I went to Philadelphia

If you've read the blog lately, you already know this, but last week I took off to visit my brother in New York. I made a detour through Philadelphia first, where he rode a bus to meet me for a day in Philly spent exploring the city before capping the night off with a Flyers home game. The Flyers of course being the single greatest hockey team of all time, and one of a very few things on this Earth that I truly and openly express love for.

As with most things of a slightly personal nature that I end up posting here, I'm mainly going to let the photos do the talking, but will drop in a line or two just so those who care will have some idea as to the significance or what exactly is going on. Here we go...

This is the view that greeted me as soon as I stepped out of the train station. It wouldn't be the only thing however, as when I took out my phone to take this picture, from behind me I heard "welcome to Philadelphia". I turned around to see two girls wearing Phillies shirts laughing at me. "It's that obvious?" was my only response, to which they laughed again, and I went on my way. As for Philadelphia, we basically only had about 5 hours or so to kill before the main event, the hockey game. All we knew for sure was that we wanted to see the Liberty Bell, we wanted to eat a real Philly Cheesesteak at Geno's, and we wanted to run up the "Rocky steps".

After a walk that I was assured by my brother would be brief... *ahem*likefourmiles*cough* to the hotel, I dropped my bags off, took a shower, changed clothes, and we were off. First stop, the Liberty Bell. I literally went through less security boarding the train in Atlanta than I did walking into the small building the Liberty Bell sits inside. Once they decided that I probably wasn't there to blow up the Bell, I walked in. There's a small museum that you can walk through, with plenty to read, but being that we had a few other things to do, and not a lot of time, we were forced to skip a good bit of it to get to the Bell itself for a pic or two before moving on. I wanted to ask the security guard if I could lick it, Barney and Ted style, but she didn't look like the kind of person who might enjoy my particular sense of humor, so I pussied out.

So there are the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, or as they're better known...The Rocky Steps. I was under the impression that the statue was located at the top of said steps, but it's actually over to the side in an area by itself over to one side of them. Bummer. Didn't stop me from running up them though. Once at the top I did discover a tile which had two footprints on it which appeared to be the bottoms of boots, with the name "Rocky" written underneath them. In what would be one of the trips more interesting "well I'll be damned moments" when I put my feet next to them I discovered that I in fact have the same size foot as the Italian Stallion. Who knew?

I had every intention before arriving of taking a picture of me punching the Rocky statue in the face. As you can see, I was just a shade too short at 6'1", so I was forced to go with a cheap shot. Ok fine, so my plan all along was to punch him in the balls anyway, but still, I didn't think I'd have to stretch so high to do so.

Time for some grub, a world famous Cheesesteak from Geno's! Here's a little Philly trivia for you in case you're planning on going and having a Geno's Steak, bring CASH. They don't take debit cards, or anything else for that matter. Another tip, the hot sauce with the warning label on it on the condiment cart? Yeah that's that label is there for a reason, that shit will light you on fire. Luckily, I only hit my sandwich with a small bit. My brother on the other hand slathered his with it, and as of this writing he is still unable to feel his tongue or taste foods accurately. The  Geno's Cheesesteak was great, but then most cheesesteaks are, and honestly I think I might call it the best only because of the novelty factor. Still, if you're in Philly you gotta hit Geno's and/or Pat's, it's the law.

The main event! Outside the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers! This is me and my brother's roommate Steve-O outside in the parking lot. That would be me on the right, and I look like a beached whale with no neck because I've got on three shirts and a hoodie underneath my Ron Hextall jersey. What can I say? I live in a place that hasn't had a day under 60 degrees since LAST winter, and I was goddamn cold.

This is me and my little brother. I wish I could tell you this was after he'd had a few $6 beers, but if I remember correctly, he hadn't even had one yet at the time this picture was taken...

 Yep, I could get used to this. 

If you read yesterday's post and watched the video, you already know the Flyers put on a show for me, a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders. To say I had a great time would be the biggest understatement of all time. Last Thursday was literally one of the best days of my entire life. I left Philadelphia in love with the city, and seeing my Flyers at home, in a sea of orange with 40,000 other Flyers faithful was a feeling that overwhelmed me. I will most definitely be returning, if not this hockey season then certainly next year.

That's it for Philly! My brother and Steve-O went out after the game to a pub near the hotel, but after the train ride, and all the walking during the day, topped off by all the excitement of the game, I was exhausted and opted to return to the room for a hot shower and a warm bed. 

Hope you enjoyed my little recounting of the days events! If you did, be sure and return tomorrow when I get into the two days I spent in the Big Apple, New York City. Spoiler... the Statue of Liberty isn't as big as you think it is.... See you tomorrow.