This morning we started off with toast and coffee before we resumed the shopping!
We started off at Costco which we always enjoy even though we rarely buy anything and today was no exception as it was very busy and we all decided we didn’t want to wait in a line to buy anything!
We went to Pure Bread (like Panera Bread but a local company) for lunch.
I had the classic combo of tomato soup and grilled cheese, Rob ordered a sandwich which he thought was going to be hot but it wasn’t.
Sadly, his was a disappointment, but mine was yummy!
After lunch we did our usual circuit around Williams Sonoma, Pottery barn and Anthropologie but again no purchases were made
We then headed to Home Depot where Rob and Tom looked at some DIY supplies and Rob got himself some kind of screwdriver set.
We then went to Target which had an in store Starbucks so we topped up on caffeine on our way around
Our final stop on this shopping extravaganza was Total wine which was the biggest liquor store we have seen! Rob picked up a couple of bottles for our garden bar at home.
We headed back to the house and decided on dinner from Pats Pizza, although I am not sure any of us actually had pizza.
I had a chicken sandwich and Rob had what looks a bit like another cheesesteak type sandwich (I didn’t take a note!)
We also had some cake for dessert but it came as like cupcakes where we were all expecting slices!
I know we watched tv after this as I have photos of Latte on my lap
31st December
Almost at the end of our trip already, we started with toast and coffee again before we went to Wegmans for food shopping – I took video of the train in the store again
We picked up a brunch from First Watch on our way home. Oddly I have no photos but I’m pretty sure I had the pancake option this time
We decided to catch up on some of our favourite home improvement shows and then headed out for a walk before it got too cold.
We had a mix of pizza, chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks for dinner which we had picked up at Wegmans earlier in the day.
We also got 2 cakes, one of which was a gingerbread flavour (and was discounted and so a complete bargain) and we also got a chocolate cake!
It was the final episode of Stranger Things and I am a baby so we left Jennifer and Tom to watch it while we went to bed!
We did watch the New Years fireworks from London earlier in the evening though
1st January
Time to go home We had toast and coffee this morning and got our stuff ready.
We headed out to find lunch, we tried Kid Shelleen’s but they had a long wait.
So we went to Opa Opa instead and then onto Best Buy because you need to squeeze as much shopping time in as possible!
My notes essentially ended at this point (can you tell we were going home?!) but I know that we went back to the house and sorted out our last bits. We loaded up the car and headed to the airport.
Car drop off was simple and we took the shuttle bus across to the terminal where check in was also super easy.
We had notifications that AA were seeking volunteers to offload but because we had booked our flights separately (to get a cheaper price by only booking hold luggage for one of us) we didn’t want to volunteer in case they split us up….
All checked in, we went through security and into the lounge which was very busy. We had some food and ice cream
Our flight boarded pretty much on time, it was as expected very busy and a few people were moved into premium economy (not us sadly). We were in the exit row but it still felt quite cramped (note to self – find ways to upgrade!)
We skipped the meal and tried to get some sleep, it wasn’t very successful for me but I think Rob managed to sleep a little bit.
We landed back at Heathrow pretty much on time and for once we got through baggage collection reasonably quickly.
We grabbed a quick snack on the way out and caught the bus to the car park before heading home.
We stopped at Amesbury to add some charge to the car, and I grabbed a quick coffee at Costa. A short while after we made it home so another trip complete!
This morning we had muffins, toast and coffee before we headed off in the car.
We were giving Jennifer & Tom a break from shopping and driving to Jim Thorpe to see a friend of Rob’s.
Jim Thorpe is a town in the Poconos which was originally called Mauch Chunk until 1954 when it was renamed Jim Thorpe after the town purchased the remains of Jim Thorpe (a native American sports legend) and buried them at a memorial in the town.
This was fairly controversial as his remains were “sold” by his 3rd wife and his family have made several attempts to reclaim his remains but to date they remain in the town.
It was very wet on the way up and there was quite a lot of snow remaining on the higher ground but we arrived at about 1130 and the sun came out.
We met up with Rob’s friend TJ and his wife Amy and they took us for a walk around the town and visited some of the unique stores.
Jim Thorpe is quite a busy tourist destination and the town was quite busy by the time we left.
We had pizza for lunch (no photo sorry!) and we left just before 1500, we passed the Jim Thorpe memorial on the way out.
The weather had improved and it was much brighter on the way back
We arrived back at Jennifer and Tom’s and before we knew it was time for dinner so we sent Rob and Tom to get food from Hayworth and Finch.
I appear to have had a chicken salad, Tom had Falafel (or Fi Fi as we named it) and Rob had a cheesesteak sandwich.
I appear to have forgotten to photograph Jennifer’s meal
I am pretty sure that we then we watched some HGTV before bed
This morning we requested that we head to First Watch for breakfast and Jennifer & Tom obliged.
I once again had the super healthy Floridan French toast, Jennifer had pancake (I think), Tom had the frittata and Rob of course had an omelette.
We then went on a cycle of our favourite shops including Best Buy (where Rob debated buying some new noise cancelling headphones – but didn’t!)
Then Target, Barnes and Noble followed by Bath and Bodyworks (where we stocked up on foaming soap and some toiletries) and then of course we had to visit Michaels (Jennifer and I went here while the boys started at Lowes) where oddly I got some Christmas cards as I couldn’t find them anywhere else.
Of course, the boys took ages at Lowes so we had a little look around there too!
We headed back to the house and had a little snack of yule log and before we knew it (we take a lot of time at the shops) it was time for dinner so we walked to Trolley Square to a place called Catherine Rooneys.
The group had a variety of cocktails (I had a soft drink obviously) and I had a sandwich (I suspect a turkey club or similar) and Rob had chicken strips.
For some reason (maybe I was being polite) I don’t have photos of the other meals.
On the way back we went to see a very spectacular tree covered in lights
28th December
This morning we had muffins and toast (plus coffee obviously) before heading to King of Prussia mall.
This was a new mall for all of us and we arrived at about 1100.
There were a lot of shops!
The main reason for visiting was for Rob to go to the True Classic store where luckily, he found some items. He has bought some clothes from them online before and wanted to try on some stuff before buying.
We stopped to get lunch at Five Guys (Jennifer and Tom had a subway instead I think) and then continued on our epic shopping trip.
We went in search of the Starbucks which was apparently in Macy’s, this was really far away! We eventually found it, there was almost no options available and the staff seemed quite disorganised.
We then found pottery barn and a few other furniture stores which were fun.
We decided we were finished and mapped a route across the mall before we started on our mission to get back to the car (it really was far!)
We made it back to the car then headed home, this felt like a real accomplishment as the mall turned out to be massive – it is apparently the 4th largest mall in the United States.
Having googled this we then discovered that Rob and I had been to the 5th largest when we were in Miami in September but King of Prussia definitely felt bigger!
We all had a little rest when we got back and then decided to have dinner at Kid Shelleens which is a short walk away.
Rob, Jennifer and Tom had some cocktails and for meals we had the following:
Me – chicken salad sandwich (I think), might have included bacon but not sure (for some reason I didn’t make a note!)
Jennifer – salad and I think also a soup but I clearly didn’t photograph that!
Rob – appears to be a steak of some sort 🤣
Tom – some sort of sandwich (amazing notes lol)
Obviously despite being really cold out I needed a Reese’s sundae (no whipped cream), while Rob had the small brownie sundae and Jennifer and Tom shared some ice cream.
All very good and we headed back to the house to watch a little bit of tv before bed.
