Exploring Philadelphia, Pa

Some of Pat’s family planned a mini-reunion and sight seeing trip to the original capital of the USA. This is a large city with much history, many museums, and some very good restaurant choices. The five day trip would begin with a drive to Roanoke, Va, then taking an Amtrak train all the way to Philly, just a mile and a half from our rented condo. A new adventure Exploring Philadelphia Pa!

Trip Background

A couple of our nephews on Pat’s side of the family have been planning for a family reunion at a destination with much to do and somewhat central to the family east of the Mississippi. I’m not exactly sure how they settled on Philly, but it has almost unlimited dining and sightseeing options.

We were a little hesitant with the high crime rate and the other issues since the pandemic, but decided to go and minimize the night time outings and stay in groups.

Unfortunately, three couples had other plans and could not make the trip. And then, on the day before we were all to arrive, there was a round of sickness affecting three other couples. Our group had gone from a possible twenty people down to sixteen, and finally down to eight for the reunion. We all felt terrible for those sick or exposed that were not able to participate, but they have mostly recovered at the time of this writing.

About Philly

Philly is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in the Northeast (behind New York City), and the 67th-largest city in the world. The city has a tremendous amount of history such as the first and second Continental Congress met here, the Constitution was signed and ratified, the Liberty Bell is located here, and George Washington and John Adams were both sworn into office as Presidents.

The population is 1.6 million and the city is 142 square miles. It is a very diverse area with whites at 34%. Public transportation seems to be mostly available with subways and trains running often. The Amtrak 30th street hub that we arrived at is the 3rd largest in the country behind DC and New York.

Amtrak

Amtrak has very reasonable rates and they begin the Northeast Regional from Roanoke, VA, just 45 minutes from our home. Our tickets were $54 per person, round trip. I considered driving the trip at 405 miles and seven hours just driving time. By the time we stopped for lunch and breaks it would be closer to a nine hour drive. Amtrak does it in less that eight hours. Plus, with Amtrak, I get to sit back and read my book, get up and walk around, or go to the cafe car for food, coffee and drinks. I was sold on the train, but still had many unknowns.

The downside was the train left Roanoke at 6:20am. Ugh! That requires leaving our home at before 5:00am to pick up our son Ross at 5am who traveled up with us.

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The Amtrak experience was overall very good. I would do it again for trips to DC or New York in the future. It did get crowded on one segment going up. Most stops were just three minutes and then we were gone. In DC, the stop was about 25 minutes with a crew and engine change. They changed from a diesel locomotive to a new electric model. Top speed that we observed was 122 MPH.

The ride was mostly smooth although did rock a bit from side to side. When walking to the restroom or cafe, you had to be careful weaving back and forth down the isle. We split our time between the coach class car and the cafe car’s large seats with a table. Ross was able to actually do some work on his laptop in the cafe car. The train has free WIFI that comes and goes.

The train arrived on time at a little after 2:00pm at the majestic rail station. The station harkens back to another age. Then it was an Uber ride the 1.5 miles to our condo. Not a bad walk, but with luggage on a 88 degree day, the air conditioned Uber was well worth it!

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First Impressions

Okay, these are my honest and unfiltered thoughts. I’m from a small town that is clean and very safe. I’m out of my comfort zone a bit on this trip, although Pat and I have been to many larger cities over the last few years. This experience was different.

First the positives. The history and museums are awesome. We could have spent two weeks here instead of 4 days and 5 nights. Many history and art museums. And the restaurants were amazing. Expensive yes, but a wide selection and some very good dining. More in this later. We stayed in the downtown historic district. Easy walking every day to the destinations we wanted. We walked 5-6 miles a day.

The negatives. The downtown was dirty and smelly. Trash, vomit and excrement on the streets and subway. They keep trash dumpsters along most every street. Many times right next to outside dining. The narrow streets were cool and sometimes were a brick or cobblestone surface. That was nice. But always with a bad smell. I only observed one store cleaning their front sidewalk with a hose.

We were advised to not take public transportation after dark. Stay in or take Uber or taxi. It has been unsafe since the riots from a couple of years ago. In fact, Philly has the highest murder rate per capita in the US of the large cities. LINK

Well, one night we did come back on the subway at about 11pm with the entire group of 8 people. We observed one thug looking person about two rows from us with a large knife out and carving something into the wall of the subway car. Not wanting to make eye contact, I definitely wanted to keep an eye on this one. And then there were 3 others that were completely spaced out on who knows what drugs. Were they going somewhere or just living on board? Also, there was zero police presence either in the filthy subway station or onboard. Suppose they know better. It was an experience.

As in many large cities, the homeless situation is not good. Many blocks have 3-4 people either sleeping or sitting on steps. Most are not aggressive, but we did have a few approach us asking for money. The city leaders should really address this issue along with the high crime rate.

Lodging

The entire group stayed at a location in the historic downtown called center city called Sonder – The Witherspoon LINK. The building was built in 1895 and was a Presbyterian office for years and now has been converted to many furnished condos. They are very well done and the building is convenient to all the restaurants and historic locations.

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Wrap Up

That’s enough for this update. In the next blog will be all the Philly sightseeing, dining, and family time. I have much more to report in the next installment.

Take care and God Bless.