Last night we made it to the game on time in spite of having to deal with a lot of fan traffic. The Phillies have been playing well and thus the crowds have been large. Philadelphia fans have a reputation of being very loyal but when their teams don’t perform to expectations they can be ruthless. They had a happy night because the home team scored 4 runs in the third inning and that was all she wrote with the Phillies winning 5-0
It was a well played game and my assessment is that the Phillies have an excellent team. I am sure the Astros would love to play them again this October. I think that is a real possibility. The only recommendation I have for the Phillies is that outfielder, Brandon Marsh, shaves and gets a haircut. See below.
As you can tell from this picture he previously played for the Angels. Both the beard and hair are much longer now.
To sum up this trip I have to say it has been a fun birthday getaway. I got a call last night from my daughter in Madrid because it was 1:00 AM and already my birthday in Spain. How wonderful it was to hear her voice. Actually I couldn’t hear her because we were at the baseball game but she followed up the call with a text message.
By the time you read this I should have landed at LAX and be on my way to the office. Yes, after getting home from the game we packed to prepare for an early flight. Kudos to Patrice for agreeing to get up early so we could get home early enough for me to get to work to see a 1:00 pm patient. I don’t know for sure but I suspect I’m UCLA’s oldest primary care physician and at least today the one with the longest commute.
We don’t have any other plans for trips until November. So you don’t have to worry about hearing any more of my ramblings until then.
Today was supposed to be all about baseball. Since the game isn’t until 6:40 pm we had to find something else to keep us busy. A number of museums were recommended but Tuesday seems to be the day they all want to be closed.
So instead we headed to the much talked about Reading Terminal Market. Apparently when the market opened in 1893 there was a railroad at this site. The railroad terminal closed but the market has flourished although at times there have been some down years. Currently it is quite busy with an incredible array of offerings. We tried to go to the Market yesterday but we were overwhelmed by the difficulty finding parking. Today we did our homework and found very reasonable priced parking at a lot adjacent to the market. The only quandry at the market is which delectables to choose. There are so many and all look so good.
Donuts? Ribs?Potato salad, lobster mac and cheese, standard mac and cheese?Meats galore?Cheeses?Fish?Honey?More fish?Sausage?Sweets?More sweets?
We decided to share a roasted pork sandwich following the recommendation of our friend, Kevin, thinking we could also share another Philadelphia Cheesesteak. Clearly we didn’t realize what we had just purchased. See below
Good thing we just bought one to share.
After having our lunch at the Reading Terminal Market we drove by the Rodin museum and saw his masterpiece “The Thinker”. The museum was closed but The Thinker is located outside at the entrance.
We love this piece. We saw it in Paris. We also see it ever day at our home. We have a 12 inch replica in our family room. I suspect ours is a bit less expensive.
We then headed to the Franklin Institute to see the Lego exhibition titled The Art of the Brick. It is more geared toward the younger age group but we thought it was fantastic. See below.
Whistler’s Mother in LegosLego Mona LisaThe pictures really don’t capture the beauty of these pieces of art. My favorite was this one of Ben Franklin.But the flamingos were pretty cool as well.
We then went back to the hotel to chill for a bit. The high temperature today was 89 with 37% humidity. Looks like we are getting out of town just in time because tomorrow it is going to hit 98.
Aftrer a nice bit of relaxation it is time to head for the game.
This morning, as usual, I got up earlier than Patrice. Being the good husband that I think I am I left the room as quietly as possible and went to the lounge for breakfast. There I had a plain bagel (and I do mean plain) and a chocolate milk (did I mention that I was told that the coffee machine is broken).
After eating I started reading my book while trying to ignore the conversations of the other travelers around me. I did overhear one woman say to her partner, in frustration “I’m not a doctor!” Since I didn’t hear what preceded that comment I resisted saying “But I am!”
Patrice informed me, via text, that she had awoken. I inquired “What is your plan?” to which she replied “Get up and have a little breakfast. Pack and get on the road. What’s your plan?” My answer was “Wait for you to get here and tell me what to do”.
While waiting I checked my emails and saw that a patient sent me his recommendations for Philadelphia. By all normal standards I share much too much personal information with my patients. Sorry but I can’t help myself. I love seeing and talking with my patients. How else can you explain a man of my age still enjoying going to work? I shared with a new patient, Kevin, that I might be slow to get back to him since my wife and I were traveling to Baltimore and Philadelphia. He told me that he had spent some time in Philadelphia and had a “to do” list for the city. Here is the list:
Hmmm, we will be in Philadelphia for 2 days. I think we might miss one or two of the things on his list.
Prior to heading to Philadelphia we went to see the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. Actually I should say the remnants of the bridge. That is where a container ship struck the bridge on March 26, 2024 and 8 workers making repairs at the time were killed. A horrific sight on the news and more so in person even though we couldn’t get very close. See below.
Francis Scott Key bridge on August 26, 2024
After the bridge sighting we were on our way to the City of Brotherly Love. The drive was a breeze and again the trees lining the highway were gorgeous. We arrived much too early to check into the hotel so we checked Kevin’s list and decided to have Philadelphia Cheese Steaks for lunch. We selected Pat’s King of Steaks [1237 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19147]. We weren’t in a rush to get there before closing because they are OPEN 24 HOURS!
Open 24 hours but the real challenge is finding a parking space.
The only decision we needed to make when we arrived was what type of cheese. The choices: 1. American, 2. Provolone, 3. Cooper Sharp America, or 4. Cheese Whiz. Really, Cheese Whiz? I was told that is the original so I ordered it. But provolone sounded really good. This is what I was served. What do you think?
Would you eat it? I did and it was great. Much better than it looked. I think I will try provolone next time.
Not sure why we choose Pat’s, we were also given Geno’s Steaks as an option. When ordering our food at Pat’s I turned around and saw this.
Yes, across the street is another iconic cheese steak restaurant open 24/7. Makes for a lot of happy steak eaters and a lot of unhappy cows.
After our cheese steak fest we tried to go to the Reading Terminal Market but the parking was awful. I needed some chill time so we decided to defer the market to another time and head to the hotel.
Checking in was a bit traumatic because they couldn’t find our reservation, in spite of me showing it on the Marriott App. While they struggled with looking for the reservation I tried to log in online. That was “successful” but unfortunately didn’t get us a key to a room. The app had a chat function that I used but unfortunately that just went to the clerk who was helping us at the hotel. Lucky for me I didn’t say on the app that the hotel clerk is a jerk. They were finally successful in getting us checked in. I say they because it took 5 people.
After chilling in the room for a bit it was time for dinner. We chose Vernick Fish [One N 19th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103]. The meal was wonderful and reasonably priced.
We shared the Crab Roll appetizer. Baltimore should be jealous.I had the halibut. It was delicious. Patrice had the sea bass. Good but a bit spicy.We shared cheesecake for dessert. The restaurant provided the happy birthday message. Two days early but much appreciated.
We had a lovely evening and looking forward to more baseball tomorrow.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 