Philadelphia Trip - 09/10/24

 

The main tourist part of Philadelphia was on "lock down" today, as the presidential debate was being held at the National Constitutional Center on Independence Mall.  This meant that the visitors center and associated buildings would be off-limit to visitors due to security concerns, and that we'd have to go elsewhere for our tourism fix.

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As I noted in yesterday's post, I had GI Tract issues last night and blocked up the toilet.  This morning, RQS and I had to get up early, so that we'd be ready for the maintenance engineer when he arrived.  We were originally told that this man would arrive between 8 and 9 am.  But we later found out that he'd arrive around 9 and 10 am.  This was more than acceptable to us, as RQS would be able to get an extra hour of rest.  Around 9:30, the maintenance engineer arrived, and he used a snake to unclog the pipes.  (The one thing you can't say about me anymore is that I am full of s**t.)  It took a while, but he was done by 10 am.  Then, the cleaning ladies came in to clean up the bathroom before we could get ready to go out for the day.

Noon came, and so did RQS's cousin.  Now, we had to do the hokey-pokey to get into her cousin's clown car. After contorting ourselves into some unnatural positions, we had managed to fit ourselves into her car, and we were off to the Penn Museum to spend much of the day.  We walked through several galleries including Ancient Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa.  By 3:30, we were pooped, and it was time to go to South Philly for some fish at Anastasi Seafood.

RQS's cousin took us past the corner where Pat's and Geno's compete selling cheese steaks. And then we walked up the street a few blocks to a fish monger who would cook food to order to be eaten in a street side shed.  Her cousin had mistakenly this was another place she had gone to, but we decided to eat here anyway.  Can I say much about the food?  Not really.  This is not a restaurant after all - this is a fish monger that cooks food.  The seafood platter wasn't bad, but it wasn't NYC's Oyster Bar either.

We were dropped off at the hotel around 6 pm, and we relaxed a bit before going out for some ice cream.  It looked like this was a day where the police had to make their presence known, as they didn't want to be held to task if anything would occur in the upcoming debate.  Once we finished our ice cream, it was back to the hotel to watch the debate.  Would it change any minds?  No.  Hard core people with locked in positions would never be swayed by a debate.  But it did show that our former president wasn't up to the task of leading this country.  I hope that he doesn't get the chance to do so again.

Philadelphia Trip - 09/09/24

This would likely be the saddest sight we'd see on this trip - the S.S.United States, just before it is expected to be towed away from Philadelphia to a place in Florida where it will be sunk and turned into an artificial reef.  For people who enjoy trips upon the water, knowing that this once great ship is likely being scuttled and turned into an artificial reef soon.

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When we awoke, we got moving relatively quickly, as we were meeting RQS's cousin after breakfast to do some sightseeing.  Luckily, there was a place down the street where we could get some breakfast, and we walked over there around 9:30 am.  By the time we were done with breakfast, we still had time to kill before her cousin arrived at 11:00 am. Before I go too far, getting into RQS's cousin's car is like trying to load clowns into a clown car.  Mini Coopers are small to begin with, and both RQS and I had to perform unnatural body movements to get in and out of the car.  So both of us felt cramped as we drove the 20 blocks to reach the Mütter Museum.  

The Mütter Museum is a museum of medical oddities, but not in a way you'd expect from a circus sideshow.  Instead, the exhibits are tastefully presented, with respect for the people whose bodies these artifacts are taken from.  One can view many medical maladies, and see how the body and skeleton is affected by them. This is not a museum whose collection would be assembled today.  Yet, it is a valuable guide to how doctors would learn about these ailments over a century ago.

Next, it was off to drive past the "corpse" of the S.S. United States.  This ship was stripped of almost everything important years ago, and is now a rusting hulk on Philadelphia's shoreline. The conservancy that owns the ship has been in a dispute with the owners of the pier where it is docked over docking fees, and the ship was scheduled to be evicted this week. Yet, I can't but help hope that someone will rescue this ship and find a way to preserve it before it is turned into an artificial reef. On the way back to the hotel, we passed by the area which will be cordoned off for the presidential debate.  It's sad to need such security these days, but American politics are too polarized to take any chances with the candidates' lives.  

Later on, it was off to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant.  It was Restaurant Week, so we chose the special from their list of offerings.  Although the food was good, I'm not sure if I'd eat there again, as the service was slow and not up to our standards.  Once we got back to the hotel, the "fun" began....

As I've mentioned here before, I have GI Tract issues.  (I'll have to change my diet, as I need to introduce more roughage my meals.  But I digress....)  Unfortunately, I clogged the toilet, and we couldn't get late night maintenance - and we were told to use the toilet in the club room for the rest of the evening.  AARGH!  Even the use of a plunger didn't help.  (I have a stronger one at home.  The cheap one here was worthless.)  There was no way we'd get dressed to go to another floor to relieve ourselves, so we figured we'd figure out a way to make do until maintenance would arrive at 9:00 am the next day.