Philadelphia

Still hanging around

Welcome back all. I am glad to see you haven't given up and us and are still reading about our mostly boring lives!!!! 

Monday October 27th was a real fun day for us. Eddie and I got up and ready to start our day. We caught the PATCO train to Philadelphia. This was the first time riding it by ourselves. It went pretty smoothly, that is except for me not getting all of our change and losing two dollars, darn it!!! We arrived in "Philly" with no problems. I had gone on Groupon and found a really good deal on two tickets for the "Hop on Hop off" bus tour. Meaning we could catch the bus, and then get off and on at any of the 27 stops it makes. It is a two day ticket, so we opted to do the complete tour the first day, and then go back and hit the stops we wanted to the second day. The bus is an open top double Decker one. The day was sunny and beautiful, so of course we got right up top. The complete tour is about 90 minutes. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour guide, Issac. He was very knowledgeable and interesting at the same time. 

sculpture in front of the Wells Fargo building

cool fire escape in this old building

Ben Franklin bridge

from the bus. Will stop later

selfie on the bus

city hall

William Penn statue

house featured in the movie "The Sixth Sense"

After doing the loop and the entire tour, we "hopped" off to get a little nosh. I got a Philly steak sandwich and Eddie got a hot dog from a street vendor. Both were really tasty!!! We walked over to the park and ate. The line wasn't as crazy long at the Liberty Bell as it was when we came over with Becca, so we walked over to see that after we ate. It took about 15 minutes to clear security, but after that, it was easy going. There are lots of displays and information before you actually get to the bell. It is a lot smaller than you would think, but still pretty amazing.

another selfie with us and the bell

Liberty Bell

close up of the crack

Interdependence hall as seen from the Liberty Bell

You used to be able to walk right up to the Liberty Bell and even touch it. But a tourist tried to damage it with a hammer, so now it has a sectioned off area around it. You can still get pretty close though. After the Liberty Bell, seeing as how it was still early, we walked back to the bus and rode it to the Reading Terminal Market. This was one of my favorite places when I visited Becca years ago. Eddie completely fell in love with it. It really is a cool place, and I KNEW he would enjoy it. 

look at all of those goodies-YUM!!!

fresh fruit anyone?

more goodies

meat lovers heaven

shoe shine station

need something to read?

just about any kind of food is here

barbecue duck

all kinds of shop's are here

more yummy food

Carmel AND candy apples

 The bummer deal for me was that the Amish vendors are only here from Wednesday to Saturday. Oh well, that only means that we will have to come back here another day, and of course with LOTS of money so we can get some of the wonderful goods sold here!!!! We caught the bus again and got off at the Rodin Museum. We wanted to get some up close pictures of the "Thinker" and the "Gates of Hell"

sign says it all

tree at the museum

our shadow's

Eddie and the "Thinker" at "The Gates of Hell"

The Thinker

the "Gates of Hell"

By the time we were done at the Rodin Museum, we were ready to head back to New Jersey. We took a break at the visitors center before walking to the train station. By this time my feet were KILLING me!!!! The train was a nice rest. We arrived safely and got back to the kids place happy, but exhausted!!!!! 
Tuesday Eddie checked on Freeda, and I rested my achy feet.
Wednesday we took the train back into Philly for our second bus day. It was overcast, but warm. We took the bus to the Betsy Ross house and got some pictures of that and the grounds.

Betsy Ross House

at the Betsy Ross house

garden at Betsy Ross house

From the Betsy Ross house, we walked over to Elfreth's Alley. Elfreth's alley is the oldest inhabited street in the U.S. People still live in these houses. Some of them are only sixteen feet wide. They are three and four stories high, and SUPER awesome!!!!! While there, Eddie and I met a real nice lady that lives in the alley. She said it is really wonderful to live there and to be a part of such great history. She said they do get quite the workout going up and down the stairs all day. Also, they have a ghost. It is an older woman who loves keys. My theory is that she was probably the keeper of the keys when she was alive. The current residents do not seem to mind the extra house mate. The ghost is nice enough and gives the house added charm. It is people and stories like that that make our travels so much fun!!!!!!

Elfreth's Alley

totally awesome house's

stairs to the cellar

UPS delivering on Elfreth's Alley

costumed tour guide

the alley all quiet

Back on the bus, we passed by Chinatown. Man it smelled GOOD!!!! If we had the budget for it, I would have loved to get off there and have some lunch. The only thing I did get was a good shot of the Friendship Arch. This is held together by the weight of the pieces, like a Jenga game. No nails, bolts etc.

Friendship Arch into Chinatown

my Honey bunch on the bus

Hard Rock Cafe

Our next stop was Love Park. When in Philly, one MUST stop and do a photo op at Love park!!!!!

Eddie at the fountain in Love Park

Love Park

By this time, it had gotten more overcast and the wind was picking up. The spray from the fountain was reaching us all of way to where we were standing. I started to think I should have brought a sweatshirt with me. While there, Eddie walked over to Temple University to get a close up view of the "Clothes Pin" sculpture. I just snapped this shot from the bus!!

the "Clothes Pin"

 We continued on and really enjoyed our new guide. He was an older fellow and had different stories than what we had heard before.

sculpture at the Museum

"Rocky Steps" at the museum

"Rocky" sculpture

Joan of Arc, or "Joni on a pony" as some locals call it

sculpture commemorating the lives lost in the Holocaust

closer view of the sculpture

the streets of Philadelphia

I thought I felt a couple of rain drops, but kept my fingers crossed. I did however put on my very light wrap that I brought. The air was DEFIANTLY getting chilly. We passed by a private club that was used in the filming of the movie "Trading Places". It has two staircases leading in. The reason for this was that back in the day, when it was a ladies day at the club, the men and women could use separate staircases so the men would and could not catch a glimpse of the ladies ankles. Can you imagine the scandal if they did!!!!!

Vietnam War Memorial

building used in the filming of "Trading Places"

notice the 2 staircases??

William Penn

Philly skyscrapers

getting cloudy!!!!

When we were about two blocks away from the end of the tour, it started to rain. We had ALMOST made it!!!!! Of course we stuck at two lights, and by the time the bus did pull up and stop, all of us brave souls that had stayed on top were a bit wet. Eddie and I headed to the visitors center to see if the rain would let up. It did, and after a couple of minutes, we headed to the train station. It was another fun filled day. We got to do and see alot. Now I think I need a REST!!!!! Both of us were ready to get back to the kids place and VEG!!! When we got to their house, my key wouldn't work. I thought that was strange, then I remembered Andrew had changed the door handle and lock, and I didn't think to ask for a new key. DUH!!!!!!! Becca and Andrew had gone to the haunted house they have every year at the old State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. They wouldn't be getting home for another two to three hours. So we decided to drive over to Freeda and hang out there. We would be warm, comfortable and have a bathroom close. All very important things!!!!! Eddie plugged Freeda in so we would have power. We both had some soup for dinner, and then cuddled up and watched some TV. Both of us were about to fall asleep when Becca messaged me that they were back. It was hard to leave my comfy bed and cozy little home. We have both missed Freeda!!!!! By the time we got to the kids place, all we wanted was to call it a day and go to bed.

Thursday the 30th we got moved back upstairs. The guest room is all patched and painted. Becca wanted to get us moved before tomorrow so as not to interfere with any Halloween plans. So our time in the little apartment has come to a close. The next step is to ready it for a renter. It just needs some sanding, painting, carpet shampooing and final cleaning. An add has already been placed. The upstairs room is a lot smaller than what we had, but it is nice all the same. I personally like having a window right above me for some cool fresh air!!!!
October 31st. Happy, happy Halloween!!!!!!!!! Eddie and I finished settling in back upstairs and putting things away. We then watched the movie "Noah" with Russell Crowe. It was okay. Glad I didn't waste money on it at a theatre. Eddie went to check on Freeda, and I stayed here. Becca was out with her friend Jenn. Andrew handed out candy to the few Trick or Treaters there were. All in all it was a quiet day.
Well folks, this brings you all almost totally up to date. Good place to stop and post. There is still a lot to explore and see while we are here, so more stories and pictures to come. So to steal an idea from another full time RVing blogger (Roy, I hope you don't mind) I am going to leave you with a quote.
"There is much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it" -Diana Trilling-
Love to you all, Eddie, Darlanne & miss Suzy!!!!!