Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9
Well, we are off again for some more college tours! This trip we are moving all over the place. We will start off in Pittsburgh visiting University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. Then we head to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. And I’ve already got a couple of history excursions booked. We’ll also be visiting UPenn and Temple while there. After that fun we will be driving down to Washington DC to visit Georgetown and University of Maryland. I know, we are the craziest people out there. Will is going to have serious decision fatigue when we get through all this!!
Day 1
Car picked us up at 6am. Not disgustingly early, but still early. Got through security with ease (compared to our later flight earlier this month). Headed to SkyClub for some breakfast. And that, my friend, is where “normalcy” ended and The Ultimate Rands adventure began 
At 7:28 I get a text that our 9am flight has been delayed until 1pm. At 7:31am another text comes in that our flight is delayed until 6pm 
. So I went to the desk in the club to see if there was another flight we could get on. Fortunately, I was the second person in line. I was able to get us on a United flight that was scheduled to leave just an hour later than our original flight AND it was a direct flight (we had a layover in MN). I have to look at the silver lining of a direct flight since we now had middle seats in the back of the plane. 
BUT….we got in earlier to Pittsburgh than our original flights would’ve gotten us there!! And miraculously both our pieces of luggage managed to make our different flight on a different airline!!
Got a Lyft from the airport and this dude was in from out of town (I guess you can drive anywhere so long as you have a car 
) and all sorts of shit in his back area. Had to put one of our suitcases in the front passenger seat 
He was blaring sports talk junk and kept turning off the AC and rolling down the windows. Even had them down the whole time we were driving through a tunnel. 
Needless to say I only gave him 4 stars.
Finally made it to our hotel. But the front entrance is between two floors. So I had to drag my suitcase up a flight of stairs. I know…I know….first world problems. We hung out in the room for a spell to cool off in the AC, then headed out for dinner at a local spot called Stack’d. A pretty decent build your own burger joint. Then it was back to the room to crash.
However, before falling asleep I was doing my nightly news reading. Bill had texted while we were trying to get out of Denver that they confirmed the implosion of the submersible, Titan. So as I’m laying there reading articles about it, I learn that one of my father in law’s dear friends had ridden in that same submersible in 2021 I’m so grateful he was safe and not on this trip 
Small world. My heart breaks for those that lost their lives and their families.
Day 2
Today started a bit early since we had to get showered and breakfast before leaving the hotel about 9:15. First tour was at the University of Pittsburgh (aka Pitt). I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised with them as right off the bat, they not only gave all the necessary marketing material, but also a T-shirt! First time that’s happened. Although Will was probably annoyed having to carry it through the whole tour 
They also had one very unique building called The Cathedral of Learning. You would think it was a church or at least a converted church, but no, it’s a cathedral built specifically for Pitt. So the campus could be easily found and recognizable.
Then it was a quick walk back to the hotel to drop stuff off and head out to find lunch before the next tour. Lunch was at Union Grill. Typical college town joint. After lunch as we were walking to Carnegie Mellon, a debate started between mom and son. Not really a debate and not really an argument. See, Carnegie Mellon was taken off his list after his researching of schools. Because we were staying within walking distance, I asked if we should just check it out. Will’s response at the time was “If you want to see it.” Which I took as “Sure, fine.” I’m not going to school again, so I didn’t want to see if for myself. Anyway, we ended up bailing and not going on the tour.
We headed back to the hotel to cool off (the humidity is just not what we are used to 
). Will wanted to go on a walking adventure to downtown Pittsburg (we were staying in the Oakland area by the college). At first I told him to go on his adventure by himself, and I’d catch a Lyft down there later and we could have dinner. However, I rallied and went on the jaunt with him. We decided to go to Point State Park. 3.1 miles from our hotel. Not a bad walk, although at one point when we came up on the hookers and drug dealers, I did slip some of my costume jewelry into my pocket. Didn’t want to get mugged over cheap jewelry 
Once we got into the city, there was a pogo stick competition. Who knew there was such fanfare for this Apparently it was the 22nd annual competition. So we watched for a spell (witnessing some Guinness world records being beat) until we needed to go in search of water.
After quenching our thirst, we continued on our trek out to Point State Park. Apparently there was a French bunker here (I need to learn more…it was just so humid my brain wasn’t wanting to function and learn). We walked out and around the fountain, then headed back to the inner city glass castle. At least that’s what I called it. Very unique architecture that piqued our interest when we were walking out to the point. It had a center courtyard that was the perfect spot to catch our Lyft back to the hotel (because this old lady’s legs and feet were DONE!). While waiting for our ride, Will learned the glass castle was owned by a paint company. Who knew paint could be so lucrative 
Once back at the hotel, it was cool off time in the room with AC. I couldn’t muster up the energy to walk blocks in hunt for dinner so I opted to eat at the hotel restaurant. I told Will several times he could go wherever he wanted. To not let me hold him back. But he ended up sticking with this old lady and eating at the hotel too.
Then it was back to the room to do preliminary packing as we were off to Philadelphia in the morning.
Day 3
Today was a travel day from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. We took early showers and rushed to snag a Lyft to the airport. Thelma was a good girl and stayed with me the whole time.
As I’ve mentioned before with this year’s travels, I’m playing a bit of a miles game. Trying to reach a certain level with Delta. They don’t have any direct flights from Pitt to Philly. So a layover is involved, which I chose Detroit (instead of say JFK). And Will was losing his shit saying I’m wasting 3 hours of his life. He can bite me. He’s reaping the benefits too since he gets to keep his miles to use how he wants Not that he travels alone just yet, but next year he may start doing that. And we got to hang in the SkyClub, so not that horrible.
Our flight to Philly was short and sweet. No troubles at all. And Thelma once again did as she was supposed to. Since I couldn’t find any reasonable flights from Philly to DC, we decided to rent a a car that we will keep the rest of our trek. And return it in DC. So yeah, driving from Philly to DC in a couple of days.
Since we weren’t too familiar with the area we were in (actually staying in a Hilton property on what appears to be Penn campus), we walked a couple of blocks to a pizza joint that also had cheesesteaks. I grabbed a cheesesteak and Will got wings. Said he wasn’t eating a cheesesteak until he could find one rated the best. Side note….I really wanted him to have an iconic Jim’s Steak (which I have had before, the last time Bill and I were out here over 20 years ago), but they had a fire and won’t reopen until Labor Day 
After grubbing out, we headed back to the hotel to watch some Netflix and then crash.
Day 4
This is a long one. Lots of history.
Today was a free day in Philadelphia. I had booked a walking tour for the morning at 10:30am. Followed by a 4pm tour of Independence Hall (it’s run by the National park system, so you have to procure your tickets ahead of time as there are limited number of tickets each day).
Quick breakfast at the hotel (I’ve been booking rooms that include breakfast just to make our lives a little easier). Then I decided to just snag a Lyft into the city instead of getting the rental out of Valet and trying to find parking.
After we got dropped off, we made a quick CVS detour because Will once again didn’t bring his sunglasses. I swear this boy doesn’t listen to a word I say. As we were getting in the car to go to the Denver airport, and he was getting his jacket out of his car in our driveway, I told him to get his sunglasses
We started the tour in Signer’s Garden. Then we were off to several different walking spots. The first was Independence Hall which housed the meeting spot for the second Continental Congress where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and signed. Didn’t go in, but rather our guide shared some history standing across the street. There are timed tickets you have to get online from the National Parks Department (which I did get for later in the day 
as I mentioned above).
Next up was a quick stop at the Liberty Bell. Didn’t go inside as the line was long, but was able to see from the outside. Learned that the first bell (which was made by the French) got a crack after the first ringing of it. So they commissioned a new bell, and it too eventually cracked (but after a while) which I think is the bell that is on display today. Both bells sat in the bell tower of Independence Hall. So after the second one cracked, a new one was made and the metal used was forged from cannons from the Revolutionary and Civil wars. My brain was not totally absorbing everything because it was so dang hot and humid, so hopefully I got that all correct.
Thank freaking god our tour included a segment in the AIR CONDITIONED Revolutionary War Museum where we watched a short presentation on George Washington and his commitment during the break from Britain. The presentation ended with the screen coming up and showing the actual tent Washington used in the encampments with his army all the years of the war. Weirdly, while in this theater I discovered a quarter size of something sticky on my arm. Didn’t have any syrup at breakfast, so not sure what the heck it was 
That meant a quick stop in the bathroom before heading back out in the heat.
We walked past the First Bank of the country, Carpenters Hall (which has had many different uses, one of which was the first Continental Congress which my GA didn’t participate in 
-basically because they were still being subsidized by the Brits), what could be considered the first Pentagon (ie War Building) and where Benjamin Franklin’s home was. His children tore it down and built rental homes in its place. I get it, we all don’t want our parents crap when they are gone. Some things, yes, but not all of it. If only they knew how significant their father was at the time.
We also got to watch a presentation of the Declaration of Independence being printed on an old printing press that Benjamin Franklin used back in the day.
Next stop was Christ Church. All signers of the Declaration of Independence had worshiped there at one time or another. And William Penn’s baptismal podium was on display. Couldn’t go in, but could take some pictures through windows. I also loved how this church was repping Pride Month 
We also got to walk down the oldest continually inhabited residential street in the US, Elfreth’s Alley. Followed by a walk by of Betsy Ross’ home. Learned she preferred to be called an upholsterer, not a seamstress as the former held more status.
I learned about the Quakers and William Penn’s roll in the creation of Pennsylvania. Honestly didn’t really know much about the Quakers. I’m sure I may have learned in school, but history was my least favorite subject.
We saw Ben Franklin’s parents’ grave in Boston. And here in Philly, we got to see Ben Franklin’s grave. And the tour ended with a stop near the first “White House”. I’m not sure if it was actually white like the current one. Something tells me it was brick like everything else back then. But structures have been erected to show the outline of the house that George Washington and John Adams resided in while they were president.
In the middle of the tour, Will tells me he forgot to put on deodorant that morning 
So after the tour, he’s wanting to go back to the hotel to put some on. Now mind you, we’ve been sweating for 2.5hrs at this point! So he signs up for a month of the bike rental thingy here and rides a bike back to the hotel. I’m so thirsty I’m about to try to squeeze water out of a rock. I decide I’ll stay downtown and find a bar while he huffs back to the hotel. I find a cute Cuban place and downed 2 glasses of water while they make me a delicious rum drink. I proceed to drink a third glass of water and a second drink before Will gets back.
We snag some cheesesteaks for him to get his first one in Philly. I wasn’t a fan of this one. The meat was cut too thick for me. But Will liked his, so that’s good.
He needed to create his temporary gym profile (don’t ask ) so he could hit up a gym later. I don’t know where this boy gets all his energy! Our tour time is coming up for Independence Hall, so we go through the security and wait til our tour starts at 4pm. We got to see inside the main hall that had a courtroom on one side and the room where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were written, debated and signed.
I was dying at this point and just wanted to get back to the hotel. So we both caught a Lyft back as Will was going to chill for a spell too before hitting up the gym. He took off about 5:30 and I chillaxed until 7pm. I got movie tickets to a 7:30 showing of Asteroid City at a theater down near the gym he went to. I was not going to ride a bike, so a Lyft for me once again. I tried really hard to get into the movie, but Wes Anderson just isn’t my style. I fell asleep maybe 10-12 times Only to have Will ram his elbow into me to wake up because I was snoring. Oopsie 
We both didn’t want any dinner, so it was back to the hotel to crash.
Day 5
Today got to start a little slower. We didn’t have time sensitive plans until the Temple tour at 2:30pm. At some point after leaving Denver, Will learned of the Eastern State Penitentiary. This prison opened in 1829 and closed in 1970/71. It sat in disrepair until the early 90’s when it was designated a national historic site. Now you are able to tour the facility. Anyway, the tickets you buy are not for a set day or time, you just have to use them within a year. So we decided before the Temple tour would be a good time to go check it out.
I figured eating before showers was good for today. I think Will wanted to sleep more than eat. So he asked me to wake him after I ate and showered and he’d take his shower.
Once we were bathed and ready for the day we caught a ride out to the East Stat Penitentiary. It was pretty surreal walking through this huge facility. I was again thinking folks were much shorter 200 years ago (like when we toured the Constitution back in Boston). The doorways were like 5’ to 5’2” high. I had to dunk down low to enter the ones that were open. I took way too many pictures, but it was all so intriguing.
Probably the most famous resident of this prison was Al Capone. We also went out to the death row cell block. Although now looking back, we never saw where the actual executions took place. Probably for the best. When I did a little preliminary searching, I learned several different paranormal hunters had definitely experienced lots of paranormal activity. Glad I was there during the day and not for a night tour 
Just as the day was kicking up to its highest temps, it was time to catch a ride over to Temple (our driver asked what on earth compelled us to visit a prison ). Ok, now back to Temple….We both really liked this campus and school. They actually have campuses in Rome and Tokyo. So who knows…if Will goes here he may start off abroad
Since we were rushing between adventures, we grabbed a VERY late lunch after the college tour. While we were eating, I asked Will to search famous folks that went to Temple (as the info presenter talked about students interning in Hollywood). The top ones he recognized were Bill Cosby and Ted Bundy
Will decided he was going to go to the gym, so he hopped on a bike and headed downtown. I hopped in a Lyft and went back to the hotel. I’m certainly feeling my age. This boy is like the Energizer Bunny with unlimited stamina! He’s all telling me we need to figure out what we are doing after he gets back from the gym. I said “Sleep?” Which was met with frustration by him.
Lucky for me, when he got back to the hotel from the gym, he started working on his extended essay (a project that’s part of his IB diploma program). So I got to continue chillaxin in the room. Which then turned into just ordering room service. Followed by an extended discussion/argument on when to wake up the next morning because he had to get another gym session squeezed in before we drive down to DC We got that all figured out and then lights out.
Day 6
We got to have a little bit slower morning today. Today we toured the University of Pennsylvania, but it wasn’t until 1:45pm. We also had to check out of our hotel by 11am (hence the discussion/argument last night about how the morning would play out). And then after the tour, we were driving down to DC for the final leg of this trip.
I got up about 8am and went down for breakfast (Will wanted to sleep in). Came back and showered. Then Will showered and we checked out. We drove into the city and I dropped him off at the gym to workout, and I went to the Fashion District mall and did some shopping. As the bags started to get heavy and I was walking to the car to drop them off, Will texted he was done at the gym, so I left to go pick him up.
As we were leaving downtown Philly I made a comment that we never took him to the Rocky stairs The museum (which are the stairs) was only 9 min from the welcome center for the tour, so we decided to hit it up afterwards.
We drove back out to UPenn and drove around a bit (not by choice) because I couldn’t find the entrance to the parking garage Will was directing us to. Which to say was, it didn’t exist. I saw another garage on the other side of the street that we looped back around to. And it was literally half a block from our hotel.
We get to the welcome center only to find out we are only signed up for the tour, not the info and tour I’m going to hold the benefit of the doubt and assume the full package was full (as there were lots of folks there). Sadly our tour guide was really hard to hear, so Will was pretty frustrated by the end of the tour.
Once that experience was done Will asked if I wanted to get one more cheesesteak while we were there. I said sure, so we mapped out a place to go near the museum so we could grab a late lunch, then run up the steps. As we were driving over the river, the skies opened up. And by time we got to the restaurant, we saw there was huge construction messes, nowhere to park and raining so hard you could only see about 2 feet in front of you. We decided to start driving down to DC and find a place outside the city for our final cheesesteak.
As I was driving Will found a spot. And as we drive closer to it, we see it’s actually a walk up kitchen built into the front of a Home Depot At this point it’s almost dinner time and this child has not had anything to eat. It smelled good enough from the parking lot, so we go for it. And dang if it didn’t surprise us and taste pretty darn good. So with tummies filled we head back out onto the road for DC.
And it was a drive filled with tons of traffic and rain coming and going Did I mention how much I’ve grown to not liking to drive? This was NOT my idea of fun. Gone for me are the days of excitement over road trips. Give me a flight and car service to/from the airport and I’m happy.
Regardless, we made it to the hotel in DC eventually. But I wasn’t a happy camper learning the hotel itself doesn’t have parking (which the website stated), but rather you have to self park 2 turns away in the parking garage attached to the Ritz (note to self…stay at The Ritz next time). After a lot of confusion and calling the front desk from the street (because I had no idea where to go), I managed to find the parking garage under The Ritz. Took about a half an hour, but I finally got back to the room and prepped for this stay (like pulling out the outfits and toiletries). At the end of all this, it was 10:30pm, so a little Netflix and sleepy time.
Apparently I didn’t take many pictures this day. Oh well.
Day 7
Today was a tour day out in College Park Maryland. So after breakfast and showers, we took the rental car to get out there.
If you have never been to the University of Maryland campus, let me just tell you what a campus it is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a large campus. I’m talking HUGE! With rolling hills and open greens. Once again we didn’t get in an information session, just a student led tour (because the other was full). But our group was pretty big, so it seems like we weren’t the only ones in that boat.
One odd thing is that this school doesn’t seem to have a Political Science degree. Which we found odd being so close to DC. They do have a singular college called School of Public Policy. Will needs to do more research on that to see if it’s what he’s looking for. Otherwise this school (in all its glory) will fall off the list.
Then it was back into DC. Will was off to a gym to workout, so I hit up an H&M near the gym to return a jacket I had bought him in Philly (on my shopping excursion) that didn’t fit him. Then, while I’m walking around he texted me that he ripped his sweats at the gym So that gave me more shopping purpose! I was at Nordstrom Rack at this point, so I grabbed a couple of pairs of sweats and kept browsing until he was done. Then he met up with me and chose 2 pairs. It was back in the car to head back to the hotel.
Once again, we found ourselves cooling off in our room deciding what to do next. We decided to check out another movie at a theater we could walk to. But first grab dinner at a Mexican place near the theater. And it was the same restaurant we ate at last summer on our family DC trip before our Potomac River cruise! So we knew the grub would be tasty. In case you are wondering, the movie was The Blackening. It’s a suspense/gore movie laced with a TON of comedy. I thought it was entertaining for sure. And I didn’t fall asleep this time!
Since we walked down there, I wasn’t sure if I was up for walking back, but I still had a little energy left and made the trek back to the hotel on foot. It wasn’t that the distance was long (3/4 of a mile), it was being exhausted by my son’s energy I can’t keep up with the younguns anymore!!
Day 8
Today is our final college tour of this trip. We are off to visit Georgetown. Last night we also looked online and saw there were available tickets to the Holocaust Museum for today (couldn’t get in last year when we came to DC), so we snagged two of those as well. I decided we would just catch a Lyft for this tour so I didn’t have to deal with parking all day.
But before we leave, Will is adamant that he shaves today. The problem is, he brought his One Blade (an electric razor), but not the charger. I told him he shouldn’t bother because what if it dies in the middle of him shaving? He says it will be fine. After about 10 minutes he comes out of the bathroom freaking out because the shaver died. And his face was a mess All I could do was laugh which pissed him off more.
I was chasing him around with my phone trying to take a picture. He was not having it. Yelling at me to go get him a razor. When I said he had to go get it he freaked out more saying he couldn’t go out in public like that. I was just laughing hysterically. I’m no help in these situations. Then I remembered I had a razor and shave cream. But the thing is, he’s never used a razor before. Just this electric shaver. So mom had to do a crash course with my man child on how to shave his face (which I have no idea how it’s done ). But we managed and made it out the door in time. And he was a sport and let me get a photo before he cleaned it up.
When we pulled up to Georgetown, Will was really impressed with their front building that houses the bell tower. Again, very Harry Potteresque. I was definitely educated on something I didn’t know about Georgetown. It’s a Jesuit school, so it does have a bit of a religious component. Although our guide said it was a very small part to the point of almost unnoticeable. I think there are two required types of classes one must take, but there are options of classes within that requirement. This was another large group of tourers, so our breakout guided groups were still pretty large. But we survived none the less.
Will was a little bummed after the tour, because he felt this school would fall off his list. And he really likes DC, so was hoping to go to a school here. I think he may have pulled University of Maryland off his list too. George Washington is on his list, but they didn’t have any available tours while we were out here. Actually they had one, but it conflicted with the Georgetown tour, so we didn’t do it. Therefore, Will started searching other DC schools and decided he would put American back on his list (he had pulled it off several weeks ago). But we won’t be touring it, so maybe they have a virtual tour.
We snagged some Indian food near the college, then hopped a Lyft over to the Holocaust Museum. We get dropped off and realized we had a little more than an hour before we could enter (the tickets are set times for entry). I look online and see the Air and Space Museum is open (it was closed last summer when we were here), so we fast walk aaaaalllllllll the way down there. We get there and it requires a timed pass too So I quickly scan the QR code and there are 4 tickets available to walk in right then. I snag two for us and we go in and have a whopping 30min to walk around before needing to go aaaaaallllllll the way back from where we came. We were able to walk through all the first floor exhibits and then get back into the smoky hot 
outside air.
We make it back to the Holocaust Museum and have 2 hours to go through it. The last time I had been here was 20 or so years ago. Much of it was like new to me because I didn’t remember all the details. I did remember the elevator “herding” to begin it. And the only other thing I remember was the section with the shoes. I even was telling Will about it. Sadly, that one installation was temporarily closed. All the shoes were gone. Probably for the best. It made me cry last time. It was the little baby and kid shoes that gutted me. And that was before becoming a parent. Would be worse now. The whole thing is gut wrenching really.
After we leave the museum, Will decided to walk to the gym and I took a Lyft back to the hotel. Of course it’s 5pm, so I think the app cycled through like 4 drivers before one finally picked me up 25 minutes later
Will got back to the hotel about 7:30. He said the gym was busy and he kept having to wait for machines. I told him I’d give him 30 to relax. Then we were off to dinner. I insisted on stopping at this cookie and milkshake place after dinner. Will walked on back to the hotel so he wouldn’t be tempted. Sadly I had leftover cookies so he ate a couple when I got back
We did some pre-packing, decided when we needed to wake up, then lights out since tomorrow we head back home.
Day 9
It’s a proven fact….we are grouchy morning people. I’d like to say I’m not, but dang this boy can push my buttons!!
Alarm started blaring at 6am. So I hop in the shower. At 6:30, I keep telling him he’s got to get in the shower. We need to leave by 7:30 so I have time to walk and get the rental out of the garage, fill it with gas at the airport, return it and get checked in for our flight. He gets in the shower and I throw some stuff in his suitcase (his was half full coming out and we (re: I) did some shopping and need to use the space. He gets out of the shower throwing the stuff I put in his suitcase on the floor 
We finally get out the door and he’s all being a butthead dealing with the suitcases (they have to be carried down some steps to get out the front door). I don’t know why he can’t be helpful in these situations. Like, flex your gym workouts and help an old lady out!!!!
And don’t get me started on the whole co-pilot/ navigation support he provided to get gas and return the car. We were bickering like an old married couple
But we make it to the airport and even have time to chillax in the SkyClub and grab breakfast. This trek home involves a 1hr 5min layover in Detroit. When we checked in, our flight was delayed by 10 min. No biggie, we can make that up in the air. So after grubbing we head down to our gate. And the plane still isn’t there! I track it on the app and they have it circling. Now we are looking at a 1/2hr delay. I’m starting to panic as this is cutting into our layover time. We finally board the plane and it is taking FOREVER for folks to get settled in. Even the flight attendants are getting impatient and constantly coming on the intercom to urge people to get in their seats so we can take off.
We finally get in the air and are about to land when the pilot banks hard and goes back up. WTF?!?! Just before we actually land, the pilot came on and said traffic control made them abort and come around again At this point our next flight has already been boarding for like 20 min 
I check the app and fortunately we are coming in at gate 64 and just have to go to gate 66. We get off the plane and this woman pushes past me in a rush (and I was already booking it myself!). Sadly, the one gate over is pretty far so we are jogging to the gate as the “final boarding” message is on the screen. No one is there (except the woman who pushed me). Then my phone decides to log out of the app. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!?! I get logged in and we make the flight. Whew! Next thought was “Shit! Is the luggage going to make it??” I’m happy to report it did. 
We made it home and I took a deep breath. I survived another trip with my son. 
Until next time….
Dianna