Several months ago, a co-worker of mine mentioned a website she had heard of – Pack Up & Go – that will plan a 3-day vacation for you. The catch is that you don’t find out where you’re going until you go. We thought that sounded like fun, so as a spring break option we picked a price range in the “plane, train, or bus” option and filled out their survey about our interests, recent trips, and upcoming trips – they want to avoid places you’ve gone recently or are going to soon.
One week before the trip, we received some hints so we know what to pack, the weather forecast, and when and where we’re departing. Based on the weather and departure details (flying out of Midway and we’re allowed two free checked bags each), I guessed we were heading to Baltimore – Southwest (the airline for free checked bags) had four flights leaving at 8:00 AM that day, and the other three were to warmer climates. Cassandra’s guess was Philadelphia. 
As it turns out, she was right – that flight was at 7:55.
We woke up at 4am and opened our envelope before heading to the airport. By the time we parked, we had an email with our boarding passes and some additional details. I glanced through the sightseeing and food recommendations before breakfast, and really dug into them on the plane.
Our package also included directions to our hotel, a dinner reservation and gift card, museum tickets, and an Uber credit. And most importantly, a map of the downtown area. I marked our hotel and dinner spot, and scoped out where the recommendations landed on the map.
We stopped at the hotel before lunch, planning to leave our bags with the concierge, but lucked out because our room was ready. We took a little longer as a result, then hit the streets heading towards the Reading Terminal Market. It wa
s lunchtime and the whole market felt packed, so instead of exploring its’ entirety, we slipped out the other side and found a lovely Ramen restaurant in Chinatown.
After lunch, we wandered towards the Liberty Bell with a stop in a chocolate shop. Despite three chocolate shop stops, we didn’t buy any chocolate on this trip! (Self-restraint is easier when traveling carry-on only.) When we reached the Liberty Bell, we saw a long line inside the building. And outside. And turning the corner. We decided to wait our visit until Sunday morning, though we did pick up postcards at the gift shop. We wandered our way around town and back to the hotel before our dinner reservation at Garces, and managed to visit a couple shops on the way to that.
Dinner was amazing, starting with sourdough bread and a selection of olive oils and vinegars, then appetizers, soups, and entrees that landed at our table. We even saved room for dessert, which went nicely with the Auchentoshan Three Wood (Scotch) I selected. As we strolled back to the hotel, we laughed as a young gentleman sang to someone in his group, then asked who else needed to be serenaded.
Sunday morning, well before the Liberty Bell opened, we descended to Urban Farmer, the hotel’s restaurant, 
where the waiter talked me into having a homemade English muffin… because it came with the blue crab omelette. The muffin was easily double the size I expected. It made a lovely lunch; I barely finished the omelette.
Our line strategy worked – we strolled right in when we reached the Liberty Bell shortly after 
9:00 am. Next on the agenda was The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, a block away from our hotel. There were casts of dinosaurs fossils as we entered, and information on any number of animals elegantly displayed in life-sized dioramas, as well as an indoor butterfly exhibit. We bypassed the live crocodiles, since we had already decided to visit both the Adventure Aquarium (across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey) and the Philadelphia Zoo. We stopped at the hotel to grab my leftover English muffin from the room fridge and summoned a ride using Uber. Our driver did warn us that the area surrounding the aquarium is unsafe, and to get our return ride directly from the entrance.
We arrived just in time for the hippo feeding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve mostly seen hippos lounging at zoos, so this was a treat. Both hippos were in the water. From the below water level viewing area, we could see them pushing off the floor to snatch half a head of cabbage in their mouths. We moved from there to the shark exhibit, glancing at jellyfish and other creatures on the way. The final part of the shark exhibit is the optional Shark Bridge – a rope netting bridge with metal supports over the shark tank. (Yes, we most certainly did walk it.)
Then it was time for a hands-on exhibit, reaching into a tank of rays before popping outside for one of the two penguin enclosures. And back inside for the touch-a-shark tank – significantly smaller than the ones below the shark bridge – and an exploration of reptiles and amphibians. We went back outside with the crowd at penguin feeding time before visiting the hands-on kids area. (Yes, we’re above the target age range. But still welcome.) That included yet another touch tank, this time with starfish, shrimp, and fish.
An Uber ride later, we were back at the hotel trying to pick a dinner spot from the long list Pack Up + Go provided. With assistance from my phone (“that one doesn’t have an available table for two hours”, “that has no openings tonight”), we selected El Rey as our destination, and enjoyed interesting Mexican food, including a rice pudding flan.
Having reached our final morning without, we decided a Philly cheesesteak sandwich was an appropriate breakfast option at the appropriate named Spataro’s Cheesesteaks restaurant at Reading Terminal Market. And having already walked over 40,000 steps during the weekend, we chose the reasonable option of… no, wait, we walked some more. You can’t really sit down while exploring a zoo. We packed up, checked out of the hotel, and spent the next few hours at the Philadelphia Zoo. (With our luggage. Good thing it was just carry-on.)
They have some pretty interesting exhibits, including their 360 view tunnels for various animals. I can’t emphasize enough how cool it is to walk under the jaguar or the red pandas. Sadly, the trip had to end, so we headed to the airport, thoroughly satisfied with our first Pack Up + Go experience.