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 WANDERING WITH MIKE |
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Philly vs. Invaders / Random WritingsJun-02-2009
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 From written journal: 2009-05-24 // 2:44a EST // Niagara Falls North KOA It's interesting how perspective changes when you have something to lose. A car accident, getting arrested, these [potentially trip-ending] things are all terrifying now instead of temporary obstacles. May the force be with me. I forgot to write about something last entry; the cute little campsite I stayed at after my Canada border turn-away. Named Niagara Falls North KOA [link], their website features a talking Pomeranian named Pepper [please click that link it's great]. Pepper tells you about all the fun things to do at the camp and the nearby attractions. The lady gave me a discount because I got there so late, and everyone there seemed totally nice. BONUS: Pepper the Pomeranian was actually chillin' on the floor behind the counter! I wanted to pet him but he's shy. Oh well. (:  Philly!(Sadly, Philadelphia was under attack by invaders when I was there, but I braved the dangers and explored anyways; check out the Flickr set for details and photos.) I was headed into the city with a vague idea of heading towards Independence Park, home of the Liberty Bell. I accidentally ran into the Philadelphia Museum of Art, though! Parked real quick, walked around. It was too late to get in but there were plenty of interesting things on the outside, including a good walk. Pics start here. Heading into the city, you can feel that there's a lot of history and culture there. Everywhere there's some sort of reference to the early formation of America or some form of semi-modern art. At the same time, it doesn't feel "old" or run-down; it's a magical combination of nice-looking and historical. The next thing I noticed is how keen Philly is on keeping fit. There were people exercising EVERYWHERE. Joggers on every sidewalk and all over the museum area, bikers all over the place sharing the road with cars. Good on ya, Philly. I got to Independence Park but settled on just driving around a bit. I saw a few historic buildings and even saw the Libery Bell from the road -- it's in a sort of glass building thing. But my goal isn't so much the touristy stuff as the humanity and scenery of places. So! I headed to South Street. From wikitravel: "[South Street is] arguably the center of night life and urban activity in Philadelphia, South Street encompasses almost every kind of urban attitude you'd expect in a major city. Tattoo parlors, cheese steak joints, local designer clothing stores, restaurants, music venues, and local cafes line South Street from Penn's Landing up to about 10th street. Every night it seems as if there is a street festival going on here."  About half of my time was spent walking around on South Street, taking pictures of the locals, the places, and the invaders. It really was as rich an area as described above. My little place to eat was here too; after some research, I found the place most commonly declared "best cheese steak in Philly" was Jim's Steaks, and as I wanted a genuine Philly cheese steak, I headed there. FANTASTIC. High quality beef all grilled and thrown together in front of you and nom nom nom. Did you know that a common way to make a Philly cheese steak is with cheese whiz? Not wanting a meal quite that American, I opted for provolone on mine, no onions. So delicious. I ate in the upstairs seating area, getting a nice overhead view of a section of South St. Not wanting to get too full, I ate half of the huge beast and hoofed it down the street. Long story short, wandered around, snapped some shots, BS'd with some locals, and took off. On the way back to my temporary HQ in Reading, PA, I stopped at a park named Black Rock (I looked but could find no black obelisk like I had hoped), set up my propane grill, and ate the rest of my cheese steak with some A1. Yum.Miles traveled so far: ~1520 Next stop: New York City Best cheese steak: Jim's Steaks Invaders: At large? Comments Pictures     
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