So you say you want to see the other side of Pennsylvania?

Opening this latest post with a necessary 2-part disclaimer:

1) The Philadelphia City Pass program should feature a health-advisory warning on all future marketing materials. Text to include some variation of the following: 

"REALLY? You actually think you can cram all of that into 9 +/- hours and still hope your mind and body will continue to cooperate by the end of of the day for your 5+ hour drive home?"

Image suggestions for materials:               BEFORE 

AFTER

2) I am operating on 5 hours of sleep following a whirlwind of activity visiting Eastern PA for work and fun adventures this weekend. There will be plenty of pictures and several stories which may leave you wondering a question that I had to hear MANY, MANY times over the past few days. "WHY?" :)

Why? Because I just know you, the viewer, love to share in my journeys and mind drippings.

Let's go! (A quick 30-second explanation of why this trip out East took place.)

My coworker, Kim, and I were asked to attend the Pennsylvania Free Clinic Association Spring Conference in Harrisburg which took place Friday, May 3rd. Having attended the conference last year and exploring Hershey World before heading back home it was only logical for us to explore another neighboring city. But where to go / what to do? One can only learn so much about chocolate before starting to believe there are things possibly more entertaining (yet never quite as delicious) in this vast world. 

Enter Jillian Michael's, personal trainer / nutrition nut extraordinaire. Jillian just so happened to offer a buy one - get one ticket deal to her new "Maximize Your Life" tour just days after confirming we were to attend the conference again. Jillian just HAPPENED to be in Philadelphia (a 90-minute drive without traffic ... traffic being the operative word here ... from Harrisburg) on the same night of the conference.

How could one pass? Allow me to take this time to point out that "one" had every opportunity to pass, could have even used my "NO" button to offer a "sorry, maybe next time". Fortunately, "one" was (reluctantly at first) agreeable to this opportunity. 

I couldn't be more appreciative for it.

Our adventure started with a slight detour to Trader Joe's in Pittsburgh (Kim's first but certainly not last)  for road-trip snacks and instant breakfast provisions! Traffic was mad through Bloomfield because of the freshly painted NEON GREEN bike-lanes. 

Hopefully this will reduce the number of accidents and serious injuries to bicyclists. Kudos Pittsburgh.Copied this image from Kristin's Facebook - was happy she snapped this and shared.

We made it into Harrisburg around 5pm and headed straight to Hershey Tanger Outlets. This outlet mall pales in comparison to Grove City and Washington but was still fun to visit, even briefly. A few very small purchases and we decided this freshly mulched land-of-deals was just not enough to keep us from our next destination, FOOD. 

Kim's rusty navigation skills were enough to keep us out of the "ghetto" this year and we successfully found our way to our destination Mangia Qui ~ Suba for a wonderful dinner of Tapas.

Here's a great image of the restaurant I swiped from Google images. This place is a must visit if you find yourself in Harrisburg.

Mangia Qui is actually just across the street from the Capital Building. We walked around a bit and snapped some photos before dinner.

Had to visit the birdy in the window before leaving. This display was in a museum just down the block from the Capital building and right where Newt was parked. Coincidence? Couldn't be. I briefly considered rescuing this little fella but quickly ruled out all mad-dash-escape schemes knowing the many potential risks involved would just deter us from my scheduled and in print (brochure and all) itinerary. ie. JILLIAN.

Took me longer to convince Kim that this was just not a good idea. She got it and we made our way to the hotel.

Friday: Breakfast of champions. Oatmeal in a coffee cup with a sorry excuse for a spoon, a coffee stir. Future Beth did past lazy Beth a favor by forgetting the oatmeal in the car. I couldn't justify walking down to the car just for the oatmeal without running a few laps around the hotel first. NO, Kim didn't join me and therefore she did not earn the oatmeal prize. (I think she may count this one as a "win-win", mayhaps).

And then it was time for the Conference. Allow me to summarize. 

"We don't know what is going to happen to healthcare with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Your legislatures do not know what will happen. Your legislatures state it (the ACA) is 'a mess'."

Here. Here. Learned lots, shared lots, made great new contacts and was provided a perspective from another state (Virginia) as to what their legislature's have done to educate and inform and WORK TOGETHER to help the uninsured. VA - 1,  PA - FAIL.

Regardless, it's incredible to see and hear what representatives of Pennsylvania's FREE Health Care Clinics are capable of doing with what $$, time and resources they have. Every single clinic depends on the power of dedicated volunteers and compassionate leaders to answer the questions of how to help those less fortunate in meeting their basic needs. Empowering and (as always) overwhelming but always important to gain a better understanding and reminder of WHAT we do and WHY we do it. 

I'll save the rest for the Monday "pow-wow".

Next stop: NEW JERSEY!

 Turns out, Kim just "really likes bridges" so she guided me down the only road in Philadelphia
 that leads to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. 

Jersey, the land of no left turns. Fortunately we made the first immediate RIGHT hand turn and shot back across the bridge in hopes of finding our true destination - Matt's Uncle Scott and Aunt Ann's home in "City Center" Philadelphia. 

Matt's relatives have a fabulous row house just a block from South Street. They were kind enough to invite Kim and I over for an incredible Ann-special homemade dinner AND let us stay in the unit next door they are preparing to sell.

A few pictures of their beautiful backyard. 

We had to eat, chat and dash too quickly. Traffic and a New Jersey detour really ate up a good chunk of time we had planned to spend with them. Jillian's show was at 8PM and we didn't say our goodbyes until 7:45"ish". 

Hello Taxi man - take us to the woman that screams at people for a living! 

We made it with plenty of time to spare. The theater was beautiful although my iPhone pictures are just "eh". 

Jillian Michael's "Maximize Your Life"

Crooked chandelier / ceiling view

The first half of Jillian's show was just incredible. Great information on nutrition and exercise, great visuals and energy! The 2nd half was still good but dragged on a bit too long as she went off on her self-improvement tangents and usual Jillian rants that I've come to love her for, but maybe have heard one too many times. There were likely hundreds of people there that her messages hit home with for the first time though. Kudos Jillian, keep up the great work!
Very important for me to add ... HOLLY - SHE DID NOT MAKE ANYONE CRY FROM YELLING AT THEM. Yes, of course she yelled at people though. Wouldn't have been worth my $40 if she hadn't. :)

After the show we were so happy to get outside to WALK for a few blocks after sitting ALL-DAY-LONG. After losing to the cold we hailed a cab and returned to our row-house home for the night. We enjoyed a brief exploration of the home as most of the rooms were bare minus some artwork and random pieces of furniture yet to be moved. The home has such character and charm even in our delirium we were still able to appreciate it's beauty!

Saturday: Early in the morning it was up and at 'em to continue this crazy series of adventures. We packed up Newt, prepared our "daypacks" and drove off to Stock's Bakery just North of Philly so Kim could pick up some of the "best pound cake ever". 

This bakery worker didn't crack a smile or smirk the entire time we were in here. How does one frown with so many sweets around and happy people buying said sweets.

We eventually found parking for Newt and purchased our City Passes at Independence Hall before jumping on the Big Bus Tour of the city. Just our luck, the City Pass program changed just that morning so we had some difficulties when selecting our destinations and arranging transportation for the day. All in all, it worked out by the end of the day. I won't lie, there were moments of fist shaking, threats of phone calls and personal visits by an angry Kim. You've been warned.

This is where I channel my inner-Matt. I borrowed his "Joby" so I could take pictures while on the bus. This lasted for all of 5-minutes before I realized it was just easier to hold the camera up above heads and snap pics. Still like this picture though.

Some images from atop the BigBus while riding through the city. Twas a fun tour, I'll caption some of the places I remember the names of. The tour guides did a great job sharing their stories!

Betsy Ross' home.

Benjamin Franklin bust completely made out of pennies. 

Gravesite of Benjamin Franklin.

France. Er, Chinatown. I always get this one mixed up. 

Outside of Reading Terminal Market

The famous "LOVE" stamp sculpture.

I believe the story with this one is this apt. complex was designed by one of the first female architects to graduate from X school and the building is designed to allow all units to capture
the same amount of sun per day. I like sun. 

First stop off the bus - Eastern State Penitentiary.

The flea market outside of the Eastern State Penitentiary. Such great finds, so little time.

We took a self-guided tour through this Penitentiary which was operational from 1829 - 1971. Want to know more ... http://www.easternstate.org/learn/research-library/history

Entrance to Cell Block 1

A lone tree growing from the top of the wall.

First attempt to take a picture inside a dark room.

2nd attempt - success!

Al Capone's cell was just a bit more "posh" then these others. A bit...

 

We were visiting the Penitentiary on the day of the "Reunion". We later asked more about this reunion and learned the former inmates were invited back (those not serving life of course) to dine and chat with the staff/guards and to share stories and answer questions with those touring this historic site. Very interesting. Would have been interesting to participate if we had more time.

Bed sheets torn and tied together in an attempt to escape.

An interesting photo en route to lunch!

Lunch @ MugShots Cafe

Mai, Matt's cousin, joined us before heading out to the Philadelphia Zoo!

Determined to make it to see the monkeys! 

Joan of Arc statue

Kim & the Philadelphia Art Museum

Giraffe mosaics. Closer than ever to the zoo!

 Hooray! We made it to the zoo - along with the rest of Philadelphia on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Yikes!

And finally, the monkeys.

Shudder, the "King Cobra"

Yes, this guy was real. Unless you listened to the kids banging on the glass insisting he wasn't.
Creepy.

Because having the teeth INSIDE the mouth was not scary enough!

Definitely my favorite creature of the zoo. Why? Just attempt a guess. Here's a hint.

Nom. Nom.

Just love this picture. Makes you want to snuggle up with him. (not advisable)

We couldn't find the penguins and learned the elephants we were searching for were long gone due to new transportation routes. This penguin statue will have to make due. 

He's so over me!

These beasts are incredible.

A little worried. Just a little.

And ... we made it from the Zoo to the Arts Museum. Rocky welcomed us with his usual excitement.

Ever tour an arts museum in 15 minutes? It kinda looks like this:

We hopped back onto the bus to semi-complete the tour but more importantly get back to Newt! Exhausted. Dehydrated. Hungry. Sore. Sunburnt. We had hoped to grab dinner somewhere, or at the very least, Starbucks, but quickly settled for just finding Newt after getting turned around 10 times. It was time to get out of the city before the sunset!

Thankfully it was a breeze leaving the city. We were thrilled to find a restaurant maybe 40 mins outside of the city serving edible food from a huge menu. A thin elderly woman in a flowered fitted mumu offered to play our requests on her travel-keyboard-piano. We passed but enjoyed the old-tunes that others eagerly requested.

5+ hours later, a sugar-stop at Starbucks and many conversations later we were HOME! 

Oh my. I truly felt like I had run a marathon when I woke up this morning. Glad I wasn't talked into running the half today. I wouldn't have made it past the starting line!

Great times K-wow. Thanks for playing choose your adventure!