We who follow the Benner way of life consider Philadelphia to be our Mecca. Each year, we are compelled to make a lengthy pilgrimage back to the city of brotherly love in order to regain balance, obtain a fresh perspective, and to be made spiritually pure once again.
At least that's the line of reasoning we use in order to write the trip off our taxes: We're religiously obligated. But in reality, we just love our friends and family so much that we need to make time for quality visits. That's why we spent a little more than a week in our hometown just a short time ago. Here's a slide show, followed by some selected thoughts.
- We spent our first night at the Lozano compound, (Phil, Rachel, Matt and Jenn, plus all their kids) and they had a little unexpected birthday dinner for Rhianwen, including cake! Later, Joe and Meryl showed up with some cookies. This set the tone for a week-long binge on various sweets. So guiltily delicious.
- We hung out one night in Northern Liberties, and holy cow that place has changed since we were last there (maybe right before we moved to LA, spring of 2008). It's downright gentrified, complete with a mini-outdoor mall equipped with jumbo-tron TV. Funny how fast things develop.
- So many little boys in our lives have grown so fast. Aiden (Jen and Rob's son) is walking and talking. Jude (Phil and Rachel's son) is like a tiny little man. Micah (Jenn and Matt's son) is a completely different little boy than we remember, and with such a funny personality. Matthew (my baby cousin) has gotten huge, and is in love with Rhianwen (he has good taste). We miss all those little guys.
- One of the big reasons for the trip was Gwenyth's 60th birthday, which we threw a party for. It was a very nice, intimate event (Phil and Rachel were gracious enough to lend their home to us for it) with some of Gwenyth's close friends. We were so glad to be there to help celebrate such a wonderful, special mother. We're also thankful to our friends and family who helped us pull it off. We definitely needed their help.
- We spent a night at the Papa's, and were awoken on Sunday morning by the loudest, craziest thunder storm we can remember. It was actually a treat to experience that, as it hasn't rained in LA in months and we don't even remember when it may have thundered. Also a treat: swimming in the pool during the storm with the boys (I couldn't be bothered to change out of my pajamas, for some reason). What wasn't a treat: the storm delayed our flight home by hours, and we were under a lot of stress trying to make sure we would make our connecting flight. We didn't, but we were able to find another one that got us home alright.
Well, that's all. It was a special trip and we loved every minute we got to spend with people. Until the next pilgrimage, we bid Philadelphia adieu.
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