jerseykids, Author at Jersey Kids

February 11, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: Liberty Bell and Independence Hall with Kids

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

You can’t go to Philadelphia as a newbie and not see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. So of course this was on our list to do. Here’s something else you should know. Tickets are free, but if you don’t reserve Independence Hall tour tickets in advance (or go wait in line, going early), you may not get in. So if you’re on a tight schedule, I recommend you call ahead or reserve online for a $1.50/person fee. Especially in high season. By afternoon, tickets may be gone. Tickets are required March through December. Continue reading “Philadelphia: Liberty Bell and Independence Hall with Kids”

February 10, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: National Museum of American Jewish History with Kids

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

We’ve been wanting to check out the National Museum of American Jewish History (which I still can’t say without having to look it up for accuracy) since it opened in its current form in 2010. Previously it shared space with Congregation Mikveh Israel (see the bottom for more on that), since its founding in 1976. This museum is on Independence Mall, just down the street from Mikveh Israel, and across from the Independence Mall Visitor’s Center. Continue reading “Philadelphia: National Museum of American Jewish History with Kids”

February 4, 2014August 28, 2017

Philadelphia: Magic Gardens

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. For more in the series, see the bottom of the post.–

My daughter and I were very excited to see Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, a nonprofit space that artist Isaiah Zagar created in an empty row house spot. It now extends inside the adjacent row house.

Unfortunately the day we showed up, we didn’t realize they were closing early for a wedding, so we had to make do with peeking through the gate, and walking around the neighborhood. The good news is that you can still see a lot even when it’s closed. And just by wandering around South Street, within a few blocks of the gardens, we could still see a lot of large scale murals. There’s a list in the brochure you can get on site and probably in other tourist locations as well.

magic2 — This mosaic mural was around the corner from the Magic Gardens.

I think the biggest question for us was Continue reading “Philadelphia: Magic Gardens”

January 27, 2014December 16, 2017

Philadelphia: Eastern State Penitentiary with Kids

**This is part of a series on Philadelphia with kids. Please see all the posts in the Philadelphia series here, or check the bottom for individual links.**

The Eastern State Penitentiary was one of the places at the top of the list for my husband on our trip to Philadelphia with the kids. I went to college in Philadelphia and hadn’t heard of it when in school there. Turns out, there’s a good reason. It only opened to the public in the years since then.

In fact, the penitentiary started making its renewal with fundraising efforts you’ve probably heard of: the Terror Behind the Walls, one of the most haunted, spooky type Halloween experiences in the country. Continue reading “Philadelphia: Eastern State Penitentiary with Kids”

January 26, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: Embassy Suites with Kids Review

**This is part of a series on Philadelphia with kids. Please see all the posts in the series here, or check the bottom for individual links.**

The two times we’ve visited Philly with the kids we stayed at the Embassy Suites in Center City Philadelphia. As I mentioned in my intro Philadelphia post, our ideal hotel is one offering economical suites (so we don’t have to share the bedroom with the kids), one with a free happy hour, free breakfast and a hotel that’s convenient to the sites or public transportation. The Embassy Suites is all that in Philadelphia (and FYI – we are not receiving any compensation for posting this, and we paid full freight for our room).

The hotel is on the Ben Franklin Parkway, in close walking distance to everything we did on the trip. It’s close to the Franklin Institute (kids’ hands-on science museum), Barnes Foundation and Rodin Museum. It was walkable to Independence Mall (about 20 minutes at a good pace), the Eastern State Penitentiary (maybe 20 minutes? We stopped en route at the Rodin Museum) and if you like walking (we do), you can walk to South Philly from there too. Continue reading “Philadelphia: Embassy Suites with Kids Review”

January 25, 2014August 31, 2016

Why I won’t be renting from Payless Car Rental Ever Again

I’m happy to promote businesses who do a good job. I also call out businesses who don’t. Over the winter holidays, we rented a car from Payless Car Rental in Phoenix and will never rent from them again. In fact I was so bothered by the experience I’m writing a whole blog post about it. Usually we rent from Enterprise, and have had great experiences with them. Payless had the lowest price by far listed on Travelocity, and car rentals out of Phoenix are very expensive because the city fees are more than 100% of the rental price. But that’s beside the point.

Our rental was supposed to be $248 including all fees and taxes, a good price for an eight day rental, especially since so more than half of that was Phoenix taxes/fees. When we arrived at the desk, the very friendly rental agent tried to upsell us a larger car. I said no, and he ended up using some code to upgrade us at no cost, because we had two drivers (yes, a light bulb should have gone off with the mention of two driver, however other agencies have upgraded us for no reason). Continue reading “Why I won’t be renting from Payless Car Rental Ever Again”

January 23, 2014July 24, 2019

Philly: Reading Terminal Market – Philly

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

Out of everything we saw and did in Philadelphia, this was the family favorite. We went twice, and would have gone more if time permitted.

The Reading Terminal Market has been in Philadelphia in one form since the 1850s, but in its current form since 1892. The string of shops (known as a Jersey market, since that’s where vendors came from) went indoors, with 78,000 feet and 800 vendor slots. Let me repeat that. 800 vendors slots. Like then, it’s still full of food and produce vendors, and a smattering of other stores selling kitchen wares and other goods. Now there are 80 vendors. Read more about the market’s history here – it’s interesting. Continue reading “Philly: Reading Terminal Market – Philly”

January 22, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: Treat of the Day – Franklin Fountain and Shane Confectionary

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

We look for special daily treats on vacation, and the Franklin Fountain was a definite on our list. Since it’s downtown near the historic sites (Independence Mall area) there were many opportunities. We finally went on a chilly afternoon on our last day in Philly.

Continue reading “Philadelphia: Treat of the Day – Franklin Fountain and Shane Confectionary”

January 21, 2014August 28, 2017

Philadelphia Art

This is part of our series on Philadelphia with Kids. You can see a full list of posts at the bottom.

art ben — Ben Franklin Craftsman statue in Philadelphia. Made in 1981.

One of the first things we noticed in Philadealphia was how much public art there was. It’s everywhere! Here I”ll feature some that we saw. This Ben Franklin Craftsman statue is at Broad and JFK Blvd in Philly. As you probably know, Franklin was a man of many talents and printing was his occupation.

Continue reading “Philadelphia Art”

January 20, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: Ben Franklin Museum with Kids

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

We had to rush through the Ben Franklin Museum, which is unfortunate because we really liked it. It was also one of the more interactive and kid-friendly places we went.

It’s owned by the park service, so you’ll see rangers inside. The museum was recently renovated and it shows. Here’s the front of the museum. Outside is a “ghost house” using the footprint of Franklin’s original house and print shop.

They have a scavenger hunt inside, and for completing it, they give you some trading cards with patriots on it.

Ben was one of 17 kids in his family. At age 12, he apprenticed to his old brother James, who was a printer. James was a bit demanding, so he ran away from him, but stayed in touch with the family. Continue reading “Philadelphia: Ben Franklin Museum with Kids”