Phil-adel-phia.

It's Labor Day Weekend...so we took Sunday to make a lightning-fast trip to Philly.  I was in desperate need of a West Elm shopping fix; I think Mike was excited for me to finally try my first Philly Cheesesteak (at least that's what he told me).  We spent some time driving around downtown, trying to find a space to park...walked around, snapped some photos, spent a little money shopping, walked around some more, and ate at Tony Lukes.  I'm still full.

Can't say we really had a chance to do the historical (not that I'm really all that in to history, but there are definitely a host of historical things I probably should see at some point in my life), touristy stuff or see even 1/4 of the city--no Rocky steps, no Liberty Bell, no Independence Hall, and no treasure hunting (a la National Treasure)--so that means we'll definitely be making a trip back sometime soon.  Oh yeah, and I'd like to take a walk through the Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities...I assume it's right up my alley!

View looking up Broad Street

Mike and I were thinking more "Broad Street Bullies" than "Avenue of the Arts"

Philadelphia City Hall

LOVE Park/John F. Kennedy Plaza 

Who are these two??

Another crazy sculpture across the street

He decided to wear his nom, nom, nom shirt...forever captured in history

I was really having an issue with my hair in just about every picture we took that day...
must have been a bit breezier than i thought

So...I'm trying to be better about actually getting Mike and I in some of the photographs we take.  Otherwise, you guys are left with just the scenic views (which may or may not be better, depending on your preference)!  Either way, you'll just get a little more variety :)  Back to our little Philly journey...last year, Mike, Mick, and Lori took in a Phillies game while Mike was in Chambersburg for the summer.  Needless to say, they hit up a couple cheesesteak joints for a taste-test: Pat's and Geno's.

This time, we got the insider information from Big City (our neighbor, Jake) who told us we HAD to try Tony Luke's...that it was like no other cheesesteak to be found.  It was a challenge we were willing to accept.  I'll spare you the photos of our sandwich and the photo Mike took of my first bite...both are quite unappealing to the eye.  I will say, however, that the sandwich itself was fantastic (although I've now been told that the fact I ordered sharp provolone instead of Cheeze Whiz is somewhat sacrilegious...I beg to differ, since I am no fan of Cheez Whiz)!

 

Geno's Steaks...we did a quick drive-by

The lines are UNREAL! Makes me wonder how many cheesesteaks they make a day!?!

The line at Pat's

At this point, it was after 3PM and we were hungry for lunch! (He's getting excited to give Tony Luke's a try)

In all honesty, it was a bit of a wait...but not bad at all

Seriously...a little diner/shack under the I-95/Delaware Expressway underpass
EXACTLY the type of place Mike was looking for!

After lunch, we found a random parking spot on the street, near a park in the historic district of town.  There wasn't a NO PARKING sign in the vicinity and there were no parking meters in sight.  We safely assumed we'd found FREE parking!  After a while, we became suspicious and started to wonder if it was too good to be true; we made it a quick trip and walked back to the car, hoping it was still where we'd left it.  Before we left, we ran up a large flight of steps across the street from our car and found an amazing view of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.  The bridge spans the Delaware River between Philadelphia, PA and Camden, NJ.  It was a very cool view worth dodging traffic for!  By this time, we were also about 99% sick of taking pictures and acting a little strange...

Mike's favorite Philadelphia sign by far!

Dad...this one's for you.  I'll have to find out if they allow tours!

And I now remember that I should be looking for and saving "P" coins... 

I'm pretty sure crossing carries a toll of some sort...they're pretty much commonplace out here
Our PA friends are always surprised to learn that most of the Midwest is toll-free

Excited to be heading home soon?  Or more excited about his recent cheesesteak adventure?

I can't believe my pants look that long when I wear sandals!

 We spent Sunday night with friends and most of Monday shopping online (in an attempt to furnish our house) and working off the excess cheesesteak remnants at the gym!  Luckily both Mike and I have Tuesday off, too, before heading back to work for the week.  Hope you all had relaxing, exciting, Labor Day weekends full of good friends, food, and lots of laughs...happy unofficial end of summer!