My brother Caleb came over to visit me this weekend because we wanted explore Philly. I don't enjoy city driving, so I am thankful that Caleb loves it and sees it as a wonderful challenge.
We left the house about 9am Saturday morning, and ate a quick breakfast of Dunkin' Donuts breakfast sandwiches, donuts, and coffee (well, I drank a coolatta).
The only thing that I absolutely wanted to do in Philly was go to the Philadelphia Zoo. After promising Caleb I wouldn't waste the entire day there, we headed to the zoo. The primates were my favorite! Most of my pictures from the zoo were the gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees. We wandered the zoo for an hour or so. It had been awhile since I've gone to a zoo, and honestly, zoos kind of make me sad now because of the animals being in conditions not natural to them. Although it's so fun watching kids enjoy it. My favorite kid quote from the zoo - "OMG!!! Look at that gorilla!!"
After the zoo we headed to downtown Philly to walk around. We found an awesome thrift store, probably the sketchiest one I've ever been to, but they had some awesome deals and we found some cool things.
We explored the little shops for awhile and then headed over to the river where we found a charming park by Penn's Landing. The park, Spruce Street Harbor Park, had hammocks in it and life sized games to play and a sidewalk with artsy vendors. When I was researching it later, I found out that it's a "pop-up park" and only open May - September. The chill atmosphere reminds me of Las Vegas's Downtown Container Park.
Caleb and I headed over to the historical part of Philly and walked by Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Having seen them as youngsters, we opted out of going into them again.
We headed back to the park and relaxed for awhile - enjoying the beautiful weather. While we were sitting there, I watched this mom and her little boy go up to hop on an available hammock (They don't become available fast.) And just when they were headed up to it, this fellow probably in his 20s goes for it also. Realizing that they were headed to it first, he insisted that they take it. The mom remarks to me, "handsome and nice. Lethal combination!" And the fellow smiles as he bounds away. I told Caleb that's the kind of people we like to be around. The ones who are kind to be kind. Who put others first. There is always good in the world if only you open your eyes to see it.
While at the park, we discussed driving the hour and a half drive over to the Jersey Shore. We decided to grab a bite to eat then head over, so we headed to Jim's Steaks for a good ole Philly cheesesteak. Caleb had seen a line out the door earlier and so we figured it must be a good place. We were not disappointed! You know it's a good place if the locals eat there.
We got to Asbury Park beach around 7pm and stayed there for an hour as we walked around on the beach. The water was cold! I was excited though because I found a few pieces of beach glass.
After we left the beach, we decided to go see the NYC skyline. I'd never been to NYC so I was excited to go, even if only for a short time. We got there around 9:30pm and found free parking in Lower Manhattan. We saw the Freedom Tower and the Statue of Liberty across the harbor and walked along Broadway for a bit. By that point I was feeling exhausted and tired of walking, so we hopped in the car and drove down by Madison Square Garden and Times Square.
The Statue of Liberty was my favorite part. It made me think of one of my favorite books as a kid, "When Jessie Came Across the Sea" and how excited Jessie is to finally see the Statue.
Around midnight, we hit the road for the hour and a half drive back to the house.
It was a wonderful, crazy, spontaneous day, but I was glad to crawl into bed and I fell asleep quickly.
A few extra random pictures around the city:
We left the house about 9am Saturday morning, and ate a quick breakfast of Dunkin' Donuts breakfast sandwiches, donuts, and coffee (well, I drank a coolatta).
Caleb with our donuts
The only thing that I absolutely wanted to do in Philly was go to the Philadelphia Zoo. After promising Caleb I wouldn't waste the entire day there, we headed to the zoo. The primates were my favorite! Most of my pictures from the zoo were the gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees. We wandered the zoo for an hour or so. It had been awhile since I've gone to a zoo, and honestly, zoos kind of make me sad now because of the animals being in conditions not natural to them. Although it's so fun watching kids enjoy it. My favorite kid quote from the zoo - "OMG!!! Look at that gorilla!!"
The Welcome Hippo
Mama and baby. Seriously, SO CUTE!
The dad..the zoo information about him said he loves to put things on his head...
The mighty gorilla
Me + the giraffes + a bald guy
After the zoo we headed to downtown Philly to walk around. We found an awesome thrift store, probably the sketchiest one I've ever been to, but they had some awesome deals and we found some cool things.
We explored the little shops for awhile and then headed over to the river where we found a charming park by Penn's Landing. The park, Spruce Street Harbor Park, had hammocks in it and life sized games to play and a sidewalk with artsy vendors. When I was researching it later, I found out that it's a "pop-up park" and only open May - September. The chill atmosphere reminds me of Las Vegas's Downtown Container Park.
Siblings
Caleb and I headed over to the historical part of Philly and walked by Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Having seen them as youngsters, we opted out of going into them again.
We headed back to the park and relaxed for awhile - enjoying the beautiful weather. While we were sitting there, I watched this mom and her little boy go up to hop on an available hammock (They don't become available fast.) And just when they were headed up to it, this fellow probably in his 20s goes for it also. Realizing that they were headed to it first, he insisted that they take it. The mom remarks to me, "handsome and nice. Lethal combination!" And the fellow smiles as he bounds away. I told Caleb that's the kind of people we like to be around. The ones who are kind to be kind. Who put others first. There is always good in the world if only you open your eyes to see it.
My favorite park picture..just relaxing
While at the park, we discussed driving the hour and a half drive over to the Jersey Shore. We decided to grab a bite to eat then head over, so we headed to Jim's Steaks for a good ole Philly cheesesteak. Caleb had seen a line out the door earlier and so we figured it must be a good place. We were not disappointed! You know it's a good place if the locals eat there.
We got to Asbury Park beach around 7pm and stayed there for an hour as we walked around on the beach. The water was cold! I was excited though because I found a few pieces of beach glass.
After we left the beach, we decided to go see the NYC skyline. I'd never been to NYC so I was excited to go, even if only for a short time. We got there around 9:30pm and found free parking in Lower Manhattan. We saw the Freedom Tower and the Statue of Liberty across the harbor and walked along Broadway for a bit. By that point I was feeling exhausted and tired of walking, so we hopped in the car and drove down by Madison Square Garden and Times Square.
The Statue of Liberty was my favorite part. It made me think of one of my favorite books as a kid, "When Jessie Came Across the Sea" and how excited Jessie is to finally see the Statue.
Around midnight, we hit the road for the hour and a half drive back to the house.
It was a wonderful, crazy, spontaneous day, but I was glad to crawl into bed and I fell asleep quickly.
A few extra random pictures around the city:
The Bull in NYC
This picture makes me think of one of my favorite movies - Wild Hogs
A rat car *shudder*
Philly mosaics
#Beatles
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