Glad to be back again. Here is the rundown:
As far as the competition goes, we did fairly well. We had two girls advance although neither made it to the finals. All four girls are juniors (will be seniors this fall) so they have another shot at it. The odds of breaking are very low though so they were happy just to get that far. Our district is one of the most competitive in the country.
Philadelphia is about average in terms of my favorite cities ever visited. It was not the cleanest community but had very friendly people and quite a bit of historical stuff to do.
Well... people in Philly are obsessed with cheese whiz. What an odd thing to be obsessed with I think. lol The Reading Terminal Market is a must see if you ever go. And if you ever plan to see the Liberty Bell be ready for the tightest security ever.
The sidetrip to New York City was awesome. If you have EVER doubted going there because you are afraid... don't be. If a small town guy like myself can do it -- so can you! It was soooooo much fun and I never once felt unsafe, which is saying a lot. We rode the Statten Island Ferry, saw Ground Zero (how emotional), saw the Empire State Building, visited Times Square, the Good Morning America studios, and MTV. We also got to see the hottest show on Broadway right now, Wicked. It is the most incredible show I have ever seen... and this comes from someone who loves Phantom of the Opera with all my heart and soul. This blew it right out of the water!!!
I don't know how I was able to score tickets to the show that is sold out from now through November already, but I did and we had the best time. Good thing I have connections!
But now I am back home and trying to get caught up on my sleep. There were several nights I only got 2 or 3 hours of rest so I am trying to get it back. It isn't easy, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.
my Cowboys 
The cheese steak was awesome though. We got it at Rick's.