Veer Left Before Normalville

As incredibly beautiful as the magnolia trees, the dogwoods, and the cherry trees have been here in Philadelphia, the highlight of our Spring so far was without a doubt a visit from Doug, Carrie and Annie. (Josh will certainly agree with that statement since along with the blossoms his allergies are in full swing.) We had six full days with the Jackson Three and a list of over forty things we wanted to do. Doug had his list. I had a list. And Josh would come home every evening with his own idea of what should be going on. The incredible thing is, we almost fit everything in. After the dreaded drive to the airport to send them away I was completely useless for 36 hours--partly because I was in mourning after having to say goodbye yet again and partly because I was utterly exhausted.

A slight traffic jam on the way into Philly after picking the Jacksonians up from the airport and a quick dinner were all the down time we gave them to recover from their late night, early morning, and long day of traveling. We had places to go!

Our first stop was the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Every Friday night the museum has live music and opens a few of their galleries. There is nothing quite like going to an art museum with an artist. Somehow it helps you to slow down and see things in a different way. There is also nothing quite like going to an art museum after bed time with two crazy little girls who missed their naps. Annie and I found a nice hall where there were no pictures, no guards, and no guests, called it a dancing place, and let the girls spin to their hearts’ content while Doug and Carrie perused the galleries.

The next morning Kate was so excited to have visitors in the house that she hurried downstairs and jumped on the futons as soon as she woke up. We needed to get an early start anyway, so we were glad to have such a cute alarm clock. I hope Doug and Carrie and especially Annie felt the same way. Our plan was to make a pilgrimage over Easter Weekend to see Falling Water, the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, in Western Pennsylvania. We drove through Lancaster County on the way out. It was beautiful to see the countryside coming alive in the Spring. We saw Amish men plowing their fields with teams of six horses. We saw laundry drying on the lines. We bought some apple butter and a fresh loaf of bread from a roadside stand and ate that for lunch. Everything was bursting with life and energy and an undertone of simplicity. The entire drive was spectacular.

About five miles from Falling Water we came to the outskirts of a town named Normalville. Anxious as we were to see such a place, we were directed to veer left just before entering the town. Doug started to laugh and we decided it was rather appropriate for our assemblage. A new mantra for the family: Veer left before Normalville!

Falling water was incredible. Absolutely incredible. Touring it was one of those experiences where you keep thinking, “Wow, I am really here.” After studying the design, the architect, and looking at pictures over and over again in books it was amazing to actually be walking through the house. And again, being there with Doug was great. He notices every detail that I am so quick to overlook but that makes the whole design what it is. I was glad to know he had a camera and I could copy all his pictures. Like Carrie said, being at Falling Water was almost a spiritual experience for Doug and I was happy to be hanging on the coat tails of greatness.

Josh gets the dad, husband, & brother-in-law of the year award because he stayed outside and played with the girls while we went on the tour. For some odd reason they didn’t want our little monkeys inside the house. I must admit that in the main living area there are low couches with colorful pillows arranged geometrically that echoed the construction in the walls and windows. I took one look at those pillows and wondered how long it would have taken my girls to run over and pull all of them onto the floor. That is one of their favorite games at home. Earlier in the day we had been telling Doug and Carrie about our trip to New York City and how Kate and I went to Mary Poppins while Josh and Jane explored Times Square. As we exited the tour and met up with Josh, Doug said, “Wow, you have seen the outside of some really great attractions lately.” Too true. Too true.

I do think, however, that he enjoyed some adventure time with his girls one-on two. They threw sticks in the river, climbed trees, collected rocks and had fun being together. Jane fell into the river. We decided for her the estate could be called Falling In Water. Kate and Josh had a conversation about the creation. Kate was wondering where the trees and water and grass came from. Josh talked with her about how Heavenly Father and Jesus created it all for us. She asked if they created ALL the trees and ALL the rocks, etc. Then she concluded, “They must have been tired when they got back to Heaven.”

Our Easter Sunday was a little different. We forewent the plastic eggs and baskets and candy and even church and went to Gettysburg. (In case you think we are total heathens we did read a few conference talks and the accounts of the Resurrection from the New Testament as we drove.) We are getting better at Gettysburg. Before our last trip we watched the Ken Burns’ documentaries on the Civil War and this time we borrowed an in-car audio tour from our friends. It gave us a great grasp on what took place where and how the battle unfolded. In a way, it was a very appropriate place to be on Easter. The ground in Gettysburg almost feels sacred. It is beautiful now although it was the site of so much horror and suffering. There is so much to learn, to remember, and to be thankful for from the battle that occurred there. I don’t know of a better place to feel the reality of the fact that the sting of death is swallowed up in the hope of the Resurrection through the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Monday morning, after our pilgrimage weekend we decided to “take it easy”. Instead of driving we walked...and walked and walked and walked and walked. We headed from our house toward the Art Museum and then down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. We passed through Lincoln Square where the main library, the science museum, the catholic cathedral, the natural history museum and the LDS temple lot are located. (How does the church acquire such real estate?!) The girls played in the fountain for a few minutes and then we continued on to LOVE park, City Hall, and a fun plaza with giant game pieces scattered around it. We all played there for a few minutes and then continued on to Reading Terminal Market.

Reading Terminal Market is a huge indoor market. It can be rather overwhelming at first. There are hundreds of vendors offering just about anything you can imagine. If you get past the initial shock, however, it is a really fun place to wander around. We made a couple laps and then we all chose something different for lunch. Kate & Jane had noodles. Carrie had a sandwich from a Mediterranean place. Annie had lasagna. I had falafel. And Doug had a cheesteak. Then we all went together to get a smoothie and some treats to top us off.

Nourished and refreshed we set out on our Center City trek again. We walked to the Kimmel Center for Doug and to H&M for Carrie. The girls were ready to implode by then so we headed home with Carrie while Doug and Annie, ready for more adventure, went to the Franklin Institute, the science museum, for the rest of the afternoon. Josh arrived home in time for dinner and made sure we had a fun evening playing games and eating tasty treats.

The next day was our historic district tour. We braved the public bus so as to avoid paying through the nose for parking. One man, two women, one teenager (almost), two little ones, a double stroller, lunch, cameras, bags...we were quite the addition the rush hour bus traffic. The Jackson Three were eager to see everything so we had quite the day: Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, Benjamin Franklin’s burial place, Betsy Ross House, Christ Church, and Elfreth’s Alley. That may not sound that impressive but when you add the security checks, the Ranger tours and all the walking, it was a pretty ambitious agenda. Josh met us a Christ Church and we were all able to tour it for the first time. Then, of course, we ended at the Franklin Fountain, an old fashioned ice cream parlor that is quickly becoming one of our favorite spots to take visitors, especially after a day like that. The real question is this: Was Josh really that excited about touring Christ Church or did he just show up for the ice cream?

After our Center City excursion and our Historic District exploration we were in prime condition for a smovie night. Once again, party planner Josh got us all ready and excited for an evening of fun and brought in the incredibly tasty treat. We watched National Treasure because it has scenes in a lot of the places in Philadelphia, all of which we had seen. I’m pretty sure it makes you a vicarious movie star when you could give them directions through Reading Terminal Market and show them the short cut through security at Independence Hall.

Wednesday we were ready for a change of pace. Doug directed us to the Brandywine River Museum. I had passed the sign for that museum several times but in my mind it was full of otter pelts. In reality, it was a great collection of illustrations and fine art. They have a special exhibit now of Caldecott Medal winners, so we saw the original drawing from Where the Wild Things Are, The Little House, Arnold Lobel’s Fables, Make Way For Ducklings, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, The Snowy Day, etc. Kate loved it because she recognized all the pictures from books we have at home or have checked out from the library and I felt as excited as if I were three-years-old as well. I decided I really like illustration. It is a very approachable form of art.

From there we headed to Longwood Gardens (my favorite place to which I must take all my visitors)! The Spring Flowers are in bloom so we spent the afternoon smelling hyacinths and taking in the beauty of tulips, hydrangeas, orchids, you name it. As we were walking through one of the gardens Jane looked up at me and said, “mine happy!” It is hard not to feel that way amidst such pure beauty.

We also ate lunch at the “resternaut,” where we made an embarrassing number of trips through the line. The first was for our food. Tasty and filling. The second was for an array of desserts to share. Delightful. As we were polishing them off Carrie said, “Now that we have tasted them all, we can all choose which one we would like to have.” We laughed but before we knew it we had another round of delicious desserts, which we had no trouble whatsoever polishing off.

Game night that evening was the time for hard decisions. We had wanted to take a quick road trip down to Washington DC but we still had a list of places we wanted to visit in Philadelphia as well. In the end, Philly won out. I have to wonder how much Annie influenced that decision. She became the official unofficial car sick patrol. Kate has trouble in the car at times. Fortunately, she is pretty good at warning us. Annie is the only eleven-year-old I know who would hear her little niece say she was going to puke and so immediately grab a zip-lock bag, flip around and catch it on the way out. We bought her a pair of sunglasses as a small token of our appreciation, which we affectionately referred to as her protective eye-wear. I have to wonder how appealing another road trip sounded to Annie.

In the end, we crossed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge into New Jersey first thing in the morning to visit Walt Whitman’s home. Being off the beaten path, the house tour was very low key and the Ranger was very personable. Seeing the interest of Doug, he kept giving us more and more information. There were no ropes or glass barring you from getting to close to things. It was just us, big piles of papers, old shoes and canes, and original furniture. We should have left the girls tied to the carriage stop in front, but other than that it was great.

Following our brief New Jersey stint we went back into Philly to see a few of the historic places we had missed. We walked through Franklin Court, the former location of Benjamin Franklin’s house which his less than bright decedents tore down, spent a few hours at the National Constitution Center, and tried to go to the Declaration House, the place Thomas Jefferson was staying when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately, we missed the one hour of the day in which it was open. Who planned that?

Our final grand adventure was a drive out to Valley Forge. We picked Josh up at the Penn campus and spent a few minutes exploring while we waited for him to finish up. Then we hit the road and arrived in Valley Forge just at that great time of evening when things start to get quiet and peaceful and the mosquitos as big as your head come out for dinner. I was hoping to see fireflies, but it must be too early in the season. We got mosquitos instead. In spite of that, Valley Forge was beautiful. We were able to step into a few of the replicas of the huts the troops built and see General Washington’s headquarters. Then we just drove around a little and enjoyed the beauty of the place.

To top off a great evening, a great day, and a great week we went out for cheesteaks. Not the road kill and cheese whiz kind, as I affectionately refer to some renditions, but the food snob kind. Again we ate too much but enjoyed doing it.

One more smoothie. One more game night. One more yummy breakfast. One more mini-adventure to the Eastern State Penitentiary for Carrie, Annie, and me and the Rodin Museum for Doug, Josh, and the girls and our time was officially up. I thought about getting lost on the way to the airport. We had a wonderful week. We packed every minute and did a pretty good job of seeing the sites in Philly. The best part, of course, was being together with family. In case you haven’t noticed from my weekly plea for visitors, I live for company. I love to have time together with those we love and miss so much. I long to know that the family bonds we held so dear while living in the West can extend over twenty-five hundred miles to the place we now call home.

Here is to the ties that bind and stretch!