The City-Wide Special

I decided to take a rest day in Philly since I'm a little ahead of schedule and hadn't been to the city before. Not to mention, it was the sabbath. I was thinking during one of my rides, I have taken a rest day each Sunday during my trip. I hadn't really planned to, but it seemed to work out that way. I was only able to catch a church service once while in DC with my friend Chris. It's hard sometimes when traveling and visiting.

Sunday morning in Philly my friend Nick was running in the Philadelphia Marathon. I didn't realize how big it was until I got there. I got up early to go cheer him on. There was a cheering section at one of the corners of the course. I met up with a few of his other friends there. We stood there for about a half hour until finally seeing him pass. It would have been a great picture, but he passed so quick. We were amazed how many runners there were, thousands! They just kept coming! We stood there for almost an hour and they were nonstop. Here is a video clip I took. Might be a little boring, but gives you an idea of what its like to cheer at a marathon. You can't see that well in the video, but it can actually be pretty good people watching.

I took this picture of the runners following a hydration point. Cups ALL over the road.

After seeing Nick pass at the cheering section, I rode my bike through Philly and to the finish line. It was a huge crowd, but I was able to find him. He had done the 1/2 marathon and had met his time goal. We celebrated with some tasty brunch.

Here is a picture of the city I took on my ride through the city.

After brunch we walked through the University of Penn campus to get back to Nick's. It's a real nice campus. Here is a picture of the walkway we took.

After getting back to his place so he could get a shower, we relaxed for a bit. After the great time I had at the Bills bar in DC I looked one up in Philly. I easily found one and we headed out to catch the second half. Here is a picture of the outside of the bar.

It's really fun going to Bills bars in other cities. The bars are always packed with Bills fans wearing jerseys and other Bills gear. At this one they played the "Shout" song when they scored. Too bad it was another terrible performance.

After the game I wanted to find a traditional Philly Cheese Steak! I can't remember the name of the shop, but it was recommended by Nick's friend, Jenny. I had to order it the traditional way, with onions and wiz. Wiz is cheese wiz. Don't ask me why that's the traditional cheese, but it is.

After our cheese steaks we went back to Nick's for another break. A little later that evening we went out to a Blues show just across the street from Nick's place. We walked through a restaurant looking place and up a staircase to a room the size of a typical living room. There was a small bar on the side and a few tables. There was a five-piece Blues band playing. The band consisted of a acoustic guitar, harmonica, flute, stand up bass, and washboard. They were really entertaining. I had been hearing all about the city-wide special. The city-wide special is a special at just about every bar in Philly. It's a shot of whiskey and a beer for $3-4. Had to get one while I was there.

What a great day in Philly!!