The City of Brotherly Love...

I arrived last night a little before 6. This city is surprisingly easy to navigate and I found the hotel and a subsequent parking garage very quickly after having entered the city. of course nothing I do ever starts off without some sort of adventure and right away I had one when I went to check in. Apparently my reservation had been made for Friday night as opposed to Saturday night, so I had to make a new reservation. But of course they didn't have any rooms available. So I had to take a larger room that of course was more expensive. I wasn't happy but I was too exhausted to care to much.

The room was huge and the amenities were convenient. They included a huge bed, kitchenette, and comfy bathroom. After dropping off my luggage I went in search of some food. The staff at the hotel told me that this area was filled with tons of restaurants so I went for a walk around the neighborhood, and stumbled upon this

 

This is their city hall! It was so beautiful I can't even describe it. I continued walking and stumbled upon this next 

It was so peaceful, and just what I needed at that point. To top it all off there was a man dancing to Michael Jackson's bad. It was quite entertaining. After grabbing a quick bite to go from a cafe I headed back to the hotel for a bath and an early turn in.

I had a fitful nights sleep and woke up early. I watched a movie (the Goonies, which never gets old!) before tackling the day. I dropped my luggage off at the front desk and headed to the Barnes & Noble cafe for a coffee and a blueberry scone, which I took to the park to enjoy. It was so nice, there was a lot of people enjoying the park. Lots of dogs and runners and people in small groups enjoying a Sunday stroll.

After some time I hailed a Taxi and headed toward the stadium.

It was an overcast day at that point, but the weather report said only 30% chance of rain, but after the sun from the day before I welcomed the gloomy weather. This stadium was beautiful, with an old industry feel, lots of exposed beams and manufacturing feel to it. And it had one of the most extensive play area for kids that I had ever seen. They also had lots healthy menu choices which I was grateful for. My seat was almost as good as the day before, I was higher up but the view was fantastic.

 The weather did not improve over the course of the game, in fact it got worse. That 30% chance of rain, turned into a guaranteed chance of rain. It drizzled on and off for most of the game and the Mets took a quick lead which turned into a huge lead by the 7th, when the sky opened up and the rain poured down on us, which resulted in a 30 minute rain delay. I used that time to head to the shop to buy my T-shirt and to get something called a Water Ice, which was like a frozen lemonade. It was delicious. I finally returned to my seat for the final two innings and watched the Phili's finish up their 8-0 loss.

 Luckily a lot of people had left during the delay so I only had to contest with about 1/3 of the people as we all tried to exit at the same time.I luckily got to a taxi that was waiting just outside of the exit. I headed back to the hotel to grab my bag and then headed to the parking garage to get my car. It was all relatively simple and before I knew it I was headed out of the city and on the journey home. It was about a 3 hour trip home but it gave me time to reflect on my weekend. Everyone I met in this city was so nice, they were all too willing to share their knowledge of the city with me as well as stories of their favorite spots.

That's one of my favorite things about traveling, meeting new people and learning about their cities, their lives. I have meet so many wonderful people at these ballparks, all kinds of different people from all different walks of life, and they will remain in my memories and I shall hold them dear to my heart for all of my days.

Now I am home and must admit that I am grateful, even though it has only been two days it feels as though I have been gone much longer.

So my friends I have now been to 9 ballparks in my lifetime and still have one more hopefully scheduled for this summer. I feel very accomplished whenever I step into a new ballpark, like I am truly accomplishing something important in my life, which might sound silly but this means so much to me, more than I am willing to admit to even. It is my greatest hope that you all have something in your own lives that you wish to accomplish and that you are on the path towards doing so.

Till the next adventure, laters!!