Mom and Dad

The big news recently is that my parents came to visit me in Camden this past weekend! (I don’t have pictures because they’re on my mom’s camera, and she’s in DC… I’ll see what I can do about borrowing them when I see her on Friday).

They flew in from Seattle around 6pm and promptly got lost. Mapquest took them to Vine St. in Philadelphia, not in Camden. Between me and my roommate Christine, we were able to direct them across the bridge, through the more confusing streets, and to my front door. They are such troopers—getting lost on the streets of north Camden, in the dark, on very little sleep, when you’ve never been there before is not for the faint of heart!

I was excited to see them, so I threw some clothes in a backpack and decided to spend the night with them at their hotel. (My motives were not entirely pure—one of my favorite things to do with my mom and dad is watch baseball. We caught the better part of the Yankees game before everyone fell asleep.) We found some really good country style food right by the hotel (hit up a Bill Evans’ Restaurant if you’re ever on this coast) and turned in for the night.

The next morning we went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. I don’t know if it was the excitement of getting to hang out with Mom and Dad, or letting someone buy me breakfast, or the sugar in the doughnut and coffee, but I was so happy at that point that I was literally bouncing in my chair. Later we drove back to Camden to go to the cathedral for Mass. It was awesome to go to Mass with my parents—I haven’t done that since Christmas break of my senior year!

It may astound all 3.7 of my readers to know that my father, who was born and raised on the east coast, had never been to Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell. Since both of those glorious relics of our county’s history are a forty-minute jog from my front door, we figured Sunday would be a good time to go check them out. I’d already seem them a few years ago, but I am always excited to go look at them again. The tours are different every time, and you learn a little bit more with each ranger and tour guide.

After getting a hands-on lesson in American history (and taking a ton of pictures), we realized that we were REALLY hungry. So we walked around in search of a place to kick back and have a good time. Dad’s friend Larry, who is from Philadelphia, recommended a place called Maggiano’s. I didn’t really know what to expect because there’s a Maggiano’s at the Cherry Hill Mall, so I thought it would be a weird chain restaurant (think Olive Garden).

But *this* Maggiano’s, the one in Philadelphia, is lovely. It’s in an older building so it has a lot of charm and appeal to it. The food was AMAZING, and Mom and Dad really spoiled me! (When Dad let me pick the wine we were going to order, and I doubled checked that he trusted my opinion, he answered, “Molly, I didn’t fly 3,000 miles to *not* coddle you!”)

It was so nice! There was wine, Sam Adams Octoberfest (which everyone should try), stuffed mushrooms, good bread, gnocchi, and cheesecake. But most of all, I was with my parents. It was SOOO much fun!

I had the pleasure of showing them my office before they left for Gettysburg (which Dad just salivated over, I hear…). They met Irma, my boss, and got to see the building and the neighborhood. They’re in DC right now, and I’ll see them again on Friday before they leave.

I have great parents. :)