Day 9: Philadelphia

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Right now, I'm sitting on a Peter Pan (Greyhound) bus with 14 other passengers on the way to NYC. The tickets were $5 each for an 'express' route, which didn't mean anything to me when I booked it other than it was shorter. In fact, the previous Greyhound experience was also on an express ticket and I would consider it less than par. This express ticket, however, entitled us to personalized boarding, no waiting line, and an instant upgrade in customer service (even from the same person after she found out we were on the express bus. The bus is nicer than most coach airline sections, and we get wifi and regular 120V outlets.

How they make money from 15 passengers when our tickets cost less than half of what the Westin charges for basic internet access, I'll never know.

We had another very busy day yesterday and were able to see most of the places on our 'to-do' list, so today was another slow 'catch-up' day, which was nice. After checking out of our hotel and leaving our luggage, we decided to explore more of the historic district at a much more leisurely pace. By mid-morning, we made it to Franklin Park, which was one of the five original squares in Mr. Penn's original plans (although it was not named after Benjamin Franklin until the 19th century). Here we found a rather large playground area where the kids were able to run off some pent up excitement, although they had to fight a few daycare groups for the equipment.

After diverting their attention away from the $2.50/person carousel in the park using a promise of ice cream later in the day, we stumbled upon Square Burger, a small burger shack associated with some big name local chef. We ordered some "Philly Dogs", which were hot dogs wrapped in salami with grilled onions, jalapenos, and cherry tomatoes. Luckily we had packed some chips and drinks for the bus ride later in the day, so we were able to save quite a bit by just ordering 4 dogs, although it was still over $12.

The Philadelphia Visitor Center had a kid's Jr. Ranger handbook that we had picked up the day before, and if the kids complete 5 of the included activities, they were awarded a Jr. Ranger badge. Each of the girls received one and were told that they needed to continue collecting from the other US national parks.

The promised ice cream came from Franklin's Fountain, an old time soda shop where a local doctor created the first banana split in 1904. Of course we had to order one to share between the 5 of us, and it was grand. After the mandatory split banana, it included one heaping scoop each of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, then was topped with almonds, strawberries, pineapple, chocolate fudge, real cream from a fountain, and three cherries including a green cherry in the middle. Grace snatched the green cherry before we even got to admire the creation, and later when asked about the taste, she just said it was 'sweetness'.

For the remaining few hours before our scheduled trip to NYC, we took a very relaxed walk around Penn Station looking at the various ships and boats before picking up our luggage and heading back to the bus terminal. The trip took us a little farther than we had previously walked into the city center, and the entire feel of the city was different. The casual colonial personalities were replaced by street vendors and a hustle that you'd expect in most large downtown cities. The people were a bit more harsh as we learned while getting some side salads and an iced tea from McDonald's and a spirited argument broke out between a customer and cashier. Maybe this just a lead-in for New York 😊.

(Added) Traffic jam in the Lincoln tunnel delayed our arrival by quite a bit. In addition, we spent a good 20 minutes navigating the Times Square and Madison Square Garden subway terminals. From a previous trip to NYC, we knew the subways here can be quite confusing, but having a double stroller adds another level of complexity because we always have to be looking out for the handicapped (elevator) platform entrances. We'll have to figure out how to handle this tomorrow.

The Holiday Inn Express that we are staying in tonight is a good find. It is just around the corner from Madison Square Garden and looks relatively new. Base rate for this hotel is $300, and I booked it for $60 + 15k Priority Club points, which I have saved up from the Priority Club Visa that was acquired specifically for this trip a few months ago. This is likely the most expensive night of our trip, but I think it was well worth it given the late arrival and since we will only have one day in the Big Apple before heading out to Newark for our flight to Boston. Spending an hour getting into the city is not time well spent.

-Jason

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