Our journey consisted of taking two trains each way. The first train is a light rail line that goes along towns on the Delaware River in NJ. In Camden (yes, Camden) we change to the High Speed train that takes us into Philadelphia, about a 15 minute walk from the Franklinstein. It was a much longer walk on Friday as it was quite cold and blustery. We made it with about twenty minutes to spare before the start of the IMAX show about the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon which Jr. Birdman's family and my family went to see in November of '07. It was a great movie and he was on the end of his seat.
After the movie, we wandered around the exhibits, many of which are hands on. We walked through the model of the human heart (I didn't panic too much - I'm very claustrophobic), checked out the aviation exhibits and finally had lunch. After lunch we checked out the gift shop where he proved to be a prudent shopper. I tried to talk him into a Male Nurse Action figure for his mom, Nurse Nancy, but he wouldn't bite. I don't know how he could have resisted this studly action figure (sorry Nurse Nancy and Mrs. B - he won't be gracing your office - yet!):
For the record, he didn't bite on the Ben Franklin(stein), Leonardo DaVinci, Albert Einstein or Vincent Van Gogh figures either. He did, however, purchase a water bottle, a locomotive note pad and some freeze dried astronaut ice cream.
When we left, the sky was host to several news helicopters, as the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, across the square from the Franklin Institute, was the site of a funeral for yet another Philadelphia Police officer who was killed in the line of duty. We voiced our respects to an officer who was directing traffic and hurried on our way to the train station.
It was a fun day. I love having Jr. Birdman for his annual visit. And today, he went home and our house is quiet again, reminding me how much I miss my son.
