I will be in Philly 3 weeks this month on business staying in Lansdale. My 9 month old and a nanny will be spending the days together while I'm at work and need ideas of places they can go during the day (i.e. parks, malls, zoo, and restaurants, etc.) that are an easy drive from our hotel in Lansdale. Also, I will have the weekends off and would like to see some sights in the city as well as take some day trips to other areas. Any ideas of places that aren't too far by car or train and would be baby friendly? Thanks for your help.

Let's see...well, the city of Philadelphia is easily reached by the Septa train from Lansdale station. Plenty to do down there - whether it is truly baby friendly (the train is) or not is up to you I guess. I don't recall if the zoo is close to a train station or not.

The nearest mall to Lansdale is the Montgomeryville Mall in North Wales - maybe 15 minutes away, an average shopping mall. There's a Border's Books and a Costco nearby as well.

One notable park that I know of is Peace Valley Park near Doylestown - a nice big park with a lake, Lake Galena. It's maybe 25 minutes from Lansdale, an easy drive:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...+PA+18901&om=1

Looks like Evansburg St. park is SW of Lansdale but I haven't been there.

If you want somewhere fun to go walk around, you might try Peddler's Village in Lahasaka, PA (towards New Jersey) or keep going to get to New Hope, PA (right on the Delaware River). Some folks find Lambertville, NJ, right across the river, charming also.

Lansdale is near some beautiful countryside and farm lands. Upper Bucks County and Lehigh County (north on PA 309) offer some nice scenic drives on a nice summer day. If you want to go a few hours, you can head north to the Pocono Mountains or west to Lancaster County and the Amish Country - depends how far you want to travel with the baby.

Andrew

The closest zoo to Lansdale is Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown. It is surpirisingly nice there and perfect for young children. You are also not all that far from Valley Forge Park which is also just down the road from the King of Prussia Mall.

Downtown Philly has one of the best kids museums...kids can touch and feel almost everything in the museum. And I believe there is a SEPTA train station right near the Philly zoo.

In another suburb, about 20-25 mins., in Fort Washington, is the Childventure children's museum. small, but nice place to wander around.

Near Lansdale is Merrymeade Farm - you can walk around the check out the animals. Great ice cream, too.

In Lahaska, Peddler's Village is a huge indoor play place called Giggleberry Farm. My boys are older, but they loved it here.

And, very nearby, at Route 309 and Rte. 63 is Chuck E. Cheese.

For you, visit Longwood Gardens about and hour from Phila. My kids aren't totally excited about visiting gardens, but here they can wander around the wide open lawns.