Today I decided on a whim to go to Philadelphia to take some photos. Its been 10 years since I've been to Philadelphia, and I never really got the chance to go sightseeing. Being that I live north of Baltimore, I thought that it would be about a 90 minute drive, plus I made 3 stops on the way. I'm not sure any photographer can make a trip without at least one stop, and the bald eagle that I saw was just beckoning me to stop and watch her do a little feather tail kicking of a much smaller bird that invaded her space. Amazing birds to watch.
My next stop was at Ashley, in Havre de Grace, at the former deserted country club, where a pair of osprey have decided to build their nest on the tennis courts. The light pole gives them what they like in a home, plenty of space around them to see their enemies, and a nice river/cove that leads to the Chesapeake Bay where they have a plentiful supply of food. The momma bird was still sitting on the nest and it doesn't appear that the little ones have hatched so forward and onward I went.
Havre de Grace was my third stop, and the gulls, ducks and geese were out in full force, the water was a vibrant blue color, the tide was high, and while the birds were calling to each other, they kept into the trees and in the shade. I guess even birds don't like 80 to 90 degree heat very much. So after a short walk I got back in the car and headed north and west on route 40. All was fine and dandy, and I was thinking Philadelphia would be a short hour away, about 60 miles from Havre de Grace. I cruised up 40, and then got onto 95, and proceeded to go 495, and then back onto 95. Everything was just fine and dandy until I hit just after the airport. Traffic Jam! YUCK. Ok, one good thing about the traffic jam was that exit 10 in Pennsylvania is an exit that will lead to a wild life refuge/sanctuary. I need to go there. Just not today. Philly was calling me. Sitting in traffic at a crawl of 5 miles an hour is not my idea of fun. This traffic jam added probably about 45 minutes if not closer to an hour to my travel time. I really need a better more scenic less congested route to Philadelphia. So I get out of one traffic jam and the very next sign, digital, warns of 'congestion' due to an accident.
Groan.
I already missed my first exit going to Philadelphia because of wall to wall traffic and people were not exactly being kind to let others into the left lane. and cutting 2 lanes of traffic to the right for exits wasn't an option either as there were exits merging into the right hand lanes and everyone was moving to the left. I counted at least 6 near misses, and 2 of those were cars cutting in front of me. Again I missed an exit I could have taken to back track and turn around, Betsy Ross Blvd, at the accident jam. So finally once the traffic clears up and I can get over to the right I find myself in North East Philadelphia.
My first stop was at a Texaco. Gas stations usually sell maps. Right? Wrong.
They give me directions to get back to 95, which I followed and somehow managed to mess up, so I pull into a WaWa, convenience store. They should have a map, right? Wrong. They stopped carrying them some time ago.
And they have no clue why. I told them to stock them so people from out of town could find their way around. But I get better directions back to 95 and all is good. Now I'm on the right road to downtown Philadelphia. And I actually make it there, around 4:30. Now comes the fun part parking.
Lots of parking on the street, no meters, they have kiosks that you have to buy 'parking passes' from. 2 hours or 3 hours depending on the time of day. I finally found a parking spot on the street after 15 minutes of driving in circles, otherwise there were only 2 public lots that I saw and night parking started at 5pm (I would have had to drive in circles for another 15 minutes). Finally I got my little ticket grabbed my cameras, I have a Nikon D300, and Canon Rebel TSi (I prefer my Nikon), but I left my tripod in the car grabbed my backpack, and off I went for a few hours of sightseeing.
My first impression of Philadelphia walking around looking at the buildings, the history, I did more looking and enjoying than I did taking photos. People were out enjoying the afternoon, biking, sitting in parks, walking their dogs, jogging with their kids, and I took it all in.
The work that went into the buildings was truly amazing to me, the carving of pillars, and artwork into granite, stone, and maybe even marble just amazed me. The beauty of the cornices and rod iron gates was phenomenal.
My one huge gripe. The Liberty Bell is inside. You can see it from the outside through the window, and you can hear a lecture about the Liberty Bell from an intercom speaker recording, but after 5pm the building that houses the Liberty Bell is closed. So people who travel, get caught in traffic, and can't find a place to park, end up not being able to see the Liberty Bell. The Liberty Bell should be outside for people to see at all times of the day. Its a part of the history of the United States that needs to be cherished and loved by all. But the powers that be 'house' it in a building.
Leaving Philadelphia. Remember I can't buy a map of Philadelphia in Philadelphia. I drive in another circle, this is really getting familiar. But, Once again I can enjoy the beautiful architecture that isn't built anymore. I admire the love and care that went into making one of the original cities in the United States. Even driving down an old brick/cobblestone street gives you the feeling of the old world and care and love that Philadelphia was built with. One of the signs of how prestegious a city was was by the number of stone or brick streets that they had. From the looks of some of the side streets that have been preserved as brick streets, I would say Philadelphia had a good number of them. But once again I had to stop and ask for directions. Fortunately for me the directions were good enough to only need to stop once.
Homeward bound I went. Traffic was a breeze, there were no jams or accidents all the way back home. Of course, when I get home, there is an accident that closes a major road way not but a few miles from my house. Turn around take another way and I arrive home.
But the thing that amazed me the most?
When I left around noon today, I told my husband I was going to out, I was going to drive, and I was very likely going to go someplace like Philadelphia, DC, or Annapolis. He didn't believe me. That is he didn't believe me until I called him just outside of Philadelphia, telling him I had gone north and was almost to Philadelphia. His words, 'Are you serious'. I told him where I was and he was in total shock. Maybe he'll learn to listen to me when I say that I'm probably going someplace, like Philadelphia, DC, or Annapolis.
Stay tuned for more travel tales as I come across them and my experiences as I set out to capture the past and present through my lens.
Until Next time.
God Bless.
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