Day 40

Philly Sightseeing

Jun 15, 2013, 11:49 PM

Today Steve, Kim, and I went into Philly. We made plans to meet up with Daddy and Sandy and do some sightseeing. I still hadn't gotten down to Boathouse Row and I wanted to have dinner in China Town. Even when I was a kid I hated going into Center City. It is very confusing for me, too many one way streets, too many people, too much traffic, oh my gosh you can so easily end up in a lane of traffic that is headed over the Ben Franklin bridge and you now have to pay a toll and you're in Jersey. So going with my father and Sandy is perfect, I thought, they work in Center City and know how to get around. Boy can I be so wrong sometimes. Daddy and Sandy each have a DIFFERENT opinion on how to get somewhere. I spent the entire time laughing like hell at the back and forth between them, Steve making wrong turns cause there was debate going on and he missed a turn. It was so much fun!!!! Anybody looking in would have thought a major blow out was going to happen any minute, but come on, really there was no reason we couldn't go around another block or two. We had no time table we were trying to keep. We were just having a good day and these are the people I love so all is good. 

We got to the Art Museum and we tried to drive along the West River Drive. You can only go about a mile before it is all blocked for pedestrian and bike traffic. That would be really cool if there was somewhere to park, I would have been happy being a pedestrian, but oh no, no parking. So we made another loop and Sandy had seen a parking sign by the Art Museum, so we went in search of that parking sign. We found great parking in front of the Art Museum. We walked around a huge bronze sculpture and then across the street to the Rocky statue. The Art Museum is where you see Rocky running up the steps when he was training.  I found a soft pretzel vendor that steve had to have some fun with. The guy told me one pretzel was $2 and a bag was $5. Steve started in on that, he asked the guy why he was charging $3 just for a bag, he didn't need his pretzel in a bag if the bags were going to cost $3. He had the guy so turned around, we were all laughing and soon the guy realized Steve was giving him the business and he started laughing too. The pretzels were pretty darn good too. Then we walked down the West River Drive. I was able to get some shots of Boat House Row across the river and we saw some rowing teams out. By the time we were going back to the car it was late enough to start thinking about dinner. We made a side trip to Elfreth's Alley. Elfreth's alley is the nation’s oldest residential street and dates back to the first days of the eighteenth century. It is so quaint, I always enjoy a side trip there. 

Now we are getting hungry and at this point we are in for more debate about how to get to China Town. Daddy wants to go home park the car, cause he says there is no way we are going to find parking, and then from his house we should get on SEPTA (SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority), Sandy is telling him no, Kim and I have to agree with Sandy and God love him, Steve is just going along. IT WAS MADNESS!!!!!!!! We found parking, amazingly, although some thought it couldn't be done. We found a Chinese restaurant Daddy and Sandy had tried before and so we were off. Well I think since the last time they had been there the cuisine had changed. Now they serve "healthy" Chinese food. What the heck!!!!!! The menu clearly states "we use no beef, pork, or MSG". You open the menu and on the inside you are looking at the vegetarian section of the menu and the first thing is, and this is no lie, BEEF WITH BROCCOLI. Come on is it me or does anyone else see something wrong here. The meal was interesting to say the least. Oh but the very best part, was a woman sitting at the next table that insisted they give her a plate with no print on it. We were chatting among ourselves at our table and then we overhear the waitress and this woman, the woman is trying to get the waitress to bring her a plate with no print on it. She is trying to explain to the waitress that she didn't like the print on their plates, she was telling the waitress they used to have white plates and couldn't she go find her one. We were trying so hard not to listen and better yet not to laugh. It was very hard! 

So dinner was just so much fun, as is typical. Then we dropped Daddy and Sandy home and came back to Kim's to enjoy a campfire at Catherine's house. Poor Geo is not feeling well, so that was so sad to see him just not himself, but the campfire was fun anyway. We were able to embarrass Akio beyond belief, he's really almost too easy. Catherine scared Alex and we thought he might have to go home to change his shorts. 

Oh and I forgot to tell you about the butter cake. Sandy got a butter cake for me and one for Catherine. Catherine has lived this close to Philadelphia Butter Cake and she hasn't ever tried it. I really don't even understand how that's possible, but whatever. Sandy got the both of us one and it was heaven on a fork!!!!!!! Thank God I have people that love me in my life.