On Monday, the youth program wasn't open yet, so poor B had to trail me around the convention center and try to stay quiet during meetings. That night, we went to a big party on the top floor of the Comcast Center, the big glass building in this picture:
B made friends with a kid named Sam at that party. Sam is also five, and just as silly as B. It was a match made in heaven. Luckily for all of us, they continued to run into each other throughout the trip.
On Tuesday, B got to play in the youth program all day while I worked. He played mini-golf and rode a carousel, or so I hear. That night, we went to a big party at Independence Park. This included a visit to the Liberty Bell:
B was totally unimpressed by the big cracked bell, preferring to climb on the windowsill next to it while the park ranger lectured:
Until she told him to get his naughty self down, that is:
As luck would have it, we ran into Sam and his grandparents as we were leaving the party. Seeing how B and Sam had hit it off, they'd decided to put Sam in the youth program the next day so he could spend more time with B. Let the silliness begin.
So on Wednesday, lucky B and his buddy Sam got to go to the Please Touch Museum and Ride the Ducks, while I (you guessed it) worked all day. That night, there was of course another party, after which B and I took a little walk around Philadelphia on our way back to the hotel. The ever observant B had noticed lots of eyes following him all over the city:
They were stuck on pipes all over the place. We saw at least half a dozen sets. Actually, we'd hoped to photograph them all, but the morning we took the camera with us, there were people perched on every single pipe while they ate their breakfast, except for the one above. That one stuck out of the wall at a height of about six feet, so it wouldn't have made a very good seat.
We took a break during our walk to sit by a big fountain. Well, I sat by the big fountain while B splashed around in it. He managed to get himself completely soaked from head to toe before I noticed the "no swimming" signs. We walked back to the hotel to put him in dry pajamas while I packed.
Thursday morning, we made a brief visit to the convention center so B could load up on junk from the exhibit hall, then headed for the train station. And guess who we ran into at the train station? Silly Sam, headed home with his grandparents. Here are B and Sam goofing off while we waited for our trains:
B amused himself on the train with this "mess-free" paint set we picked up at the toy industry booth in the exhibit hall:
Tomorrow, part two: Maryland--more new friends, horses, tractors, trampolines and more.
