Bells, Boxing and Birds

I have accomplished quite a bit since I last blogged. I am very settled into my surroundings and I am truly enjoying myself. Last weekend I found myself visiting a friend in North Carolina. I attended a wedding in which I knew neither the bride nor the groom but I truly enjoyed the play by play break down and critique of the events of the service described by all the people at our table. Let's just say I learned what not to do for a wedding. I also visited the Maryland Museum of Art which has a display of photography through the years. I really enjoyed that.


Springtime weather and a very short walk, made it very appealing to attend an Orioles game. Unfortunately, the Orioles are not that great but it did make it easy to get great seats. With our over-sized, bright orange Orioles shirts donned, Carolyn and I found our seats and quickly became more entertained with the vendors and their sales tactics than the game itself. What a great stadium though. After stalking the Orioles mascot and taking some quick pics, we decided to leave with the masses and head back home...strength in numbers!!


Friday, after a very long work week, I found myself outside enjoying the sunshine with several co-workers and listening to a band. Being the maw-maw that I am, I soon retired for the night in anticipation of my weekend trip. Carolyn, a fellow traveler, and I loaded up and headed to Philadelphia, PA to visit my friend Jon. Our trusty tour guide lead us through the streets of Philadelphia. Imagine our delight of course when we unexpectedly were able to enjoy a protest to free Mumia (spoken sarcastically). Apparently, back in 1982, Mumia, a PA journalist who exposed police violence against against minority communities was unjustly convicted and sentenced to death row for murdering a police officer. An appeal for retrial was recently rejected even though there is supposedly new forensic evidence and a recantation from an eye witness proving his innocence. So, anyway, crowds of people marched down the street and chanted things like "brick by brick, wall by wall, free Mumia..." I guess everyone has a cause they feel compelled to support. Moving right along, we found ourselves at Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed. Also from that very spot, the Liberty Bell rang out in 1776 summonsing the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. I think I expected some great big wonderful moment when I would lay eyes on the Liberty Bell, but no. It was just a big bell with a crack.


We continued our exploration of the city on foot passing Hillary and Obama supporters. As the saying goes, "when in Rome..." Well, when in Philly, you must eat a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. I will have to admit that it was really good because I was starving at that moment, but otherwise, I was not too impressed. Apparently, if you are a serious connoisseur, cheeze wiz is your topping of choice. Because I love sharing my knowledge, you must know that the Philly Steak Sandwich originated back in 1930 after two store owners grew tired of hot dogs, bought some beef, sliced it up and cooked it with onions. Now I am sure that this smelled wonderful and a local cab driver smelled the aromas, came in and offered to buy it. After eating the sandwich he said, "you should sell this". It wasn't until much later, that cheese would be added. And the rest they say is history.


After experiencing the diversity of South Street, it was time to head to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to personally recreate the inspiring stair workout once performed by Rocky. Being in the superb and awesome shape that I am in (little embellishment there), I ran to top and proceeded to dance around at the top. Anywhere else, I think this would have been considered odd, but here not so much. After a nice walk along the river, we returned to Jon's for a rest break before checking out the night life. Sunday morning found us scarfing down breakfast at a very popular local restaurant before we got back on the road and headed back to the hood. With it raining and being very tired from our weekend of festivities, I welcomed a nap on my couch knowing that the next day would find me right back at work. I do love the weekends. Thanks to Jon for being a gracious host and a most excellent barrista boy!