Karen Visit and Trip to Philly

My dear friend Karen came out for a visit a couple of weeks ago.  I love when I'm able to spend quality time with great friends, especially those I don't get to see often, so I found this to be a very welcomed treat for me and my family.  Thankfully, she had minimal problems arriving at Philadelphia International aside from an annoying lady she'd "befriended" during her flight who apparently found enough confidence in Karen to narrate the last 2 or 3 months of her life in great detail....much to Karen's chagrin (although it did make for a very entertaining tale during our drive up to Levittown.  The tale, in a brief synopsis, included the girl moving to California either with or to be with some dude who was an abuser who burned her with a cigarette on 2 separate occasions in a display of "commitment" of some kind.  The girl had enough of such treatment (as like sorts of things were apparently the norm in the relationship), called her family back in the Philadelphia area, hopped a bus and began a pilgrimage of sorts back to the east coast...until her luck ran out in the KC area.  A friend of the family who lived in the area had picked her up at the bus station in KC, MO, and got her a flight from Kansas City International to Philadelphia.  The tale told in person was pretty awesome as Karen is a phenomenal storyteller.  

Regardless, as she was here for only a few days, Karen not her "new friend", we had some time to make a couple of day trips. The first was to Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA.  We were going to take the kids to a local park, but the weather had turned...rainy and somewhat windy...so Giggleberry Fair seemed to be a good option.  I was wrong, however, as I thought most of the schools in the area had already begun and that it wouldn't be busy....so it didn't turn out to be as good an option as I had originally thought.  Christopher did have a good time, though...and Matthew...well, he just sort of rode around in his stroller and watched all the tomfoolery that was going on all around the place.  It ended well, however, in that we had a very good lunch at Hart's Tavern, a local restaurant and enjoyed the scenery during the drive back.

These are the prizes Christopher won with all of his tickets...he was a very happy boy.

 Karen had also done some research before she arrived and discovered the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum located on the corner of 7th and Spring Hill in Philadelphia...not the best area in town, but not too bad.  We decided, as she had not yet had the experience of visiting a couple of the more famous Philadelphia landmarks, that we would try to hit some of them on this trip.  One thing we did not do was visit the Art Museum, but the forces that be didn't allow for that trip to take place on this trip.  We did, however, get to Pat's Steaks for Karen to taste an original Philadelphia cheesesteak (Karen thought the sandwich was very tasty and "not as greasy" as she thought it would be), took a short walking tour up Market St., saw some local  sites as well as a brief walk-through the Independence Mall before heading back down Market St. to visit the Franklin Fountain (relatively famous ice cream place down by the pier located at 2nd and Market)...this trip was for me as I'd seen this place on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and have been obsessed about going there ever since laying my eyes on their delectables.  Then we headed up South St. to get some BBQ from a place my mother-in-law had somehow got her hands on gift certificates.  Before that last leg, I had a slight panic attack as I thought I had lost my wallet, but I had dropped it in the door pocket of my car.  After getting the BBQ, we headed back to Levittown to feast with my family, mother-in-law included, and Karen.  

Below are some pics of the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum.  There was no furniture in the house, one rumor is that he had to sell the furniture to pay bills or move to New York.  It was a very interesting trip and we learned a lot about Poe....many things that Karen nor I knew, which was pretty cool. (It's not so surprising that I didn't know stuff, but very surprising that Karen was even in the dark on some of the information!). It was small, taking around an hour to watch the pre-tour 9-minute movie, tour the entire house, and check out the exhibits, but it was well worth it.  We did learn that his stint in Philadelphia was the most successful period of his life.  He was able to maintain a very good livelihood from working as a critic and editor for a couple of different publications.  He also wrote many of his most famous works, including:Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Purloined Letter, and The Cask of Amontillado.  And, to answer the question some might ask, YES, it is pretty creepy. They actually have, as pictured below, a fake heart and hand underneath one of the floorboards on the top floor, Maria Clemm's room (I forget her nickname), Virginia Clemm's (Poe's cousin-wife) mother.

Yes, it was THAT scary and creepy!

The last set of photos are from the other parts of our trip...the first few from lower Market St. where Benjamin Franklin lived and worked.

 

 The Independence Mall visitor center and the Revolutionary era Philly Phanatic...

Franklin Fountain sign...concoctions are expensive, but awesome!

Unfortunately, Karen had to cut her trip a day short because of Hurricane Irene, which was predicted to hit Philadelphia on the eve of her departure...safety first.  It was very cool to get to see her and spend some quality time with her.  Maybe next time, she'll be able to bring Zooey and Nick...

The very tip of Hurricane Irene from the airport cell phone lot as she approached.  Karen was able to reschedule her flight and get out of town before the airport was shut down.  It's a good thing she made it when she did or she'd have been here for 2 more days!

My drive back from PHL...still the tip of Irene.  Pretty freaky stuff.  I can now add hurricane to my natural disaster list