Making up, Valley Forge National Park and Philly

We got up Friday morning and decided to take Penny Lane for a run before we got in the car for the drive to Philadelphia.  It was a training run of sorts but mostly just a work out some Penny energy before putting her in the car.  There was a nice little park with a great trail not too far from the motel. The trail is paved but it cuts through woods and fields and there was plenty of shade to keep us cool.

After our run, we went back to the hotel and got packed.

Rob came back from checking out and he had a Hershey Chocolate bar in his hand.

PEACE OFFERING

I had blogged about an incident that I'd had with one of the owners of the motel.  He and I had had a less than desirable meeting and the whole conflict centered around lack of communication.  The confrontation was short but I had been left feeling very frustrated and he was just plain mad.  Rather than stew on the issue, I went in the next day and kindly explained the situation to a younger member of the family.  She spoke very good English and I asked her to explain to her father what had actually happened and that I had been left frustrated by his reaction to the situation.  She apologized and promised to speak to her father.  So...when it came time to check out, she gave this chocolate bar to Rob and asked him to give it to me as a sort of peace offering.  She said that her father felt very bad about the whole thing.  That was good enough for me.  

We started towards Philly and stayed on the back roads for a bit.  We drove through Amish country and then jumped up on the turnpike to make our way on in. 

Just a bit before getting to Philadelphia, we stopped at Valley Forge National Park to stretch our legs.

Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, taking place from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778. The National Historical Park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. Originally Valley Forge State Park, it became a national historical park in 1976. The Park contains historical buildings, recreated encampment structures, memorials, museums, and recreation facilities.

We took a bit of a walk and made our way to the National Memorial Arch.  

Three of us walked back from the Arch.  One of us decided that she'd had enough and needed to be carried.

TIRED ANNIE BELLE

In her defense, it was a bit warm and the path was paved and hilly.

We loaded up and made left to complete the final leg of our journey to Philly.  

I had acquired a three night apartment rental an through Airbnb and we easily found it.  It is a great apartment and the location is really good.  We have beds for everyone and the dogs have room to move about.  We unloaded Clark, put him in the garage and took the girls for a short jaunt before heading out to find dinner.

  

We found our dinner spot just a few blocks away.  The Black Sheep Pub and restaurant is a great little pub and the food is delicious.  

We had a great dinner,  took the girls for a walk in the park and then waited for the rest of the gang.  Cristin and Javier had linked up with Megan and they were all driving up together.

They arrived around 0120 and we helped them unload, get the car in the garage, got the girls out for a final potty break and settled for the night.

We have big plans for the rest of the weekend!

Another great day in this thing we call life.