Lubins on a mini vacation to the Philadelphia/Cherry Hill area
Lubins on a mini vacation to the Philadelphia/Cherry Hill area
Lubins on a mini vacation to the Philadelphia/Cherry Hill area

By Phyllis J. Lubin

It’s Friday morning at 6:15. Leib and Yussie have just left for morning minyan and I’m back to my normal weekly routine of making challah dough. I haven’t actually made challah in three weeks! One Friday we were on our way back from taking Rochel to SUNY Albany, and the following Friday we were returning from our Philadelphia trip. Knowing that there would be two Fridays when I wouldn’t be around in the morning to put up the dough, I made a bigger batch a few weeks ago and froze an assortment to tide us over. The first week we had plenty, but the next week my eldest daughter thought we would run a bit short, so she supplemented with store-bought challah.

We had fun on our mini vacations, but I am happy that I am back to my normal routine and that we are all going to eat homemade challah this week. I am looking forward to our “challah deliveries” to my folks and in-laws too!

Our trip last week to the Philadelphia area was glorious. It was just Leib and me and our two youngest children on this excursion while the rest of the troops were working and learning.

Visiting Philadelphia was a good way to get in some fun while also learning a bit about history. In our brief three days there, we managed to tour around a great deal. We began our trip to the City of Brotherly Love with a stop at the Philadelphia Zoo, where we saw many interesting animals. The next day, we made sure to see the Liberty Bell, which has come to symbolize freedom for all citizens of the United States (for some interesting information, go to www.ushistory.org/libertybell). We also made it to the National Museum of Jewish History (www.nmajh.org), where we were able to get a feel for the history of the Jewish people in the United States in the past few centuries.

Of course, no trip to the area is complete without a hop on one of the double-decker buses for a nice riding tour of the area. We popped into the Ben Franklin Museum, and we caught a glimpse of the beautiful paintings in the Philadelphia Art Museum. We took the requisite pictures in front of “Rocky’s statue” that sits at the base of the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum–a place that viewers of the movie Rocky will remember vividly!

Each morning Yussie and Leib found places to daven at nearby shuls in Cherry Hill–only a few-minute drive from Mt. Laurel, NJ, where we enjoyed our stay in the spacious two-bedroom suite at Staybridge Suites. We were only in the neighborhood two nights, but we managed to eat at a kosher Chinese restaurant and we feasted on bagel sandwiches for lunch from a nice kosher bagel store in Cherry Hill.

Our second dinner was a gala event–and the real reason we came to visit–at the wedding of my dear friend Chaya and her beloved David in nearby Cinnaminson, NJ. We all certainly enjoyed dancing, eating, and partaking of this happy occasion.

On our final morning in Philadelphia, we enjoyed a wonderful Ride the Ducks boat tour around the neighborhood. It took us around Philly on land and by sea. What makes this boat even more interesting is that it’s a replica of the DUKW amphibious vehicles that were actually used in Europe during WWII to haul troops and equipment (http://philadelphia.ridetheducks.com). Definitely a ride you should try if you are in that neighborhood!

Our brief trip to Philadelphia was packed with a lot of history and fun. And now we have returned. The kids are back in school, summer is ending, and no more vacations for a bit. As the smell of my fresh challah permeates the home, I am reminded that it’s good to get away–but there’s no place like home! v

Phyllis Joy Lubin is an attorney with Maidenbaum & Sternberg, LLP, who resides in Cedarhurst with her husband, Leonard. They have six children–Naftali, Shoshana, Rivka, Rochel, Yosef, and Lea–and a daughter-in-law, Nina. The author welcomes your questions and comments at MothersMusings@gmail.com.

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