The Brandywine B and B has been a busy place..

Heinz, Gabi, Bianca and Chris on the Pier at Caesar's, Atlantic City

What a busy week we are having around here!

Our guests Gabi Schmitz and Heinz Ehlgen arrived Saturday at 5 PM, and we all hit the ground running.

Saturday evening, after Chris and I picked up Heinz and Gabi at the airport, we enjoyed a fun pasta dinner on the patio then took a stroll through the neighborhood to pick up some of that Philly favorite, water ice.

Sunday, Mother's Day, was a beautiful day, and we took off early for Atlantic City. A long stroll down The Boardwalk was followed by a yummy hoagie and cheesesteak lunch at the amazing White House Sub Shop (they loved it!) and an all afternoon shopping spree on The Walk. Dale loved his day playing the slots while we shopped then he met us for dinner at Kwi in Caesar's.

Monday, while we were at work, Chris was the tour guide as he led Gabi and Heinz all over Philadelphia and the Penn campus. They did not get home until 9 PM, but fortunately I had dinner waiting for them. They were happily exhausted!

Tuesday neither Dale nor I needed the car so Chris, Gabi and Heinz took "Nico" on an excursion out to Gettysburg. Heinz had seen the documentary on The Civil War by Ken Burns, and he was very interested in seeing such an historical and important site. The weather was beautiful, and they had an excellent day. They did not return until after 11! Since they were away, we walked down Spring Garden to meet Mark and Janet at their boat, Lost Shaker of Salt, in the early evening. They had just brought it down the Delaware River to its summer home in the marina just in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge. We enjoyed drinks and dinner at Dave and Buster's Sports Bar while watching the Phillies 5-3 win on TV.

Wednesday C, G and H headed up to Princeton. They wanted to visit the campus and the town, and Gabi particularly wanted to visit the Princeton Center for Advanced Studies. She works for the Frankfurt Center for Advanced Studies in Germany. They returned to Philly just in time to join us for the Phillies-Dodgers game at Citizen's Bank Park. We were using the first of our Hall of Fame Club tickets, while Chris had been fortunate to find 3 tickets on a night that turned out to be a sell-out. A very good time was had by all despite the Phillies 7-1 loss.

Thursday morning I dropped C, G and H at the Bolt Bus for a day trip up to NYC for Chris and an overnight stay for G and H.

After work and a visit to the dentist, I met Dale at the new Tria Wine Bar in the Gayborhood for a light dinner before heading to the historic Walnut Street Theater to see Mel Brooks' "The Producers", an irreverant, ridiculous, hysterical and completely over the top musical. We had picked up tickets for this one at an auction back in September. The production was really excellent!

This afternoon Chris's "frangee' " Christiane will arrive, and everyone wants to take an expedition out to King of Prussia Mall tomorrow. Such a huge mall as that one is a not to miss attraction for all visitors who like to shop either with the eyes or with the wallet.

Sunday and Monday will be occupied with Penn graduation festivities. There are two receptions on Sunday and two graduation ceremonies on Monday. Suzanne, Tony and Julian Sylvestro will be coming up from Richmond to participate in that extended celebration of Chris's accomplishment this year.

Tuesday morning I will be taking the Bolt Bus to New York to help Julian Jackson and Rene Lynch with the big finale of the 'Stayin' Alive' auction for Metaphor Contemporary Art. I urge all of my readers to go to http://www.metaphorcontemporaryart.com/ and participate in the on-line portion of the auction, and for those in the NY Metro area, why don't you join us at the gallery on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn for the gala final bidding on Tuesday evening?! It will be great fun for an excellent cause!

Happy Weekend Everyone!