1984 East Coast: Philadelphia (2/24/1984)

Friday, February 24, 1984

Left at 8:00 and found our way back to I-95. Kathy drove us north into Delaware, where we bypassed Wilmington on I-495. Once in Pennsylvania, we exited onto PA SR 291 taking us into Philadelphia. It was a nice sunny day. We drove up Broad Street with double parkers, cars parked in the middle, and potholes to dodge. Saw a corner newsstand with a sign “Honk for Service.” Turned down Pine Street to pass Antique Row, which turned out to be an area of small antique dealers. We ended up in the nicely maintained Society Hill neighborhood.

Society Hill

We headed towards the historic area to find a parking garage. We had to park on the roof, giving the car a view of the river and a blue suspension bridge. We walked down to 2nd Street where there was a square laid out with a marble block etched with a map of the Philadelphia downtown. We turned up Walnut Street past the historic mall and the historic buildings. We had both been here before and weren’t into History today. We turned right at the end of the mall, then left near Independence Hall on Chestnut Street to find the Benjamin Franklin Hotel, where Kathy had started her stint in the Peace Corps. The street was lined with modern shops and traffic was limited to buses on what was known as the Transitway. We found the hotel, but it was boarded up. Reminded me of Buffalo’s Statler Hilton Hotel. We had breakfast at the McDonald’s where she had the last supper of her Peace Crops crew before being shipped out. We continued down Chestnut Street. Kathy was in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, and behold, there was an Original Cookie Factory! We bought a half pound of mixed cookies, which turned out to be regular chocolate chip, chocolate chip with pecans, and mint chocolate chip cookies. Next we turned on 12th Street to Pine Street to check out the antique dealers. One pace had lovely quilts. As we continued down the street, we noticed the cars had yellow tags under the windshield wipers. They were warnings that they were illegally parked and ticketing would begin on 2/27. Some cars had 4-5 tags! We went over to Spruce Street and headed toward the river, looking for the “A Man Full of Trouble Tavern” (1759). We found it, but not where it was indicated on the map (it’s at 127 Spruce Street). It too was boarded up. We headed south, passing new condominiums. A peek inside showed 2-story ceilings and life-size trees in a couple of them. We worked our way over to the New Market. The Old (?) Market was an empty open arcade. But on either side were new trendy restaurants. To the left, behind the older buildings was a glass and chrome modern complex of shops – The New Market. We went to a few of the shops. Kathy bought a toy for her parents. It had a bear at a piano with hinged arms attached to strings on which hung a ball. Holding a handle, you swing the ball around to activate the arms to “play” the piano. We went into a total soap shop, and a shop of “Fun Things” (hey, hey, hey!). Then Kathy got a sports shop clerk to give her a long spiel on tents, before she took pamphlets and left.

We left and headed up 2nd Street, passing a square of unusual sculptures (man-legged owl, underendowed man, etc.).We saw a “Grand Opening” sign and went to see what it was about. A supermarket. We returned to the car and paid $3.25 for parking. Kathy drove as I navigated us along Market Street. We were in bumper to bumper traffic the whole way. Saw pin-striped businessmen, an old man with funky sunglasses, and a red-headed guy who was making better progress as a pedestrian. We crossed a bridge into a residential area, and were in four lanes of one way traffic. The lady to our left started coming into our lane, and Kathy had to speed up to get out of her way. I was very glad not to be driving. Finally we joined US 1 and drove west to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. There were a lot of cars there, but the huge parking lot was only a fraction full

We entered a low long modern building that somehow also looked European, and paid $4 each for admission.

Longwood Gardens ticket

We went through the gift shop to see they were also selling orchids! We walked out the back to enter the neatly manicured but barren garden grounds. It was winter, after all! We walked past sculpted hedges to the Conservatory. The entrance lobby was full of orchids. What an aroma! I already had to change my mind about not liking orchids! What a variety! We entered a main area laid out with acacia (yellow mimosa) trees, cyclamens, and I already forget what else!

Grafted tree

Azalea House Conservatory

Azaleas were just beginning to bloom. Next to this area was a ballroom, full of chairs as if set up for a conference. The next room really looked like a ballroom with a recessed floor, potted palms, and a surrounding balcony with chairs and lilies. The orchestra stand had snow cloud crabapple trees in full blossom. Another main room had bulb plants; narcissus and tulips, more azaleas, forget-me-nots, and some exotic plants, plus loads of cyclamen.

Cyclamens

These indoor gardens were absolutely beautiful. We started in the greenhouses. There was a room full of orchids; so many varieties from the beautiful to the ugly. Rooms of medicinal plants, fruit plants, and a tropical palm room. There was a topiary hallway, and an area of pottings. Another room of cacti, tropical plants, and roses.

Nepenthes sp/Pitcher Plant

Topiaries of Ficus pumila/Creeping Fig

Finally back to the main room where the dominant fragrance was freesia. We lingered a while, but then had to leave. It was about 16:00 when I drove us out of the parking lot. We took a winding road, SR 52, through beautiful back woods countryside, but the road was narrow! Red barns, ponds, woods, horse farms, stone buildings, etc. We finally reached US 202, which I recognized since we had taken it on our way down. Kathy then recognized it when she saw the helicopter with blades. We eventually got on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Northeast Extension. Kathy tried to get truck drivers to sound their horns.

It was dark when we joined I-81 in Scranton, PA. Just before leaving PA, we stopped for gas and dinner at McDonald’s. We arrived at Kathy’s apartment in Liverpool by 21:30. We had time to sort through our beachcombing finds, learn to quilt, try out a lip moisturizer, learn to mat photos, and check out woven baskets before falling into bed.