Employee Must "Wash Hands"

 Allentown Trip

 August 3 and 4, 2025

In the morning, we went to the Bethlehem Vintage Market in a.m..  I didn't get anything, but V and The Niece got a couple of good deals.  Then we went to a place that was supposed to have the best antique mall in LeHigh Valley but it was closed because they were relocating.   Epic fail.   I decided that we should all get something to eat,  and we went to Iron Hill Brewery.   I ordered Butterscotch Croissant French Toast Sticks and some bacon.   

The breading is a cornmeal crust.
The Niece said it tasted like churros.

Bro thought we would get a kick out of the sign in the men's room.  The one in the women's room was slightly different, but still had errors like this one.  I mean, this is a restaurant chain.  NOBODY proofread these before they created them? Or do they actually think this is correct?

We were at a mall, so we decided to do some shopping.  I went into a place with all kinds of different Asian flavored chips, and found mine!  I was so happy to see the bag there.  I think the flavor is Japanese BBQ because there is a picture of skewered meat and Mt. Fuji.  The flavor reminds me of Filipino BBQ.  I also found some Hokkaido milk bread to buy.  Later at a kiosk,  I found reasonably priced boxes of Big Into Energy Labubu so I got one.  

We didn't do much else but relax at the hotel.   Well, after the housekeeping staff interrupted our attempt to relax by finally coming to clean the suite.  So we waited in a little sitting area nearby on our floor until she was done.   Bro ordered some dinner from Buffalo Wild Wings, and then afterward, we watched "The Matrix" because The Niece chose that over "Bring It On", neither of which she had seen yet.   Then The Niece needed to get in a little workout so V and I sat by the indoor pool while she swam for awhile.   I did bring my swimsuit but didn't feel like swimming, which is good because I forgot to bring a cover-up. I guess I could have changed in the attached restroom.  Whatevs.

The next morning,  we had our hotel breakfast and checked out.   Bro drove us to Philadelphia and parked a few blocks away from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  V and I needed to use facilities but neither the gas station nor the CVS had them available to the public.  We ended up at Luigi's Pizza Fresca for a slice each.   It was fairly good and the theme in the restaurant was The Godfather,  so I took a selfie with Sofia Loren.

Then we walked over to the museum so that our own little Rocky and her family could climb those famous steps.   I decided not to do so, and tried to get a photo of them when they reached the top but The Nephew thought I was just waving and he took my photo instead.   

If you look closely, you can see 
The Nephew
Me, not taking the stairs

They had a gift shop there of Rocky stuff but we didn't get anything.

 
We didn't want to pay for parking again to take a photo with the LOVE sign,  so we skipped that and drove to Independence Hall National Park instead. None of us felt like taking a tour, and the museum wasn't open,  but we did go to the shop and I bought a trio of little books:  The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.  I also got some stickers.   This year has been so eventful that I'll be making a sticker book to commemorate it.

Bronze Sculpture "The Signer"
Independence Hall
George Washington
Behind Independence Hall

We walked across the street to see the Liberty Bell exhibit.  It's different from the time we saw it when we were a lot younger,  and the bell doesn't seem as big,  but I love seeing this part of our nation's history.   There was one portion that showed prices for a band to get sheet music for the Liberty Bell march by John Philip Sousa, and I pressed the button above it to hear the march in its entirety.   

Pretty sure the family wondered where the heck I was that whole time.  V was taking a traditional photo of The Niece leaping in front of a display but was told right afterward,  "Oh, no, there is no jumping here!"  Even if it's controlled and perfectly balletic? Ok, lady, you were too late anyway.   

We then went to the airport and returned our rental car,  where we happened to see the same bright red jeep that was one of Bro's choices when we had arrived. 

V had a conference to attend in Cleveland,  but her flight departure time was at the exact same time as ours. I wanted a sticker of the Liberty Bell. So The Niece and I walked back to the shops and I found a few I liked.  

At least we found this sign
We had dinner at a place where you order from a QR code at your table.   I had scanned the menu earlier when we were sitting at a nearby gate but didn't realize that the code included the table number.   So the server was irritated when he brought the drink to that table, and I wasn't there.   Sorry, sir. V tried to get him to smile later but I guess he wasn't in the mood for that.  We went to our gate and eventually said our goodbyes to V before boarding our flight.   Our plane seemed to be refrigerated because the air conditioning was on full blast and you could see the fog blowing inside.   

Brrr!  It's cold in here!
There must be some Toros in the atmosphere!
(The Niece did not watch that movie, though)
Brrrrrr

We think that we might have seen V's plane on the tarmac as we both waited for our turns to take off.   Bro took a closer look at the photo later, though, and decided it wasn't hers after all.

The flight was a bit cold, but a pleasant one.  Once we arrived at LAX and got our car, Bro drove us back to their house and I drove home so that I could go into the office the next day.  Thank goodness there was a lot to do to keep me awake!

We're done with the drum corps travels for the year, but wait!  I'll be blogging about Finals week anyway.  Stay tuned!