so fun!
Monday, September 22, 2025
We had breakfast at Emily’s and got back on the road, hitting Gettysburg, Hershey Factory, Valley Forge and staying in Philadelphia that night. It was a fantastic day! We loved everything we saw. Here are the pictures:
Hershey Factory, Valley Forge, Philadelphia Temple
Tuesday, September 23
We spent the night in downtown Philly, which was a cool experience. I hate large cities but wanted to do it once–stay the night in a big city, watch people walking everywhere, see taxis and buses. It was really fun! So good for the kids to experience it too and compare it to the quiet life on our little farm.
In the morning we set out to see Philadelphia. We saw Independence Hall, the visitor’s center and the mint. Then we timed it perfectly to be able to meet up with a surprise visitor: Madalyn!!! She flew into Philly that morning and took the train into town and surprised the kids by randomly walking toward them at the Liberty Bell. I didn’t get the best video of it, but it was still epic. You have to see it! She then joined us for the rest of our trip. She’s always wanted to see historical sites and New England so it was the perfect time for her to come along. Luckily she was able to find subs for her shifts at work (she’s a cameraman for BYU TV) and was ok to miss classes.
Philadelphia: Independence Hall and Liberty Bell
After Maddie met up with us we saw Liberty Bell and then got Philly Cheese steaks. It was our one and only time to eat out on this trip. I bought 3 cheese steaks for the 7 of us to share and they were delicious! Maddie has always loved the homemade ones so I wanted to treat her to a real one. It was the perfect celebration meal for Maddie joining us. We were all in such great spirits!
Then we drove through Manhattan just to say we’ve been there and see what it’s like. We saw Times Square, the edge of Central Park, Broadway Street, and the Manhattan Temple. It was fun to see but I’m sure glad I don’t live there. Then we drove through Connecticut and to our campground in Rhode Island. But because of the rain we decided to skip camping and get a hotel instead. Besides, Maddie has flown all night (from midnight to 10am) and was anxious for a good night sleep in a comfy bed.
Everyone was so excited to have Maddie with us that they didn’t settle down for a long time. We had fun warming up nachos with taco meat and toppings I’d brought and being silly for a long time. Eventually we went to bed and woke up ready for day 4.