Because that’s pretty much what it did all three days we were there. It was raining when we arrived, it was raining while we toured around, and it…wait! It actually STOPPED today!! Yes, we actually were able to walk around without getting soaked. Well, that’s not completely true. Because once it stopped raining and the sun came out, the humidity kicked into high gear (again).
In spite of that fact that we are both now distinctly moldy with green stuff growing between our toes and under our fingernails, we had a good time. There is a LOT to see in Philly, and we pretty much spent all of our time in the Old City, as I had never seen things like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. We ate at two fabulous places: the City Tavern and Moshulu (the latter is a four-masted sailing ship converted to a restaurant and bar). We managed to see most of the “biggies” in Philly, and Chuck ate a Philly Cheesesteak and we both tried soft pretzels. I made reservations sight unseen at the Independence Park Best Western because it said it was within walking distance of the Old City sights. When we arrived I discovered that I had made a huge error, and booked a room for JULY not June. Woops! Luckily they had a few rooms left, so we weren’t tossed out into the (wet) streets. If I went back, I’d stay closer to Penn’s Landing and Delaware Bay. The wind makes it cooler, and things seem less hectic there. A small quibble, all in all.
Today we tried to locate a memorial that apparently listed the names of two ancestors of Chuck’s who were killed in the Civil War. We got thoroughly lost in some unsavory parts of Philly on the search, finally abandoning the quest after going in circles for a while, taking several wrong turns. An icy silence descended on the car, so it was probably just as well that we turned our attention to getting to the airport on time. Once we got on a road that was: a)clearly marked and b)going in the right direction, we resumed our formerly friendly relationship. Lessons learned: Philadelphia has definite issues with good signage on their roads, and there are some pretty ugly parts of town! Oh, and when we need to turn right, I need to tell Chuck BEFORE we pass the actual turn.
We arrived plenty early at the airport, and aside from me wanting to take out and kill the *&^%^** straw hat that I bought in Cape May that has done nothing but get in my way the entire time I’ve been lugging my bags around the airport, we made it to our gate without much bother and are now sitting like vultures waiting to grab spots at the very front of the “A” group for our non-stop Southwest flight back to LAX so we can achieve the equivalent of nirvana on Southwest: exit row seats with plenty of leg room!!
Pictures coming when we get back as the stupid USB cable I brought doesn’t work with my Olympus digital camera (what’s up with that, Olympus?!?).
UPDATE: Yay! we are first in line!! We rock!!