Day 29

We spent the morning with Tim’s grandparents eating kugen and playing password. They sent us on our way with plenty of cookies and safe travel wishes.  

 The drive to Philidelphia went pretty smoothly and when we got in, it was time for Philly Cheese Steaks. We had been given a few recommendations, and decided to go with Pats. The first parking spot we found was the closest one to the restaurant, so the meal was off to a good start before it began. We all ordered wit and sat down for a messy, great, classic Philly meal. The girls were pretty full, and then Andrew got up to go across the street to Genos, the other philly place we were told to try. Tim and Andrew both got another, and determined that the cheesesteaks from Pats were better. While the boys were enjoying their second meal, the girls explored around the corner and found Cafe Crema, a cute bakery that specialized in cannoli. We each wanted one mini one, but wouldn’t you know it, they only sell the mini by the half dozen. So we got six. Two for each of us and one for each of the boys. They were perfect! The boys were probably a little too full to fully enjoy theirs, but through the girls persistent encouragement, they were all eaten. 

  After our late lunch we parked at the stadium and began to explore Citizens Bank Park. We were lucky enough to have tickets to go during a theme night, and got to participate in 60’s night. We heard some of the best in-game music of the trip and the Phillies made it really fun. We got to see a few tribute bands for Jimmy Hendrix (who played the national anthem), the Beatles, and the Monkees. 

The Phillies took on the Cardinals, and we weren’t surprised by the outcome. The Phillies aren’t having a great season, and the Cardinals are one of the best teams in baseball right now. Megan took over as official score keeper for this game, and Tim was there to help her when things got confusing. The Cardinals won 12-4. 

  The game had its exciting moments, as most ball games do, but tonight we saw something pretty unique. I encourage you to google for a video. A squirrel managed to get into the park, and was climbing the net behind home plate before running along the top wire and falling into the Cardinals dugout. You read it right, into, not on. He landed on a couple of players and then went to hiding under the camera mans stand. We learned most of the details after the fact, but we saw the fall, and the reaction from the crowd on that end of the park was hysterical! 

After the game was done we loaded up the car and drove the long and tiring drive to New Jersey. Just kidding, it was one of our shortest drives of the trip. We got to enjoy some Yuengling beer and homemade pasta sauce before tucking in for night 1 of 2 in New Jersey.