Weekend highlights

Its hard to imagine the weather being much less conducive to walking around Philly on Sat. The temperature was in the upper 30s as it alternated between rain and snow the entire day. Oh, and did I mention it was very windy too? We used umbrellas but the wind drove the rain and show under them.

When we arrived in Philly around noon we started with lunch at Pietro's. We had soup, salad, and pizza. Then we had a driving tour of Philly and Thad pointed out places of interest such as museums, beautiful old government buildings, and places where he used to live and work. Then we checked into the hotel and walked across the street to Reading Terminal Market. After walking around and getting the 'lay of the land' we took advantage of the vendors' desire to get rid of baked goods for $2. The 4 of us purchased 5 different desserts and enjoyed a Dessert Extravaganza along with some hot coffee. The coffee was especially nice on such a cold, blustery day. Since it was raining/snowing I wore a water-resistant windbreaker but it wasn't warm enough. (My warmer coat isn't water-resistant.) I felt like I was cold the entire weekend. Then we went to Macy's which is located in the old Wanamaker store. What a gorgeous building! Neither Spouse nor I bought anything, since Macy's isn't really our style. Afterward we rested in hotel room until it was time to get ready for dinner. The 4 of us took a cab and met up with Joe P, Allen, and Matt & Stacy for dinner at Farmicia. But after we'd been sat at our table our waiter advised us that they had no gas (which power the stoves and ovens) so they could not provide any hot food! We decided to go to plan B and went around the corner to Fork. I think the dicey weather was the only reason they were able to seat our party of 8 without a reservation. I had wild mushroom risotto which was delicious. After dinner Joe P went with the 4 of us to a bar called the Bike Stop to see some guys in Halloween costumes. Then we walked over to to Tavern on Camac to see more. It was a fun night!

Sun morning walked across the street again to Reading Terminal Market and had breakfast at Down Home Diner. Afterward we walked around the Terminal some more. Fortunately the weather cleared up. It was bright and sunny, but still cold. We packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to Trader Joe's in the car so we could stock up on our favorite items. (We don't have Trader Joe's near us so we stock up when we're in Philly or in VA visiting family.) Then came home and relaxed and caught up on emails.

It was a very nice trip, although the weather surely could have been nicer.

Weekend highlights

Sat I worked until 3:30. I left early so I could go home and run through my Legends show routine a few times before heading over to Steven & Thad's cookout. Spouse made potato salad and helped Steven & Thad get ready. Here's a photo of my back and ass in the background and some of the food in the foreground.
From left to right: Steven's macaroni salad, Steven's black bean and corn salad, and Spouse's potato salad.
They had a great turn out! Jason & Kevin, Chris & Jason, Jack, Allen, Joe P, Robin, the Bobs, Rusty and other friends and neighbors came. The food was great and we had fun talking and laughing. The weather was perfect for a cookout. I left at 8:30 to go to the Blue Moon for the Legends show. Our friends Marty & John and our neighbors Jim & Barb came to the show!

On Sun I went to work again and Spouse met up with Steven & Thad, Joe P, and Allen for the annual Drag Volleyball game. For years now 2 teams of volleyball players dress up in themed drag and play. There's always a dramatic introduction and a 1/2 time show too! Here's a photo from this year's game:That evening Spouse & I met up with another bunch of friends for a birthday/cocktail party. It was fun to hang out with this group of friends again as well as meet some new friends. Afterward many of the guys went to a big dance in town but Spouse & I picked up an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery (an early birthday treat for Thad's upcoming birthday) and took it over to Steven & Thad's and visited with them and Allen and Joe P.

This morning Spouse & I had a quick breakfast, packed our stuff and arrived at the beach at 10:15. The weather was mostly sunny, breezy and about 80 degrees. Steven & Thad and Allen were already there, and shortly after we arrived Joe P showed up too. We had a great day hanging out at the beach. We saw lots and lots of friends, including the guys from the previous night's birthday/cocktail party. The sun disappeared behind the clouds for an hour or so, but came back out again later. We'd brought lunch so we were able to stay until 4:15. What a great beach day! Once back at home we showered, dressed, and headed over to Steven & Thad's for dinner. Steven used the leftover chicken to make chicken enchiladas which we ate with the leftover salads. We ate outside in their yard and enjoyed the great breeze until it got dark and the bugs started biting. We went inside and had cherry pie and watched "True Blood".

It was a terrific holiday weekend filled with friends, food, celebrations, beach, and work.

Weekend highlights

This past weekend we went to Philadelphia with Steven & Thad to see some of the famous Christmas sights. (All photos may be clicked to enlarge them.)

We left at 9am and arrived in Philly at about 11am. Our first stop was Macy's, located in the old Wanamaker's bldg. We watched the famous Christmas light show (narrated by Julie Andrews) which was really cute.

Immediately afterward we listened to Christmas songs played on the world's largest working organ. Not that I'm a huge organ music fan, but I think Christmas songs sounds wonderful on an organ. Then we had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant called Viet Nam, an old favorite of Thad.

Next we stopped at Termini Brothers Italian Bakery (one of mine and Spouse's favorites) inside the Reading Terminal Market for a little something sweet. Spouse had a chocolate chip cookie and 2 biscotti while I had a dark chocolate disc filled with macadamia nuts.

Then we headed back to Macy's to walk threw the Charles Dickens Village. There was a huge line for it and it turned out to be kinda lame. (I would recommend the Christmas light show and the organ music, but not the Dickens village.) Then we left Macy's and went inside Kenneth Cole for Spouse and inside LaCoste for Thad. We also walked through some bldgs to see the Christmas trees. I found this one to be gorgeous.

Afterward we stopped in at the Christmas Village, a collection of open air stalls selling Christmas ornaments and decor, hats, gloves, scarfs, and gifts. Spouse got 3 cashmere scarfs for $20.

Then we went to the Comcast headquarters lobby for the huge, impressive 3-D Christmas video display on the lobby wall. We arrived 20 minutes early. Here's Spouse, Thad, and me waiting for the show to start.

The 3-D show was so life-like!

It was really cool!

After being on our feet all day we finally checked into our hotel and relaxed a bit. (Steve got us gorgeous rooms at the Hyatt at Penn's Landing for $70.) Although it wasn't in the most convenient location, it was really nice, and our room was on the 17th floor and had a lovely view of the river and Ben Franklin bridge. Spouse & I watched the Christmas boat parade from our room.

Then the 4 of us met up with our friends Joe P and Allen for dinner at Maggianos.

We decided to order from the Classic Family Style menu and the 6 of us shared caesar salad, chopped salad, spinach and artichoke dip, stuffed mushrooms, chicken parmesan, lasagna, pork medallions, veal and mushroom ravioli, peppermint ice cream cake, and tiramisu. OMG!! Needless to say we all left there stuffed.

After dinner we went on a self-guided driving tour of the over-the-top Christmas decorations in South Philly, where Spouse's family is from. That was really fun!

Sun morning we had breakfast at South Street Diner, then did a little shopping at Ikea and then stopped in at Kindy's (over-priced) Christmas decor store before heading back to DE.

We had a great time with our buddies in Philly!