Bailey's Rembrandt: Family's First

Early March we made our first journey as a family under our new arrangements. It started in Ocala for a morning appointment and then we quickly traveled north to the Philadelphia area where we spent over a week, staying in Bensalem. Below are the treasures we found, the travel tips we discovered and our end of the tour evening raid on the D.C. Mall.

Just as we arrived in Pennsylvania so did the first signs of Spring 2010. In order to celebrate, Rembrandt (left), Bailey (right) and myself took a stroll along the Delaware River. It was the middle of the day, in the middle of the week and the park was busy with others stretching their cabin fever legs.

Bailey

Rembrandt

A place I stumbled upon, a great coffee shop inside, kind of an outdoor market.

This is an artist community, filled with live-in artists, their studios and shops, another great coffee shop and cafe.

Rembrandt go into my bag.

Rembrandt after getting into trouble. Retreated to under the steering wheel.

Pat's Steaks, one of the establishments that fights for the title of the most famous steak sandwich. They don't call it Philly Steaks there, at Pat's and other restaurants in Philadelphia, they are just steak sandwiches, and yes it is covered in a nacho cheese sauce. It is delicious and I ate ever bite.

Since we are in the city of 'brotherly love' I stated my love!

Philadelphia has more public art than any other American city, according to the Smithsonian Institute. Aside from the Rocky statue and Claes Oldenburg's Clothespin (1976), this was my favorite outdoor art piece. I don't know the name of it or the artist, but I just like the concept and the movement. It reminds me of Michelangelo's Releasing Prisoners series in Florence which line the hallway to David in the Galleria dell' Accademia. Michelangelo's believed his job as a sculptor was to release figures imprisoned by the stone and his Prisoners piece is a prime example of this philosophy as each one appears to emerge from the stone just as the piece above illustrates the escape of a figure once frozen.

A quick clip of Schuylkill Navy's Boat House Row.

As a former rower, I immediately had a connection to this place, one because I love rowing and two I love history. The above clip was captured from the car as we drove by on a rainy day, but I actually walked the length of the Row with Bailey and Rembrandt a few days prior when the weather was absolutely beautiful. It seems to be a favorite spot for locals too. The sidewalk was super busy with tourists and locals enjoying the sun, but unfortunately very few boats were out in the water.

This area has a great story, it is made up of 15 boathouses housing social and rowing clubs and their racing vessels, other boathouses along the river in other locations also encompass Boathouse Row. Each house has its own history and personality and together they are a National Historic Landmark and entered the National Register of Historic Places. It is located on the east back of the Schuylkill River and each structure is at least a century old. Within the rowing community, Philadelphia and specifically Boathouse Row is considered one of the major centers of the sport

Independence Hall, I don't really have to explain this one.

The Liberty Bell viewing room. The significance of this picture, aside from the bell, is the individual in the grey shirt and short, the one and only Mike Cook, my parent's other grandson.

Picasso was the all the buzz at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. These are of course the infamous stairs in Rocky. Another bit of info, beyond these doors are actual works of Rembrandt, one of the most famous, Christ Crucified Between Two Thieves, which is considered to be one of the most ambitious and celebrated prints by the Dutch artist.

It took me awhile to wrap my head around Philly. The city and surrounding area are sprawling and traffic is always, always crazy. You have to factor in a long drive time, especially if you are not familiar with the area. The GPS is one of the best investments we have ever made. TRAVEL TIP #1 - PURCHASE A GPS! However I also recommend having a paper map too, a print out from MapQuest or an online service does not count. I don't trust these guys like an good ol' fashion road map. A paper map is a must, one because you need to maintain your navigational skills. In our world of technological advancement we need not loose our map reading skills. But, also, the printed maps sometimes have details/landmarks that are needed and necessary. Mr. or Mrs. GPS (every GPS must have a name and gender assignment) isn't always correct either, but they are helpful non-the-less. The GPS, also helps the marital relationship or whatever the road ship partnership maybe, it takes out a lot of the guessing and uncertainty. Enough about all that...

Back to Philly, to say this area is rich in history is an understatement. American history oozes here, along with art, food, shopping and nightlife. I was there for well over a week and that was enough time for me as a visitor. I'm sure if I lived there I would continue to dig and discover, but as a visitor I was happy with my time frame. The visitor's website www.visitphilly.com/ was super helpful and provided much needed guidance and recommendations.

At the end of our time we started driving south with the goal of stopping for dinner in Washington D.C. If you are driving through the D.C. area and only have a short period of time, I highly recommend a stop on the Mall. I have been through D.C. countless times on I-95 and stopping at the D.C. Mall is a ritual, like throwing a penny into the Swannee River every time you cross it, the Mall never gets old. It was around 8:30 p.m. when we made are stop and we had a great time, walking the dogs and taking in the sites. It was the night after a big Human Rights Rally and you could still feel the excitment and buzz in the air from the days events.