Philadelphia...the cat's pajamas?? Jan 12-15

Actor George Dzundza (I'll save you from having to look him up. He's been on Law & Order and Grey's Anatomy...both of which are shows I don't watch. It's no use commenting that I should watch them...if you know me, then you know I don't watch much TV.) once said:

I love Philadelphia. I was shocked at what a great city this is. For me, it is the cat's pajamas. I love everything about it. I love where I live. I love the people. I have been met with such kindness and affection here.

I think there are too few people who use the term "cat's pajamas" these days. But, Philadelphia is IT!

On Friday, January 12, I took the Chinatown bus from Washington DC to Philadelphia, PA. The trip went fairly quickly for me...mostly because of Matt, my seatmate. He's from England, living in DC, on his way to visit his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years who lives in Philadelphia. He was a great conversationalist, so the time passed quickly for me. Not to mention, I could listen to a good-looking British boy with nice teeth for hours :)

I quickly found the train station in Philadelphia...just not the elevators down to the tracks. So, I lugged my 2-ton bags down a few flights of stairs. I'm sure, when I come home, I will look a bit like a linebacker...huge shoulders, lats, etc. Not exactly the look I was going for, though.

I took the train to Norristown, about 50 minutes outside of Philadelphia, where my fabulous friend, Jessy, lives. She picked me up and asked what I wanted to do. Honestly, I just wanted to eat dinner and hang out with her, but she wanted to go to a bonfire being put on by her singles' branch. All right. So, we went and I'm glad we did. I met so many nice people. Jess had to work ALL day the next day, so I met some nice girls who were going into Philly to do the touristy stuff and decided to tag along with them.

The next morning, Saturday, I went to work with Jessy. She manages an ice cream shop and is resigning. So, in order to make it easier on the next manager, we decided to document everything on opening the store in the mornings. I suppose, if I never find my calling in life, I could always do "how to" manuals. :) She made me a nutritious breakfast: a delicious Belgian waffle dripping with ice cream, hot fudge, caramel and whipped cream. Mmmm!!!

Naomi, her brother, Raleigh, Ashley, Heather, Wayne and I (all new people to me) headed into Philadelphia. We had a blast that day! We saw the Liberty Bell, ate a Philly cheese steak sandwich (I chickened and got it without Cheez Whiz...I guess that's how the locals eat it), went to Independence Hall--where Jen joined us, and ran up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art just like Rocky did.

It was a fun day...and I definitely liked Philly. We headed back to the ice cream shop where I got to meet Jen's cool friend, Russ and one of Jessy's cool friends, Becca. We all had ice cream and then, FINALLY, Jess was free to hang out. So, Becca, Jess, and I went to Jess's and watched Red Eye with Chris, a guy from Jess's ward. Chris left pretty soon after the movie and Jess, Becca, and I stayed up pretty late laughing and talking.

The next day Jess and I woke up at 11 a.m. completely exhausted. Church was good...I got to participate more than I thought most investigators should :) But, it drives me nuts when no one offers/participates at church. There was a munch and mingle afterwards and then we went home and figured out how and when I would go to NYC the next day.

Short trip, but definitely the cat's pajamas.