Motel drama:  Most of the residents are in the first several rows of rooms.  Because Barb and Nancy are special, they get a room in building C and they are the only residents there.  Isn’t that very strange.  And in the middle of the night, a car pulls up and three guys try to use a key to get into their room.  (Two guys maybe – but three – NO WAY!)  What are the chances that a car would pick the one room in about 50 that has people in it.  There are no cars on that half of the motel.  I thought we picked a good place.  It is close to Nava’s.   But I’m not too sure about it now.  Then Barb thought someone stole her gummy bears.  Yes – they left the expensive, 14k gold jewelry but stole the gummy bears.  Opps, sorry, they are actually still there.  Then the next night Nancy leaves a snack in her carry on bag.  So, if you were a mouse and someone left you a snack, what would you do.  Eat it, of course.  I don’t get the problem.  When you leave a snack for Santa you expect him to eat it.  I mean, they could have ignored the bag – but I’m sure they thought that was part of the snack.  And who was that guy trying to get into bed with Barb.  Could it be the break-in person, is the motel haunted.  No – it’s just Barb dreaming of Dave – or someone?????

Roadway Inn
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Wed., May 5:

After a lovely breakfast with Nava we head for Atlantic City.  It’s warm and sunny.  We do end up with a bit of a sunburn but not serious.  The weather is, in a word, perfect.  We are all expecting the city to be grungy and dirty but it turns out that a lot of remodeling, cleaning and perking up has been done because we find a very clean and updated city.  We go to the boardwalk through the Wild West which turns out to be the most interesting casino for us.  Is that because of the theme – hummmmm. 

Boardwalk 
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The  beach sand is very, very hot and the water is very, very cold but that doesn’t keep us away. 

Beach Pictures
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Nancy collects shells to take home.  While walking on the beach we meet a man with a heavy accent.  He sounds like a foreigner to me but he identifies himself as a resident of Atlantic City.  And where are we from, he asks.  When we tell him Wisconsin he welcomes us to America, pretends to steal our camera but does end up taking our picture and asking if we need any information about the city.  Only in America could an Italian welcome an American to America.  (Does that sentence make any sense?)

We look at dresses at shops all day but never do end up buying.  Probably a good decision. 

While Nancy is buying a funnel cake Barb is …???  What is Barb doing.  Some guy is having a very shady talk with her.  Every time she steps out he encourages her back into the corner.  He keeps looking around.  I want Nava to take a picture but no way will she record this event.  We see gold being passed back and forth.  Barb wouldn’t actually buy “real” gold from this guy, would she???  Well, actually, yes, she would.  I’m a bit amazed but Barb is so very excited about her purchases.  I hate to be the one to tell her it’s not actually real gold.  Oh wait – she already knows that – and she buys anyway.  Go figure.  The guy is happy as he stuffs the money in his pocket and slinks away.

We’re at the Tropicana and Nava, Nancy and I are having bad $10 drinks.  We need a rest from the walking.  Then we hear Barb in the background.  We have to look around to find her but we know we heard her whooping it up.  She’s at the craps table.  At several times during our casino visits she gives us instruction on playing craps.  But we are happy to drink our money rather than give it to the casino.  She was very entertaining for us all day with her craps and her thief.  So here’s Barb’s story.  She walked away from the table with $154 less her beginning amount ($50) less the $5 tip for the stick man equals winnings of $99.  Now that’s Barb’s story.  Everyone knows the house is always the winner.

Since this was a trip that was to be steeped in history, I do need to mention that the boardwalk is very historic.  And it was interesting to see. We spent the day walking most of it. (It’s 4 miles long)  And then there’s the junk food.  We ate plenty of that too.  As we sat with our Philly steak and cheese fries, we watched a nice lady purchase her pizza.  She looked so happy to have pizza for lunch – surely a treat for her.  Unfortunately it was a treat that wouldn’t last for long as a cloud of sea gulls swooped down and grabbed it right off her plate.  She looked really shocked as the sea gulls literally fought over the pizza.  At one point a larger bird picked up the entire piece and flew several yards before it was grabbed from him.  It was quite the food fight.  Barb got some of it on video.  But you know Barb – she always wants a better picture.  So brave Nancy volunteered.  We sent her in armed with her Philly steak.  What?  They don’t like Philly steak, they want pizza.   So we sent Barb in with her cheese fries.  Nope – they only want pizza.  They were very discriminating sea gulls. 

It’s back to the car and on to the Borgota.  And on to the Borgota.  And on to the Borgota.  We can see it – I know we can get there.  Yea, we made it.  Opps – guess not – that was the back door.  How do we get to the front.  Well, I guess we follow the signs – again.  And someone is following us thinking we know the way.  Silly person.  We finally make it to the most elaborate of the casino’s we’ve seen.  It was actually worth the drive.  It is full of Dale Chihuly tonal glass sculptures.  We decide to stay there for the buffet but then decide we don’t want to spend that much. ($23.95)  So be head over to Harrahs.  Can we find that – it’s tough but we make it.  And their buffet is even more. ($32.95) We declined that also.  We stop for gas because it’s cheaper and the state says it has to be pumped for us.  Thanks New Jersey – we’re too tired to pump gas!!

The Borgotta
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Thurs., May 6:

Our entire trip starts to quiet down.  We are already exhausted.  My notes become scarce.  And we are now onto the history.  We do have plenty to laugh about but I’m thinking this journal is about to become stats rather than stories.

It’s another perfect day weather wise: warm and sunny.  Barb buys breakfast at Denny’s (thanks Barb) and we pick up Nava and head for the gardens at Chanticleer.  The gardens are donated by the Rosengartens family.  The estate dates back to the early 1900’s.  The magnificent gardens are added later.  Nava packed a picnic lunch that we enjoyed while watching 532 kids play.  (Just kidding – there were only a few kids and they were tolerable.)

Chanticleer Gardens
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With Tom Tom’s help we head to Valley Forge for the auto tour.  This is the first time Nava has done this tour.  John did all the music for it so it was fun to hear him play between stops.  There are 10 stops to this tour.

1. Visitor’s center with a very cool picture somehow put on the side of the walls which are all windows.  Hard to explain but cool to see.
2. Huts – boring – there were over 1000 built to house soldiers.
3. National Memorial Arch that was dedicated in 1917.
4. Gen. Anthony Wayne who’s turned on his horse looking toward his home.  (We turn like that on our horses all the time so we can talk to our friends.)  We pass a very cool covered bridge on the way to stop 5.
5. Washington Headquarters.  This was a small village.  The train station was very cool even though Nava ignored me when I tried to buy a ticket.  Nava knew the person that was George Washington in the video so that was fun for her to watch.  It took us some time to find the actually headquarters.  If we had looked at our brochure that would have been easy.  Oh well – we needed a little walking exercise.
6. Monument to the common soldier.
7. The remains of an old fort called a Redoubt.  The fort was never actually used in battle because the British thought they couldn’t win so they didn’t try. (basically)
8. Knox artillery cannons.  They shoot 5 per minute to a distance of 1 mile.  Basically boring.
9. Von Steuben Statue and Varnum’s quarters.  Von Steuben was in charge of training and the Varnum quarters were too boring for me to bother with so I missed it.  Not Nancy – she dragged the rest down to see it.  There was a bit of interesting information – I think
10. The Washington Memorial Chapel was a beautiful chapel build in the early 1900’s.  We wandered through the chapel and around the grounds.  The view and chapel were very beautiful.  Then we got Barb her ice cream, Nancy her wine stopper and headed home to Nava’s.

Valley Forge and Washington Memorial Chapel
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Nava fixed us a yummy dinner with key lime pie for dessert.  John played the “glass organ”.  It’s over 30 glasses of different sizes filled with water to different levels.  Each glass is a note and yes, he does actually play songs on it.  Pretty interesting.

Relaxing at Home
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Fri., May 7:

We check into the Sheraton, Society Hill hotel while Nava parks the car.  We wander through the streets on our way to see Pennsylvania Hospital. 

We stop at the Curtis Building to see The Dream Garden.  This is a full wall done by Tiffany in 1914.  In the lobby of a somber office building that flanks Washington Square lies an unexpected treasure: the astounding Dream Garden – a 15 × 49-foot mosaic of more than 100,000 pieces of favrile glass. Color and light, masterfully combined by the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany, bring to life the luminous vision of Philadelphia native Maxfield Parrish, who created the painting on which the mosaic was based.The brilliantly hued work was commissioned by Cyrus Curtis, publisher of The Saturday Evening Post, to grace his empire’s new marble and pillar fortified headquarters. The work has been displayed since 1916 as an integral part of the Curtis Center’s historically certified lobby. One of only three such works ever undertaken by Tiffany Studios, the piece is comprised of 24 panels that took six months to install in its Philadelphia setting. In 1998, after the piece was put up for sale and casino magnate Steve Wynn attempted to purchase it, a citywide outcry nixed the deal, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts purchased its alumnus’ famous Dream Garden to make sure it would remain where it has always been.
We also see the fountain in the back of the building.  It’s a very pretty room with a very large fountain.  We go through Washington Square and see the eternal flame and the (dead) tree that went to the moon and back before it was planted.  Guess in the long run the moon beams weren’t much help to the tree.

The Dream Garden and others
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Our tour of Pennsylvania Hospital includes lots of facts. 
Pennsylvania Hospital was founded in 1751 by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin "to care for the sick-poor and insane who were wandering the streets of Philadelphia." This was the first hospital in the United States.
It was set up for doctors (Dr. Benjamin Rush and others) to actually practice on the “deserving” poor.  I’m not sure if the “deserving” poor were the lucky ones.  The practice was pretty harsh.  The main point of interest was the surgery theatre.  Up to 150 people could watch someone get their leg cut off.  ICK!!! No anesthesia of  course. They would either ply them with liquor or ‘bonk’ them on the head to knock them out.

Hospital
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We stopped in at the crowded Bourse for a drink and Barb’s daily ice cream.  Then onto the Eastern State Penitentiary where (again Dr. Benjamin Rush) they thought solitary confinement was a good opportunity for criminals to contemplate right from wrong.  In reality they all went crazy. This prison was operational from 1829 until 1971. Its revolutionary system of incarceration was the first to establish the policy of separate confinement, emphasizing principles of reform rather than punishment. Notorious criminals such as bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone were held inside its unique wagon wheel design. When the building was erected it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever constructed, quickly becoming a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide. Guess that was a good idea!! It was a pretty weird place. 

Eastern State Penitentiary
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Nava returned the car while we toured and then she met us for drinks at the Fireman.  Barb had a Dalmatian which we do need to try.  It’s a crème drink with hazelnut and raspberry (I think).  We walked back to old city and had Thai food.  Then we wandered around “First Friday.”  (The 1^st Fri. of each month the art galleries stay open and serve wine to enhance business.  What it does is make crowds.)  We watched John play at Christ Church for a bit then wandered the street vendors.  Nava went home and we found an outside café for a drink.

John at Christ Church
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Sat. May 8:

Breakfast at Cozie’s was good and the chairs were interesting.  We took the subway to the Masonic Temple.  The tour guide did finally talk about the Templar Knights being part of their group but promises there is no treasure (that he is aware of).  But then they wouldn’t tell if there was, would they.   The temple was magnificent.  I hope Barb got a few good pictures because there are no words to describe. 

Masonic Temple and Love Statue
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We met Nava by the Love statue in, of course, Love park.  Then we headed to Reading Market for a snack and break.  The Reading Market was not part of my plan but I’m glad we made it as it was a highlight.  We wandered the aisles and bought some goodies. 

The Plash trolley took us up to the art gallery.  We wandered the grounds and went down the “Rocky” steps.  I hate to call them that but it is how many identify them.  The gallery is made out of unusual stone that is almost obsolete.  It very colorful and beautiful.  We went around back to the water works which was, of course, the first in the country.  It was a huge tourist attraction and also kept Philadelphia in clean water and away from the plague.  We saw the old row houses and hiked up the hill to the small pagoda overlooking the river.  Then back on the Phlash trolley and up through west Philly to a Civil War monument with a whispering bench.  It was about 50’ across and actually worked. Sitting on either end, we could actually hear each other talking softly.  How cool is that. We had one last fast and dangerous ride on a Phlash trolley.  We got off at the visitor’s center and kissed the ground before heading to Franklin Fountain for the best ice cream in Philly. 

Art Museum-Whispering Bench
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Next was the carriage ride through old city and society hill.  The ride was supposed to be interesting facts – and it was.  We kept asking questions about the horse but the driver didn’t want to talk about that.  Hum – wonder why.  Then a driver came up from behind asking our driver to stop.  We looked back and although some might not realize, we knew the driver had zero control over her horse.  The carriages don’t go together at all but this horse must have seen ours from someplace and he was coming with us no matter how many lanes of traffic.  He actually hit our carriage with his head and kept bumping it as we went.  We had a great view of his eyes and ears.  Pretty funny.  I hope the pictures turned out.  Eventually the driver took a different street and Ben (our horse) only had to deal with buses 2 inches away and tree branches falling.

Carriage Ride and Streets of Philadelphia
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Dinner that night was at National Mechanics.  Then we walked Nava to the train and strolled through society hill.  We took in several blocks of South Street before heading  back to the hotel.  There was a prom that night so we spent time in the lobby watching the attendees arrive.   We only saw two duplicate dresses.  The tux I liked best came with a matching “baseball” cap worn backwards. 

Sun., May 9:

Christ Church was built around 1675 and the bell tower was added in about 1750.  It was the church Benjamin Franklin attended along with other Father’s of the American Revolution.  We met Nava there at 8:30 where she took Barb and Nancy up into the bell tower while she played the bells.  The bells can’t be heard very well in the church but they are heard all through that area of the city.  We attended church and then met John and Nava’s friend Jill for a late breakfast.  Sweet Nava gave us each our Mother’s Day gift before we headed on to more touring.  Nava gave us an interesting tour of the Christ Church Burial Grounds. Five signers of the Declaration are buried there.  We also ran into our new best friend there, Ben Rush. 

Christ Church and Burial Grounds
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Our tour of Independence Hall came next.  We saw were the Declaration of Independence was signed.  We then headed to the Liberty Bell.  Interesting history stuff. 

History and  Down Town Philly
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  History, history, history.  The Betsy Ross house was next.  The colonial working that day invited us in as his guest.  Wasn’t he nice.  Most interesting fact:  The flag has 5 pointed stars (rather than 6 points) because Betsy was able to make them with one cut of the scissors. I have the directions, tried it and it works perfect.  Isn’t it amazing.   From Betsy’s house it’s on to Elfreth Street.  It’s a cute little neighborhood of tiny houses.  Each floor is one room and the houses are three stories high.  They  were built in 1703 and are still lived in.  Most of the houses in society hill date to the early 1700’s.  They are row houses (attached to each other).  Many have boot jacks, marble mounting blocks and marble water troths for the horses.  There was an explanation of taxes, fire companies and insurance and busy bodies (a way of seeing who’s at the front door). 

BetsyRoss and Elfreth Street
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In need of a break and a beverage we headed back to National Mechanics.  Nava and Nancy head back to the hotel while we sit and drink.  They return and what does Nancy have with her.  Of course, a carriage whip that she rescued from the middle of a busy city street.  Only Nancy would risk life and limb for a carriage whip that she now has to carry all over the city.  We get a few strange looks with that.

We head back to the Reading Market through China Town.  The arch is very ornate but we are getting too tired to truly enjoy it.  Part of the market is closed on Sun. but we manage a short break there.  I think we are just done walking.  So we take the subway to the end of the line and back to 2^nd Street.  Was this fun???  Dinner is at The Plough and the Stars – an Irish Pub where whoever wants can jam as long as they play Irish music. We eat and listen.  We say good bye to John and Nava.  We travel slowly back to the hotel.

Market and China Town
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 Mon., May 10:

We take a cab to the airport and hope to get Nancy’s whip through security.  We had three security agents involved. It’s just the luck of who you get.  One would have said yes but the other said no so that was it.  We went back downstairs to try to check it but the airlines considered it a separate “bag” (I don’t think so) and wanted $35 to check it.  So sorry Nancy!!  The whip is left behind.  Isn’t that a drag!!!

It’s been an awesome week.  I wondered how we’d do but there were no problems.  Weather was excellent.  (A little wind in the city but we’re used to that!)  Everyone got along and we all seemed happy to do the same kinds of things.  So it seems the only question left is …. Where do we go next??!!