My Adventures of Late

Great game tonight! Red Sox vs. Tampa bay. Stellar performance by Clement. Even former Sox, Fossum pitched a nice game for Tampa, however their bullpen could not stand up to ours. (Ahhhhh... Sounds nice to say that!) The catch Adam Stern made to end the game was spectacular! Summer is coming!

Well to sum up the past few days. I spent a couple days in Philadelphia on business last week. It was a great experience for me, and hopefully I'll get to do this again in the future. Business aside, I had fun in Philly as well. I stayed in a Marriott right outside of City Hall downtown. I walked into the old city and saw the Liberty Bell, Independence hall, and the shores of the Delaware River. The colonial buildings were generally more simplistic than that of Beacon Hill, reminding one more of those in Colonial Williamsburg.

I asked around for advice on the best Philly Cheese Steak sub and was lead to a little diner called Jim's Cheese steak, located on South Street. There was a line out in the street, so I took that for a sign that I had been brought to the right destination.

As I entered this stainless steel white tile throw back to the 40s and 50s I was impressed by the organized chaos that this operation is. Behind the counter, one cook, a food prep assistant and a cashier run the show. The line snakes through a cramped ordering area that is lined with a Formica bench and swivel stools up against the wall.

I observe the cook cutting up mounds of ground beef with a spatula and cooking it. The sizzle of the sirloin, causes me to salivate involuntarily. Pavlov could have used this place in a couple of experiments. Next to this on the expansive iron skillet are heaping piles of peppers, onions, mushrooms, and then vats of various other, albeit less popular toppings. On a nearby shelf is a large can of "Wiz", the cheap Velvetta like cheddar that is overwhelmingly the most popular cheese choice in the establishment. Also available are American and Provalone.

Equally amazed and amused, I watched the cook and cashier yell and taunt the patrons. If you are caught not paying attention, it is frowned upon. I didn't see these Philly guys refuse anyone an order, although I wouldn't put it past them. I watched carefully, so I could order properly when it was my turn. I also wanted the "Classic" cheese steak sub experience so I decided against my inclination towards provalone, and got a "Wiz" sub accompanied by a Coke. I had peppers and onions on mine. It was a delight. My order was boldly shouted out at the cook with perfect timing so I was quickly processed. I grabbed a swivel stool at the bench by the wall and wolfed down my sandwich.

The upper walls, between the tile and tin ceiling, are adorned with numerous awards, and signed photos from various famous fans. Many are Philadelphia based classic R&B artists and sports stars, but there were many others from all over the country. Tony Bennett apparently likes a good cheese steak sub.

South street is other worldly and a sharp contrast from its neighboring Old quarters. Here an eclectic group of people adorn the sidewalks. Although predominantly having an African American influence, many punks and goths can be seen strolling about brightly colored outlandish shops. There is a heavy tourist contingent here, but save a couple exceptions it still appears largely untouched by the commercialization that we often see take these areas by storm. (Think Times square, and even Harvard square). This street is a party, it is though Philadelphia has its own year round Mardi Gras happening right in the middle of it. There is a welcoming amusement park atmosphere element to it, while it is still gritty enough to almost appear slightly seedy and elude to a possible danger. This just adds to the charm that makes it so unique.

There seemed to definitely be some other cool things worth seeing in Philadelphia. Unfortunately the Art Museum steps, made famous by Rocky are far away from everything and I didn't make it over there. Perhaps another time. My complaints about Philly are such: Much like Downtown crossing here in Boston, the stores close incredibly early and seem to be more for retired folks and stay at home mothers rather than average working people. The transit system is a bit more expensive than Boston's and is under utilized. In my casual observations, I noticed that it seems to suffer from an inconsistency of service. Philly is like Boston in it's tendency for Subway routes to be outdated, and Commuter Rail and bus connections to be over complicated. As Philadelphia is actually laid out on a grid, unlike Boston, it makes the mass-transit mess a bit tougher to stomach. Boston's full trains compared to their nearly empty ones are as good a review as any. Last on my complaint list, their sports complex is rather sad. They have a brand new baseball stadium that sits next to their football and hockey arenas. My problem is that the area around them is desolate. There is public transit, although expansive parking lots suggest it isn't used. Additionally, there isn't even a McDonald's let alone any visibly decent restaurants or bars within a half mile of these facilities. Its tough to fathom, as it is still essentially in city limits. I'm assuming politics are likely sources of this ugly neighborhood.

This weekend I took Kate to see the folks in Maine for Easter. Saturday we actually roamed around Portland for a bit. It was pretty dead, likely due to the holidays, however we had a nice walk. I purchased a loaf of Boule bread at a bakery in the Old Port, and picked up a couple gourmet vinaigrette for my mother's Easter extravaganza.

I decided to bring Kate to the Village cafe rather than try anything too exotic, or take a risk on an unfamiliar restaurant. We both enjoyed our wonderful comfort food. The Village cafe is an Italian restaurant which has a very broad menu. I've gone there with my family since I was a child. The lasagna that I had definitely hit the spot, and the tennis ball sized meatball was a dream.

Following our meal we continued our walk to the Eastern Promenade. A fog was shrouding the islands in the harbor, and the waves peacefully licked the shores below us at the bottom of the embankment that makes up Portland's eastern most main point. There was a sort of melancholy created in this atmosphere that seemed like it would form the back drop for a good romance or mystery novel. The fog was continuing to get thicker, and droplets began touching our faces as we took in our surroundings. We decided that it would be best to head back to get shelter from seemingly impending rain.

Ultimately the mist gave way to a sprinkling, and the sprinkling to sheets of rain. Awkwardly trying to fit under one travel umbrella Kate & I and scurried for shelter in a tiny hole in the wall coffee shop up on Munjoy Hill. We had hot chocolate and waited for a gap in the downpour. As we sipped our frothy warm beverages we watched Congress St. glisten in the rain. There was something comforting about the fog that settled upon the old clapboard buildings and those brick sidewalks. The thunder rumbled and rain simmered, but Stereolab softly filled the air of the shop and soothed us as a sugar high brewed in our bellies. With the boost of sucrose we would try and make it back to our parking garage which was about a mile away at the Public Market in the Bayside neighborhood.

The rain ultimately let up so I decided to show Portland Headlight to Kate. Of course there could have been better days to go there, but the fog gave it all a different sort of beauty. The light house couldn't even be seen from 100 yards away. Visibility was sufficient for us to follow the various paths to it. The haunting bellow of the fog horn was activated, and we stood next to its grandeur reading a sign telling of a shipwreck that occurred at the spot on Christmas Eve many years ago.

I have fond memories of going to Fort Williams Park, where Portland Headlight resides. When I was at St. Joe's in college I went a few times with Marc Blouin and once with Kevin Rivard, and climbed around on the rocks. I remember them as always being very contemplative days.

Anyway, Sunday we had dinner with my family and went on a few more walks around Lewiston and Auburn.

Sunday night I spent with Kate in anticipation of going to see the Boston Marathon on Monday. She lives right on the route in Brookline. I had never been before and so I was really looking forward to the chance to see it happen this year. It really was a spectacular event, and to any one who gets a chance, it definitely is a feel good experience to watch these people strive to accomplish the journey.

Kate mentioned to that one of her coworkers gets emotional when she watches the race. I kind of laughed upon hearing this, but after watching it myself, I totally understand where she is coming from.

Anyway... If you've gotten this far I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed if not flattered. :D I hope your week is going well! Have a wicked Wednesday!