Philadelphia, PA

1. Baklava ice cream. How did no one think of it before?

2. It is different in the north-east. People are curt. Counter servers don't call you 'hon'. I don't care (yet), but this could take some getting used to.

3. We are staying in the top-floor, 2-bedroom suite of the Cornerstone B&B, a charming renovated brownstone with wine-and-cheese sessions on the patio, complimentary creme de menthe at night, teddy bears on the shelves and a fake elk skin rug on the master bed duvet. It is almost perfect, except that the Drexel chapter of AEPi is a block down the road. Fortunately, we missed Cinco de Mayo by a day.

3.1 Oh, and they don't have HBO, which means I'll miss The Sopranos

4. American budget hotels have free wi-fi now. It's incredible.

5. The mother and I went to see the Liberty Bell -- it's kind of ironic that to get into the building you have to go through metal detectors and be shouted at by the security guys for not taking your belt off. Kind of puts a dent in the whole, you know, freedom thing.

5.1. (Yes, I know the arguments, but I'm not a GP teacher)