Philadelphia Revisited

So, a few day ago, I told you about my drug-motivated trip to Philly. Which was extended so I could visit, however briefly, with Annelies. And I left you wondering how we spent our day on Monday.

She had to be at the airport at about 3:30, so our time was limited. We just wanted to do something simple that would allow us time to really visit, i.e., chat and catch up. That was actually the first opportunity she and I had spent any length of time together without the guys. Not that we don’t like spending time with them, too, but girl time is different.

On our way back to the hotel from King of Prussia, where we visited with Jessika, we passed a sign for the Philadelphia Zoo. After a bit of discussion, we decided that would be a great place to go. Neither of us had been to a zoo in years. And we could just roam around at our leisure looking at critters and chatting. So that’s what we did.

Annelies and Me at America's First Zoo

Our first challenge was finding our way back there. We used the GPS feature on my phone, since we didn’t have a map. Which sent us on yet another driving adventure. The thing about a GPS is, it tends to take you places via the shortest route. And that’s not always the best route. Especially when you’re in a city like Philadelphia, which is a lot like Baltimore in that the city center is surrounded by some pretty rough areas.

Twice on the previous day, I’d ended up driving through the hood. Once before I met up with Annelies, and once when she and I were on our way to meet up with Jessika. Annelies had never seen a real-life American “hood”, which is really just a poverty stricken area of a city where crime rates are much higher than in other areas. So when I told her we were in the hood, she said, “How do you know this is the hood?”

“I grew up in Baltimore,” I told her. “I know a hood when I see one.”

Maybe it wasn’t the worst part of Philadelphia? Who knows. Maybe you can tell me. Here’s where we were. (I never did show Jessika a map of where we’d ended up.)

I asked Annelies if they had the TV show The Fresh Prince in Belgium. Will Smith’s character was from Philly. I think it was South Philly though, which I had accidentally explored the previous day. When she said yes, I told her that could be where The Fresh Prince (meaning the show) was shot (as in filmed).

“He was shot?” she asked, very seriously. “I don’t remember him being shot.”

That cracked me up, of course. We had quite a few conversations like that.

Anyway… here are the pictures I captured at the zoo.

Train Bridge Outside of Zoo Entrance

 

The Only Elephants We Saw

 

Free-ranging Peacock

 

Colorful Monkeys

 

More Monkeys

 

Pink, Pink, You Stink

 

I Love Bear Statues

 

"What's up, Dawg?"

 

Popcorn is Healthy? (Annelies spotted that one.)

 

Bad-ass Mountain Lion

 

Cute, Sleepy Mountain Lion

 

Silly Girls

 

Beautiful Wildcat

 

Annelies Loves Penguins

 

And You Know How I Feel About Frogs

 

Funny Giraffe

That was our zoo experience.

Check out Annelies’ suitcase.

Too Many Souvenirs

At this moment, Annelies is moaning, saying to herself, “I knew I shouldn’t have let her take that picture.”

Not the suitcase picture (above), the shot I captured of her laying on top of that over-stuffed suitcase trying to make it close.

But I decided to spare her dignity for a change and not post that shot.

Not long after we got back to the hotel, it was time for her to leave.

I hate goodbyes.

But at least I know I’ll see her again in Italy. Yves, too. We are so looking forward to that trip.

So, what’s your favorite zoo shot?

I Went to Philadelphia for Drugs

I cannot lie. My recent trip to Philadelphia was drug-motivated. That’s how it started anyway.

Drugs and friends. What a great combination.

Those of you who know me well are aware that I work for a clinical research organization (CRO). CROs provide services that help pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical drug and device trials.

When I learned that my Austin-based company would be having a booth at the Drug Information Association (DIA) trade show in Philadelphia, I decided to drive up on Tuesday to meet with some colleagues. There were several at the show who I’d never seen in person before.

Originally, I was going to just stay for the day. Then my employer decided to put me up in a hotel for the night. Which meant I’d come home on Wednesday.

Then I heard from my friend Annelies, who lives in Belgium, that she’d be in Philadelphia for a sales conference the weekend before DIA. Since I don’t get to see her often, I jumped at the chance to visit with her. We planned to meet in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, when her sales thing ended. The deal was sweetened by the knowledge that I’d also get to visit with some of the other folks I used to work with.

I was tickled to see and chat with Annmarie, my former boss, who reads this blog but rarely comments.

Yes, Annmarie, I had to throw that in there. 🙂

Later, Annelies and I spent a lovely, long afternoon catching up with Jessika.

Jessika and Annelies enjoying their chocolate martinis.

The three of us had a grand time hanging out together. It had been about two years since I’d last seen Jessika. I’m still kicking myself for not having someone take a picture of the three of us!

I didn’t take many people photos that day. But, since I arrived in the city earlier than anticipated, I did get to walk around exploring the city a bit.

Philadelphia's City Hall

That was actually the first time I’d been in Philadelphia. Which is crazy, especially when you consider that I grew up about 90 miles away in Baltimore. And I was in the area several times in previous years while working for a company based outside of Philly in King of Prussia.

I am definitely more of a country person, but visiting cities every once in a while is fun. There’s certainly lots to look at. And Philadelphia is actually quite cool.

Best Chinese Food to Take Out

I enjoy the vast array of sights. Like the “best Chinese food” sign. Does that mean not as good when eating in?

I managed to capture quite a few interesting images. Which, of course, I just had to share here…

 

Crocheted or Knitted Phone Booth (?) Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it for the city pics. But I do have one more image to share with you.

When Annelies, Jessika, and I walked into the King of Prussia Mall, this store window caught my eye immediately. How could it not? Of course, I didn’t see the sale” signs. Just the “BIG” and “ASS” signs.

So I asked Annelies to go pose for me. Not because she has a big ass or anything. Actually, she has a skinny ass. I just thought the signs were funny.

She agreed.

Then she immediately asked, “Why do I listen to you?”

Unique Photo Op Captured!

Because it’s fun. It makes us laugh. And it makes memories.

I wish we didn’t all live so far apart. But sharing Sunday with the two of them was lots of fun.

Now, wait until you see what Annelies and I did on Monday…

Things I Saw Today

I haven’t done one of these posts for a while. ShyB inspired me! These images are actually from a few different days.

Blue House

 

Flowers

 

Cute Little House

 

Is That the Right Thing to Say?

 

Lantern Finial on Iron Fence

 

Looking Down Alexandria Pike

 

Main Street with Storm-cloud Backdrop

 

Black Bear Bistro

 

Waiting for Dad Outside of Molly's Irish Pub

 

Pretty

 

Pet Grooming Salon

Things I Saw Today

My favorite time of day to walk the dogs is an hour or so before sunset. That’s what photographer types refer to as the magic hour. Why magic? Because that’s when the light is absolutely perfect.

The first image below is an example of perfect light captured. I used my point and shoot camera AND was being dragged along by three dogs. The camera isn’t as important here as the angle of the sun.

Enough said. I hope you enjoy today’s virtual stroll through my neighborhood.

Perfect Light (straight out of camera)

 

There's the Church and There's the Steeple...

 

Graffiti (someone got arrested for doing this)

 

Simply Flowers

 

Really Deep Red

 

Ground Cover

 

Old Window

 

Pink

Things I Saw Today

My friend Ally, known better ’round here as ShyBiker or ShyB, has been exploring her world in a variety of ways for some time.

Within the last year or so, she decided to dig into photography a bit more. And she started sharing some of her efforts on her blog in a way that I found quite refreshing. She always calls the posts “Things I Saw Today.” Here’s a link to her latest. And the one before that. Aw, heck, let’s do the one before that, too.

I’ve really enjoyed those posts. The photographs are just snippets from her world. I think she is a lot like me in that she enjoys finding beauty in simple things and capturing that beauty to share with others. She doesn’t spend a whole lot of time on the mechanics of photography (shutter speed, aperture settings, etc.), she just captures a shot. And she doesn’t feel compelled to explain each image either. Which is also refreshing.

She just keeps it simple and shares some photographs.

“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” – Matt Hardy

You often don’t or can’t see beauty in the world until someone shows it to you. Take a look around you just now – even without moving from the computer. Can you see something in a new way, a different way of presenting something common? Just take a look again… (Quote provided by Digital Photography School)

I like looking at images captured by other people. Because I think the thing I enjoy most about photography is seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.

As Ally said, “Many times, despite their ordinariness, the photographed images have an intrinsic beauty which I recognize, enjoy and try to share with you.”

She decided to make Things I Saw Today a regular feature on her blog. I am really looking forward to seeing what her other friends capture, because she has some really cool followers.

So here’s my first installment of Things I Saw Today.

What’s New?

Look at this picture to see if you can spot what’s different.

What's new?

I still haven’t painted my chairs.

The pie safe is still the same minty green.

The flowers haven’t changed since the last time I showed you a picture of the dining room.

It was another project of Hubby’s.

Maybe this shot will help.

Before

The new thing makes me very happy. Did you spot it?

Also, I decided to crop one of yesterday’s shots a bit closer. Thanks, to a good friend’s advice. I do think I like this one better.

A Closer Look at "Blue, Captured"

I do think I like this one better.

I’m just glad I captured that blue shadow. I still think it’s pretty wild.