Philadelphia!

We went to Philadelphia last weekend to see Jean and Jeremy and their daughter Sarah, Thomas's lady friend. It was fabulous to see them, and Thomas and Sarah were adorable together. Jean and Jeremy came up with the perfect approach to sightseeing with very small children: do a walk-by of the major historical sights, and spend more time at funky places the kids will love.

First we walked over to the Magic Garden, a building that an outsider artist had covered in found-object mosaics to the delight of everyone in the neighborhood except his landlord. (I believe the case settled.) It reminded me of an urban Howard Finster paradise.

After that, we went to the Seaport Museum, which featured a decommissioned submarine, a nineteenth-century battleship, and several "please touch" displays. James, who decided that Jeremy was his best friend in all the world, climbed up onto the ship-loading display and spent at least fifteen minutes there with Jeremy, trying to determine the most efficient way of capsizing the toy ship.