365 Days in the Delaware Valley

Day 21: A Christmas Nap

2008-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it's December 14 and I have not a single gift bought, not a single cookie baked, and not a single decoration up. This wreath I bought from the Boy Scouts may never get hung, since the the cat has claimed it as a bed. Those needles must be softer than they look!

Day 20: A Gray Day at the Beach

2008-10-19T17:45:00.001-07:00

At summer's end -- the lonely beach on a gray day.

Day 19: Garden Gnome

2008-10-16T18:35:00.001-07:00

Back a while ago (probably a good eight years ago!) I tried my hand at planting some flowers in a little garden outside my house. Not having a green thumb, it didn't go very well and I didn't try it again. What can I say? My talents lie in other areas! At the time, though, my mother bought me this little garden gnome and he's been there ever since, though the garden is long gone. How long before the ground swallows him up?

Day 18: Enjoying the Sunshine

2008-10-15T14:02:00.001-07:00

We made the acquaintance of this fellow, who was enjoying the sunshine of a fall day on the Wildwood boardwalk.

Day 17: Street Corner

2008-10-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I love these lamposts that stand at the corners of Philadelphia City Hall.

Day 16: My Commute

2008-10-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, this isn't really Day 16, since I've skipped a whole lot of days! This is a strange photo that I took from my seat on the el train during my morning trip into center city. Within seconds, the empty car was full with standing room only so I was lucky to have a seat.

Day 15: The People I Spend My Wednesday Nights With

2008-09-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

The Jersey Sound Chorus is doing a show on Saturday night with a 60's Laugh-In theme. Anybody remember Laugh-In? Last night was our dress rehearsal.

We sure do have a lot of fun!

Day 14: Bryn Athyn, PA

2008-09-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Just a photo of a house we passed while thrift shopping on Saturday in Bryn Athyn, PA.

Bryn Athyn is a small town with a population of about 1,300 right outside of Philadelphia. We love driving through it as there are so many wonderful old homes to see there.

Day 13: Our Favorite Thrift Shop

2008-08-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of our favorite thrift shop, the Bryn Athyn Thrift Shops (BATS) in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. That's Michael in the red shirt in the foreground.

Day 12: Wildwood, New Jersey

2008-08-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our "place" at the shore is a few miles outside of Wildwood, NJ, one of Jersey's shore "resorts". Wildwood, which is about 35 miles south of Atlantic City, had its heyday in the 1950's and is known for its "doo wop" architecture. Below are some shots I took while strolling on the two-mile-long boardwalk. Because of its three piers full of amusements, the boardwalk is popular with teens.

In this photo, you can see my husband, Michael, standing in front of the letter "W".

A shot of some of the amusements on the Mariner's Landing pier. There's also a water park at the end of this pier. In the foreground, those squares you see in the sand are for playing marbles. Wildwood hosts a marble tournament each year which attracts players from all over the country.

Just a shot of the crowds on the boardwalk.

This little fellow is out for a stroll.

Day 11: Our Home Away From Home

2008-08-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

After spending days worrying because I couldn't find the camera software, I discovered that Windows Vista can automatically do it for me! I'm liking Vista more and more.

Moving along around the Delaware Valley, I'm sharing photos of our "home away from home" -- our trailer in Cape May, New Jersey. Here I am, sitting on the front steps:

The trailer is 8' wide by 39' long, with slides-outs making the living room and bedroom 12' wide. In this shot, you can see the "living room" area into the bedroom at the front.

Next, the inside looking the opposite direction showing the kitchen and the hallway leading down to two more bedrooms.

This is an 8' x 35' foot room built onto the side of the trailer which gives us more living space.

And last, the view of our street leading down to a beautiful lake. We haven't spent much time here this year, we've been so busy on the weekends, but it's a wonderful place to relax and unwind.

A Little Hiccup

2008-08-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

I have photos to post, but can't find the software to get them from my camera to the new computers! I hate new computers!!! Hopefully, I will be back 365-ing soon!

Day 10: Declaration of Independence Mural

2008-07-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Begun in 1984 as part of an anti-graffiti effort, Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program has resulted in wonderful works of art on buildings throughout the city.

This shot at 15th & Arch Streets shows "Declaration of Independence" by Philadelphia artist Peter Pagast.

Day 9: Love Park

2008-07-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Right across from City Hall there's a nice little area called "Love Park". It's called that because of the sign at the entrance:

Unlike the park at Rittenhouse Square, Love Park is not grassy and green. There are concrete slab benches all around and people sit on the edge of the fountain to put their feet in. But around the perimeter are some nice flowers and plants:

And my favorite place to bring my lunch and sit out in the sun:

Day 8: Downtown

2008-07-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

I took a walk at lunch time to the drug store to get some hairspray. Although the temperature was above 90 again, the breeze was glorious. Along the way I snapped Suburban Station, which was built in 1930 by the Pennsylvania Railroad. All of the platforms are underground. There are also all kinds of shops and restaurants underground.

Across from Suburban Station, this uniquely-shaped building used to be a Visitor's Center, but now just contains seating for people wanting to bring their lunch outdoors:

As you can tell from the pictures I've been posting, we've been having beautiful sunny weather lately.

Day 7: On the Highway

2008-07-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Some sights snapped from my car window as we traveled down I-95. This is the Walt Whitman bridge, which we take when we cross over to Jersey to go "down the shore" on weekends:

Below is Lincoln Financial Field, which we call "The Linc", where the Philadelphia Eagles play during football season. During the off-season, concerts and shows are held there. Yesterday there was a Kenny Chesney concert and thousands of people were tailgating and cooking out in the parking lot.

And just beyond The Linc is Citizens' Bank Park, home of The Philadelphia Phillies. You can see The Linc on the left side of the photo.

Day 5: Fishtown

2008-07-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today we drove down to a birthday party in Delaware, but stopped off to buy a butter cake for my sister in law. There's no better place to go for butter cake in Philadelphia than Stock's Bakery in the neighborhood of Fishtown. Unfortunately, the bakery was closed due to vacation, but I took a few photos. These show some Fishtown rowhomes. I've discovered that rowhouses aren't always common in other areas of the country, but Philly is a city of rowhouse neighborhoods.

The name Fishtown comes from this area's prominence in the shad fishing industry on the Delaware River in the 1800's and late 1900's. It has always been a working class neighborhood, made up of Polish, German and Irish immigrants at one time who worked in area factories.

This shot almost looks like a desert oasis with the weeds shooting up through the cracks beneath the shadow of the Interstate 95 highway.

Day 4: 18th & Vine

2008-07-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today I hopped on the bus to go to the library, so took a few shots while I was waiting for the bus back to work. Here is the view from the corner of 18th & Vine:

A not-very-good shot of the fountain at Logan Circle. I would have gotten a better shot if I had stood in the middle of the street, but unfortunately the bus was coming. If it hadn't been 97 degrees out, I might have skipped the bus in order to get a better shot, but comfort won out!

I'll finally take some photos tomorrow that aren't of center city!

Day 3: Rittenhouse Square

2008-07-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

When William Penn planned the city of Philadelphia in the late 1600's, he included five public squares which would be havens of nature and beauty for the city's citizens. City Hall now stands on one of these squares, but the others are still lush and green as Penn planned them. One of these is Rittenhouse Square:

As you can see from the photo below, it is a very popular place in the summer time. People go there to meet friends, read, eat lunch, and even sun bathe:

Just beyond Rittenhouse Square is the lovely Church of the Trinity:

As you can imagine, Rittenhouse Square is THE address and contains some of the most expensive real estate in Philadelphia. So I'll never live there but, happily, it's free to visit!

Day 2: A Lunchtime Stroll

2008-07-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

It was a little hot out for walking, but here's a bit of center city Philadelphia I took on my walk at lunchtime. This is the beautiful Hotel Bellevue:

My favorite summertime lunch -- a fruit salad from the vendor across the street from City Hall (and obviously other people agree):

And a little bit of greenery to brighten up the concrete:

Day 1: The View From My Office Window

2008-07-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Some of my online friends have started "365 days in ..." blogs showing photos of their cities and towns. Being a bandwagon kind of person, I have jumped on and will try to show you my neck of the woods over the next 365 days. Where better to start than my office in City Hall in center city Philadelphia to show you the view from my office window:

I'm lucky to have an office with a window after spending the last nine years in the ubiquitous office cubicle. As you can see, it's a porthole window and it looks up the length of Market Street.

The next photo shows City Hall, taken from where I come up from the subway every morning:

My friends, some of whom are much better photographers than I am, will have much better photos, but I'll just try to show some of the sights I see in my daily life.