3/19/17, “Famous, Historic Philadelphia”
Aboard Northeast Regional 140, En route PHL-NYP
There are really only four cities in the country where I
can spend the day doing what I did today, all four cities, in fact, are served
by this train. Those cities are Boston,
New York, Philadelphia, and Washington.
My grandfather had related that he probably would not be available
before I left for my train this afternoon and asked if I would be okay on my
own for the day. I assured him that I
would have no trouble entertaining myself here in one of my favorite cities in
the world.
Philadelphia has 67 National
Historic Landmarks. Until I have taken a
ceremonial picture with my cigar and water bottle in front of each and every
one of those 67 famous and historic sites, there would never be a question of
me being able to entertain myself in this city.
I inched closer today by knocking off 16 NHLs, taking the exact same
picture 16 times. I was in my element,
and I was thrilled to spend the day doing that.
Okay, so how did it all go down?
After I closed last night, I went back to the hotel and published my
entry. I then started mapping out my
day. I highlighted, I think, 18
sites. Some of them didn’t even have
entries saved on Google Maps, so I had to create the entries myself. To my shock, they were approved almost
instantaneously. I also had my carrot
cake that I had gotten to take home from the restaurant and made a cup of
coffee in the room. There was only one
problem, though. They didn’t give me
utensils, so I had to improvise. I
looked around the room for a tool to use to eat the cake. I found something that would work. The plastic lid for the coffee cup. It worked perfectly. The cake was delicious, and I went to bed
after I had finished making my map for today.
I woke up close to 10 AM, and I figured that I would have until around 2
PM to do my sightseeing. I went down to breakfast,
but I didn’t have much of an appetite.
The buffet was a letdown, to boot.
They had some cooked-to-order dishes, which were the same price as the
buffet. I knew there was zero chance I
would want a second plate from the buffet, so I opted for the freshly cooked
meal, getting bacon, eggs, hashed browns, and toast, along with coffee.
I then packed and got ready for the day. I just had my one bag, so I could sling that
over my shoulder as I walked around the city.
I headed out, lit up a Caoba, and walked to my first site. Okay, I could make this a five paragraph
summary, or a two sentence summary.
Again, I will only highlight the more interesting sites. I first went to Christ Church, the first
Episcopal Church in the Country, then Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest residential
street in the country.
A lot of the
places I saw today were “the oldest X in the country.” Next it was the First Bank of the United
States, then the Merchant’s Exchange Building, followed by Carpenters’ Hall,
where the First Continental Congress was held, and I got a replica there to add
to my collection. Then the Second Bank
of the United States, followed by the American Philosophical Society Hall.
Then it was time for a new cigar, so I lit up
a Montecristo Open Eagle and took a ceremonial picture at Independence Hall,
which, though a WHS, is not an NHL.
After that, my quest was back on.
Next came the Philadelphia Contributionship, founded by Benjamin
Franklin, the oldest property insurance company in the country. After that it was the Hill-Keith-Physick
House, followed by New Market, then St. Paul’s Church, and then the Mother
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Next came the site that I found most exciting to visit, the Thomas Sully
Residence. Thomas Sully was a famed
portrait artist, who painted, among other things, the portrait of Andrew
Jackson that is found on the banknotes, so I took a banknote out of my pocket
for a picture at the residence. At his
point, my cigar was almost done, and the time was coming. I wanted to be on a 2:18 PM train, which
meant I would need to stop my sightseeing at 1:30 PM to get a taxi. I had been to 13 sites so far, and I wanted
to get 16 for my collage to make it 4x4.
It would be tight.
Next came the
Pennsylvania Hospital, followed by the J. Peter Lesley house. It was now 1:28 PM, and my cigar was down to
the nub. It was a 6-minute walk to the
next site. If my cigar did not last, I
would be forced to abort the mission, as I did not have time to light up another
cigar. I made it and took my last
ceremonial picture outside the Frances Ellen Watkins Harper House.
That was it.
I had visited 16 sites, and I would have a great collage to show for the
day. One problem. It was now 1:35 PM, and I was deep in a
residential neighborhood. No taxis. I had to walk to Broad Street to get a
taxi. It was 1:45 PM at that point, and my
reader will note that I spent the entirety of the two-and-a-half hours since I
left my hotel on my feet, most of it walking.
I got the taxi and posted my collage.
I was at 30th Street Station by 2 PM, and I got my ticket for
the 2:18 PM. I even had time for
lunch. I picked up a grilled cheese
sandwich to eat on the train. Their
specialty was actually the exact same sandwich I usually order at the deli by
my office, so I took that as a good sign.
The timing worked out perfectly, and we were boarding as soon as I got
to the track. I was able to secure a
two-seater to myself, and, once we were en route, I proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close, along with closing out this brief trip. Next stop: North Carolina.
No comments:
Post a Comment