Daycation All I Ever Wanted

I'm becoming increasingly aware that people actually read & follow what I write & what I do. Wow, I don't know how I feel about that. haha. It gives me pressure to keep it entertaining. Eh, I'll do what I've always  done. I'll write to entertain myself. If others are entertained, so be it!

As you know, I went to Philly on Saturday. Earlier in the week, I decided I needed a day trip on Saturday, or as I called it, a "daycation". I thought I was clever and original with the name. Um, no, I wasn't. I still like it though. After scouring the area to see what was within driving distance, I settled on Wilmington & Philadelphia. After researching Wilmington further, I decided I'd only lunch in Wilmington and spend the afternoon in Philly. Come Friday, I still didn't know exactly what I'd do in Philly. I did find a lunch place though. A retro type diner in Wilmington. I even kinda knew what I'd order. Then, luck and Google would shine on me. WALKING TOUR. I love walking tours. You get to see so much more. This one took you to the historical areas in Philly. Then, more luck. There was a deal to get a few bucks off when you buy a walking tour ticket AND a ghost tour ticket (called Spirits of 76. Clever!). Boom, my day was planned.

After my exercise class Saturday morning (yup, still going to the tai chi/yoga/pilates hybrid class. The people in it are very nice too. Some of the moves are just odd though), I got ready to head out. Still no scale at the gym after some MO-ron smashed the old one to smithereens. A picture of it was even posted. Bizarre! I didn't get lost at all on the way. I would have gotten there sooner but there were a couple of wrecks. By the time I reached them, the wreck & police presence was over. I'm guessing folks were slowing down to look. DON'T DO THAT!! Drive past and move on. I think people who slow traffic by rubber necking should have their car keyed. I also  had to pay a couple of tolls. I've never been through many tolls booths. I've only been a passenger through them. I didn't realize it until I went through them. Is it odd I've never tolled? Anyway, some of these toll booths reminded me of pit stops in NASCAR. You get off the exit at the same time them you split off and find the booth with the shortest line before anyone else gets there. I was expecting to get my tires changed or radio my crew chief. Since I left from Maryland and came back to PA, I had different routes. The route going back had 1 toll. There were 2 coming from MD. Just saying.

Anyway, made it to lunch. Friendly retro place. Most of the servers were guys. That was odd to me. Had the Monte Cristo, which was ham, turkey, & swiss on French toast. Pretty good. Plus a side of home fries. It was way too much for me to eat all of. Then on to Philly. Found my parking garage, then tried to find my tour which was many blocks away. Yeah, I should have taken a cab (or is it a taxi, or a taxicab?). Twice I was asked if I was from Philly so they could ask directions. I think it's because I made eye contact with them. Here's a hint, if someone makes eye contact, they probably aren't local lol. Saw giant board game pieces in front of a museum, a guy riding a motor scooter shirtless, and a guy skateboarding in traffic, stopping at a red light & everything. So yeah, weird.

Finally found where I needed to be. This exercise must be paying off because my walking was fine :-) GO ME!! At first, I was the only one on the tour, then others joined at the last minute, including 3 Brits. I find that hilarious, but they were awesome. Tour guide was great. Very informative, plus he's an actor so he sold it really well and did a few accents. Got to see a lot of historic places that shaped the country today. After the tour was over, I still had a few hours to kill before the ghost tour. So I decided to go ahead and eat. I found a place that served cheesesteaks. Probably not a well known place for them, but I didn't care. Had one, had some baklava and a diet ginger ale. All in all, pretty nice. Then I still had a ton of time to kill so I found the place, then walked around a while longer and saw some more cool buildings. Finally, the ghost tour started. I don't believe in ghosts and spirits and stuff like that. I know that sounds strange since this is my 3rd ghost tour (in addition to Chattanooga and Fell's Point) but it's fun hearing the scary stories and walking around the town. There were 2 children on this tour. Why you'd take a child on a scary GHOST tour is beyond me. One kid was about 9 or so and she was smart and she was fine. The other poor girl was about 4 years old (Yeah, 4 on a ghost tour. Lazy parents) and kept talking and asking questions and asking if the ghosts were mean & stuff like that. Plus, some of the stories were pretty gruesome. I saw no orbs, no spirits, no specters, no cold chills, nothing. After that, I got in a cab, back to my garage, and off I went alone into the dark Pennsylvania night.

All in all, it was a good day. I saw a lot, got to do some fun things, eat, say I've been to Philly. I did have to cross over one sort of scary bridge, but it could have been worse. Plus, the temperature wasn't too warm. I was fine in jeans. The world didn't need to see me in shorts. Oh, and 1 person got that the A on my shirt stood for the University of Alabama. He asked if Bama was gonna win the SEC. I told him yep. I would have stayed and chatted with him, but we were about to start the tour and he was on a break from the visitors center so he was probably about to head back to work. Less than 3 weeks till kickoff. RTR!

Got in at midnight Saturday/early Sunday. I was exhausted and sweaty. But I still made it up for church today. Then I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. AWESOME movie. Too much fun. Action, comedy, non stop fun. Then back to church for a church wide meeting. It's fun seeing folks other than Sunday morning. You get to talk with them more when they aren't in a rush.

I haven't lost as much weight this week, but after a few days of futility, the scale at least is headed back down. WooHoo!! Other than all that, work, Dale Carnegie, and trying to help a friend get over a romantic crisis, life's been pretty simple. Got to decide when my next daycation is and where to go. I have friends in DC so I could go there. A lady in my exercise class and the awesome Janet Cash both suggested places in northern Virginia. But my next accomplishment will be my San Diego vacation next month. Maybe a trip to LA too while I'm there? I wonder if either of them have ghost tours. Hmm...but pre-schoolers aren't allowed this time.