PHILADELPHIA
                                   

Philly is about history……..and FOOD!!

I have been to Philadelphia more times than I can count. My best friend lives there. I am a huge sucker for the foliage. I am a Phillies fan. I am also a recovering vegetarian.

I have been traveling to Philly at least once for a long time now. More often than not the past 5 years, post vegetarian days, it has been 2 to 3 times a year! There are a few staples in my Philly fix diet: Laugh sessions with my best friend Eileen and her son Murphy, a trip to Linvilla Orchards, and CHEESESTEAK.

In 2010 I deviated a bit from my normal routine. A friend traveled up to the city to meet me, so I could show him around, and of course we could spend some time together. Like any good tour guide, I hit all the highlights. Mind you, we were in Philly during record heat, but we are Texans, and their heat wave was a heat break for us! The only problem, many of the tours were closed due to the high temperatures. Not to be deterred, we saw Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Tomb of the Unknowns Revolutionary War, Penn’s Landing, Broad Street, etc. We were having a great time. I made note that FINALLY a guy that can keep up with me and not mind my total lack of itinerary! I also noted he is adorable and a helluva lot of fun, but I knew that already. Alas, no one is perfect. Center city I asked the first time: “Ready to try an authentic Philly Cheesesteak?” and I get a “nah” OUCH. Strike one.

That night we had Italian food. We had good Italian in Reading Terminal market because it was near our hotel, and open late.  Still no cheesesteak? What IS his problem? Strike two.

The next day we ventured around a little more and thoroughly enjoyed the city. Philly is not prettied up. Philly is gritty, real, and wonderful, but not for everyone. This guy did not miss a beat, swapping trash talk (friendly of course), and feeling right at home. I am thinking maybe there is hope. Tonight is THE night….Easy now, I mean for CHEESESTEAKS. We have hit the history hot spots. We went to Christ Church, it is FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND IN PHILADELPHIA. We have immersed ourselves in unapologetic patriotism! It is the anniversary of the first public reading of The Declaration of Independence, and here we are at Independence Hall!  For dinner he wants to pick the place. Oy vey, how sweet, better be cheesesteaks. Negative. This guy has done some research! We are headed to Moshulu. I am disheartened. Strike three. This is not good. This Phillies fan is sure this is guy is OUT. Still, I have never been there and I always game for trying new places. I am duly impressed. Moshulu www.moshulu.com  is a ship originally launched in 1904. It is beautiful, the food is excellent, we share a pretty significant inside joke, and leave happy. I make note to return here in the future. Still, OUT is OUT.

The next morning, I get a single purple rose delivered to me, and a smiling, non-cheesesteak eating man is inquiring about my trips to Washington, DC. I explain he simply cannot miss it. He wants to go, but does not want to go alone. He goes downstairs to book a train trip. I suggest a Chinatown bus, if he is willing, it is $15 and we can be in DC by 9pm if we leave now. He does not hesitate, he is IN. Hmm! We have about an hour to kill before our bus leaves. I make one last attempt, “Sure you do not want to try a cheesesteak?”  Another no, we have *GASP* Subway? BLASPHEMY! This is Philadelphia, and we are eating at a freaking Subway. I confess I am not a Longhorns fan, we are evenly imperfect (barely). As we drive out of Philly, my non eating cheesesteak companion declares, “The only way I will be a Phillies fan is if Oswalt is traded to the Phillies.” I think to myself, the Phillies have enough fans, and they eat cheesesteaks, but again, this guy is adorable, just bought me my favorite kind of rose, and is game for a 5pm whirlwind trip, he is not all bad!

 We go to DC, have a FABULOUS time and fall in love, but that is another blog altogether. This one is about Philly!

We part ways at the Chinatown bus stop in Washington, DC. I head back to my friends in Pennsylvania to get my fix at Linvilla Orchards, and my mind is still with this perfectly flawed man! The texts are flying in. He is happy. He loved the trip. So did I. Within a month we are married, and headed back to the East Coast for our two week honeymoon. On the “itinerary” is Philly of course, Washington, DC, Atlantic City, and New York. He is convinced Texas is the only place to live. I am hell bent on proving him wrong. We start in Philly. My husband must explain his anti-cheesesteak stance. His confession includes a deep rooted aversion to onions? ONIONS? So?  This is Philly. Order it “wit out”. We get off the train near my friend’s house, and one of my favorite places is just steps away. This is not Philadelphia, but it is worth the train ride. We drop into Double Decker and order two steaks, Old Bay fries, and wiz on the side. He is in heaven! I knew it. I picked the right man after all. I should tell you, http://doubledeckerpizza.com/ is known for their inside out pizzas, I have never tried them. The kids assure Donnie and I they are amazing. He finished his and half of mine. I am pleased with our lunch date. I ask what he wants for dinner. (Note when I am in PA all I eat are cheesesteaks, water ice and sandwiches, literally, that is it). He says he wants another cheesesteak. LOVE! We walk to Venice in Ridley Park. We place the same order. Life is good. http://venicepizzapie.com/ is also a hit. After that we need dessert, and to walk off those calories (we’d have to walk back to Texas to burn all the calories we have consumed day one, but never mind that!), we head to one of my favorite places, Linvilla Orchards. I usually hit this spot in October for all things pumpkin, or in Spring and all things berry, but this is September and we are surrounded by the apple harvest. Donnie has his apples eaten before we leave the grounds, declaring them the best he has ever had. Yet, again, he is hooked on Pennsylvania!

The next day we are headed back into Philly and we repeat the culinary experience at Venice. In fact we take a later train so we can squeeze in another one! I can say their pizza is good, but I always have the cheesesteak. I can recommend their chicken cheesesteak, but I rarely order it. I am in Philly for a few days at a time, I am INDULGING. By afternoon we are in South Philly and hungry again. I take him to Pat’s, originator and inventor of cheesesteaks. It is the one and only location. Across the street is Geno’s. I have had both. Of the two I prefer Geno’s, but we go for the originator and as I have warned him, these have a pretty strong onion flavor even when ordered “wit out onions” Still, it is a must do in Philly at least once. The atmosphere is hard to beat. The line is steady, and they taste even better at 2am. Yes, cheesesteak 24/7! My suggestion to first timers is order one from Geno’s and one from Pat’s and pick your favorite, just know what you want when your time comes in line, and there WILL always be a line. This is Philly. This is Food. This is serious business. If you forget that and dawdle, they WILL remind you.

I am happy to report that after gorging on cheesesteaks, and finding a new level of love for my now husband, we DO get to go to the Top of City Hall, which is an amazing building. Walt Whitman called it, “…silent, weird, beautiful….” in 1879. Walt said it best. From the top you can see the entire city. Take note of the run Rocky made down Benjamin Franklin, and REMEMBER the “Rocky Steps” are actually steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and somewhere you should definitely check out while in Philly. Some of my favorite photos of our trips were taken there. www.philamuseum.org 

We took the tour of Independence Hall this time, spent some time on Broad Street, Betsy Ross House, Elfreth’s Alleyhttp://elfrethsalley.org/ (the oldest residential street in America where we vow to live at some point) stopped at Wawahttp://www.wawa.com/WawaWeb/  on our way to catch our Chinatown bus to NYC. ONLY on the East Coast can you find great food in a convenience store. Seriously, Philly is about history….AND FOOD!

Oswalt was in fact traded to the Phillies, my husband is a cheesesteak addicted Phillies fan, and we are headed to New York City on a Chinatown bus….. wanna be nomads talks are underway. Stay tuned as we wander, eat, and blog our way across the East Coast!

                         NEW YORK

Just 5 days prior to that fateful day in 2001 I stood with my children on Ellis Island, all of us looking at the Statue of Liberty. We had not planned on touring it, but there is something very endearing about being on that water and approaching this PRESENCE. There is an energy there hard to explain. I felt this prior to 9/11...thinking only that I was glad we had gone, as I was hell bent on a trip of "intro to American history"-the purpose being to expose my oldest son (who was entering Kindergarten) all the things he'd soon learn. Plymouth Rick, Liberty Bell, Washington Monuments, so many states, so many things. I'll never forget the guard in Philadelphia. The kids being chosen as the ones to touch the bell. I am a lover of history and travel so I was already in my element...2 wks on the road, hitting all the spots. I could not know then that in just days the Bell would be locked up, the monuments closed at night and guarded heavily (we had the great joy of seeing them at night!). I could not have predicted any of the changes in store. New York City that day was hot, humid and SUNNY.. We boarded to go through Ellis Island,, toured it, spent the day at the Statue, sending postcards from the Post Office they have there with its own zip code. We were wrapping the day up when the skies came down. It rained, no it POURED! Water ran through the sidewalks, everyone was SOAKED. We were waiting on the ferry...nowhere to go. It had been so hot, and there was so little we could do anyway so I looked at the kids and we all just started laughing. A gentlemen who was there alone and had been hanging somewhat near us all day was getting a kick out of the kids ooos and ahhhs. In all our days and all our sightseeing, I have just one "family photo" of that trip,  lined  up with the Towers behind us. We stopped to see a good friend in New Orleans. While there he and I joked about the post card from the Statue and how we had beaten the postcard's arrival driving to his house. For some reason I had mailed those closest to us all post cards from that post office at the Statue of Liberty. All of the skyline, all with the towers front and center....and to be honest I never really noticed the Towers at all. If you have been to NYC you understand just how easily it is to not notice a thing like that. Sitting in New Orleans joking, looking at the photos I had developed ( I always want them developed immediately)..I complained to my friend about the "goddamn orange date stamp" that marked the entire roll of film...how it really messed up my photographs! How perfect they would have been without that damn stamp!! I never used the date stamp, have no idea how it was on...but it was. To this day it is still on and I don't know how to turn it off. We went home to Texas, my family, our memories and my "messed up pics". Four days later I had returned from dropping my Kindergarten son off at school. I was carrying in my younger 4 year old son and 3 year old daughter. I heard them say "wow mama"! I still recall Jojo's words "Mama those big o buildins' fall down FAST"..The "big ol buildins" is the phrase my eldest Anthony had coined. It is the phrase he used to tell the kids at show and tell what his pictures were of.  I sat clutching my babies tight...surreal. Like so many, I had been dumbfounded. Without thinking, I went to get my Kindergarten boy. I made calls. I called to check on my best friend in Philadelphia, knowing by then of the other planes.  This year when I booked my annual trips to the East Coast, I was  reminded that things change. When I visited NYC, with my precious husband, the Towers missing from the photos wasn't the only change I reflected on. There are no longer 3 toddlers clinging to  me. They have grown up. I have two handsome sons and a beautiful daughter all taller than me. The towers weren't there, but the  memory was. The rebuilding has begun, at the WTC and in my life. The energy at the site brought tears to our eyes. Faith, Hope, and Love. We felt them all.  Its matters not how the rebuild is done.its forever different, we are forever different. We are a little softer hearted but alot stronger in spirit...the kids and I..but maybe its not just us. Seems everyone I know has changed a bit.  A place and moment in time where we are living history a little bit magnified. I think back on that trip and never doubt that the Mayflower was more than just a boat.  Pilgrims were more  construction paper black hats for the Thanksgiving bulletin board at school. I want the kids to know the American history is more than fun stories.I wanted them to understand what they MEANT. I wanted the kids to "get it". Careful what you wish for I suppose. They get it. They get alot. They learned about more than history past..they, WE, learned about life. The good, the bad, the terror.  We learned People matter, life is too short to be terrified, to hate. Yes everything has changed. Everything is always changing. It is the feelings, the people, anything that is constant that matter most. Those are the things that calm you when life gets scary. The friend in Philly, the child reaching for your hand, the grandmother and her worries.The stories your pass down, the experience....the hats you make in class, the silly songs you sing in Kindergarten.... Each time I go to NYC, I remember all I have learned from that "trip" to teach history to 3 kids. I celebrate all that those same kids have since taught me about this "trip" called life. I never want to forget to remember. More important things can collapse than towers. What fear does to the heart and mind is far worse than any other destruction. I want to remember that from bad things come good things too. I want to remember that sometimes our greatest teachers have less experience than we do--less credentials, but more heart. I want to remember to worry less about tomorrow and more about today. I want to remember to live more, fear less...the way children do. Who knew that history lesson would take such a turn, the students becoming the teachers, that it would both wound and heal me. Now my trips to NYC are shared with a man that understands these things. My Donnie  is a constant reminder that there is a perfect person for everyone. I look at him and know that life is never hopeless. That love will always set you free. I enjoy NYC in a whole new way, a light hearted way. I laugh at him eating his way across Manhattan. I have been blessed to show him the Statue of Liberty, The WTC site, and so many other things. I look at him and know he "gets it", that he " gets me". I accept that life will continue to change, and I am not afraid. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness..... ...and it was good too, just different from before. For in that darkness came the promise of morning, and the gift of starting anew.    So much more has changed than my last name. I am alot less afraid than before. My heart is softer, my mind is stronger, my resolve deepened...and my love is greater. Ive gained so much this year. NYC reminds me of that. Who could ask for a better souvenir? Blogs of our individual NYC trips and MUST see/do tips to follow.....