I’ve neglected the blog for long enough. I have a backlog of goals/training/racing topics I want to put out there, but am starting with baby steps. The wife and I are amidst another extended weekend vacation, so hopefully documenting our trip will get me back in the rhythm of posting. The current mini-vacation that is underway is split between Philadelphia and NYC. Apparently a trip to NYC is becoming our January tradition.
To get the trip started on the right foot, we left Cincy (by car) midday on Tuesday and drove straight through the snowstorm that hit the Midwest/northeast. There were some tense hours on the road after the sun went down, but after ~12 hours we arrived at our destination. Wednesday was actually the business end of this trip. The wife had an interview throughout the day and I worked from the house of the friend we are staying with, a college roommate of mine. So, other than heading out to dinner at a casual pub on UPenn’s campus, there wasn’t much in the way of sight-seeing. For that reason, I’ll consider the actual vacation as starting on Thursday. To thank our friend for housing us, the wife made him a cake with the liberty bell on it.
Liberty Bell Cake
Thursday AM started as many of my days do, with a workout. I was hoping to get some time on a spin bike at a local gym since I won’t get any “cycling” time in otherwise. However, I was dismayed to find that gyms in the area charge $15-20 for a single day pass. I did actually bite the bullet and pay $15 for one gym, but they ended up not having the equipment I like. Either way, I got something done so it wasn’t a total waste. I arrived back at the house around the time Susan was stirring from sleep and my friend (Henry) was returning from his class. We got ourselves ready, and off to the train we went.
First order of business was lunch. Susan wanted her first cheesesteak experience and Henry wanted to take us to his favorite place for them. We rode to the Old City area and grabbed lunch at Campo’s. I had the BBQ cheesesteak as was recommended and Susan went with the old-fashioned original done up right with Cheese Whiz.
Our cheesesteak stop
After filling our stomachs it was time to fill our minds with knowledge. We walked to the Visitors center in the midst of the historical district and wandered through there. Then, we crossed the street into the Liberty Bell center. We were quick to notice that the crowds in January the few days after a snowstorm are substantially smaller than the norm. In fact, everywhere we went was basically empty. This was great as it gave us a chance to really interact with the park rangers and to take plenty of good pictures. Oh yeah, and all the activities in the area were free during Jan & Feb. Bonus!
We had the bell to ourselves
The Liberty Bell led us straight to the entrance of Independence Hall, where we were able to take a guided tour of the first 2 floors (usually only the first floor is shown when crowds are bigger). After the tour, we wandered the grounds around Independence Hall, checking out original drafts of the Declaration of Independence and seeing where the original Congress met (and finding out why they were called the upper and lower houses).
Our tour guide telling us about the courtroom in Independence Hall
Replica of the Declaration of Independence
The second floor of Independence Hall
House of Representatives room
(on the lower floor of the Congress Building)
Senate room (on the upper floor of the Congress building)
Once our brains were well fed, it was time to wander toward downtown Philadelphia. We took the scenic route, through Chinatown and with a stop at the Reading Terminal Market, an indoor farmer’s market essentially. Wandering the stalls of delicious foods led to an ice cream pit stop before continuing on to City Hall. At Susan’s interviews we were told to check out the view from the City Hall tower, so we went to see what it was all about. For $5 per person, we were able to ride up a tiny elevator (only 5 people could fit) to an observation deck at the base of the William Penn statue. The view was much more spectacular than I had expected, being unobstructed in most directions. Apparently the crowds for the view don’t get too large, even in peak season, so it’s something I’d highly recommend checking out.
Chinatown gate
Entrance to Reading Terminal Market
Some of the items available for purchase
A shot of the market
City Hall
View from the top of the City Hall tower
Mr. Penn at the top of the tower
Highly recommended
It was getting to be mid-afternoon at this point, and our legs were wearing down on us, so we started our return trip by catching the train back to Penn’s campus, where Henry gave us a tour of the campus as we worked our way back to the house. A couple hours later, we went back out to a local pub with a wide selection of craft beers for dinner before returning to call it a night early. We were worn out by the first day of sight-seeing, so were tucked into bed by 10:30.
A historical building on Penn’s campus
A few shots from around campus
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