Philadelphia

A trip to Philadelphia is one of the outings that I wanted to make sure to get in before leaving Atlantic City. Philadelphia is only about an hour from Atlantic City, and is easily accessible by train. The only other time I was in Philadelphia was on a Sunday back in college when Roger and I took a weekend trip to DC and Philadelphia to see shows. Everything was closed, and we really only had a couple of hours to walk around.

Sadly because of our Wedding Singer schedule, there were no shows that I was able to see at any of the theatres. So I decided to check and see if there was a home Phillies game on a Monday night. The only one during our 9 weeks was last night so Dan, Tami, and I hopped in the car yesterday, and headed to Philadelphia.

The historical district is pretty compact and is laid out a bit like the Mall in Washington DC. Dan wanted to go to the Mint so we passed on going in Independence Hall, The Constitution Center, or the Liberty Bell pavilion. I will be back in Philly in November so I plan on catching all of the tourist things then.

Tami has a friend on the Spamalot tour which is currently in Philadelphia so we met up with her and she showed us around. One of the first places that we went was the Famous 4th Street Deli. I was not told what makes them famous, but I would hazard a guess it was the gigantic desserts. The above picture does not really do it justice. That slice of carrot cake was at least 2 inches thick, and I only made it about halfway through before I felt like I was going to die. The leftovers did make for a tasty midnight snack.

As they say, "When in Rome..."

This is my first time going to either of the two mints. I have to say it was a bit disappointing. I likened it to when you go to the zoo and the otters are asleep. Admittedly we got there 20 minutes before the tours stopped, but there was nothing happening on the production floor. Sweeping floors is not interesting. (The same thing happened to Dan and I at the Anheuser Busch plant in St. Louis, but at least we got free beer at the end of that tour!) There were a few displays of interesting coins, but that was about it. Thankfully the tour was free.

One of the activities that Tami's friend Angela had planned for us was to throw a penny on Benjamin Franklin's grave. I do not know what the significance of doing so is, but there is my penny.

The Phillies game was fun. Well actually I couldn't really have cared less about the game, but I got my nachos so all was right with the world. The Phillies were playing the LA Dodgers. The only player I recognized was Manny Rodriguez. I was proud of myself because I understood why everyone was booing him.

I was slightly obsessed with the Phillies Phanatic. If a team is going to have a mascot it should be a giant Muppet!

Okay so I did see a Liberty Bell. I have a feeling that this one is more interesting than the original. At least this one lights up and moves!

6 more days in Atlantic City.