I Love Philadelphia With These Friends

There's something about a friend who picks you up early on a Saturday morning and has these waiting in the car for you.

Can you tell from Jenica's face where our first stop was when we arrived in Philadelphia?

It was also pretty incredible to have these two friends in the city with us as well.  We made them meet us at Federal Donuts.

Jenica and I ordered one each of the hot donuts - vanilla spice, strawberry lavender, and cinnamon brown sugar - as they are a donuts from heaven and must be eaten immediately. 

Jenica made donut art.

We dropped Ryan off at his hotel and we went to the Mutter Museum to view medical oddities.  This was the only photo I was allowed to take inside the building and it was raining so hard all day that I forgot to take photos outside.  This museum was crazy with objects like a 20 lb ovarian cyst.  It was fascinating.

We dropped Brigham off to run the Rocky steps at the museum and we went back to Ryan's hotel room for Jenica to get some work done.  I was just counting down the minutes until we picked Brig up to eat tacos!

I read about Los Gallos and it just always makes me so happy to find good tacos on the East Coast.  It doesn't happen often.  

We stopped off for gelato at Capogiro which was down the street from the club where Ryan was performing that night.  Once again, pretty cool to be with the entertainment walking into the club and being seated in the front.  Ryan was still funny the week after I had just seen him perform.  But this time we were all able to hang out in the green room in between Ryan's sets. 

At the end of the day, we dropped Brig off at the bus station and I drove us home to DC.  It was a late night but so very worth it.  I'll travel far distances through pouring rain for donuts and tacos and it's lovely to have friends who will do the same!

Thousand Blossom Chrysanthemum

After we ate the donuts that I'm still thinking about a month after the fact, we piled in the car and tried to move slowly to brunch.  Our days were full of food.

I love sitting across from Debbie.  And she puts up with me taking unsolicited photos.  We were the first to be seated at Kanela but I had heard this was a popular brunch place.  The food was so very good and kept us fed through the rest of the day.

I ate the Cyprus breakfast and you can recognize the hame, eggs, bread and veg but the loveliness at the top of the plate is the fried cheese.  Fried cheese!  Just think about that for a while.

Emily and Debbie ate the Shakshouka which looked equally as lovely but mine had fried cheese.

And then we piled in the car for a 45 minute drive toward DC to end up at Longwood Gardens.  I admit autumn is a funny time to visit a garden but I loved it.  The light was that beginning of autumn brightness.

There was only a touch of trees changing color this early in the season.

I was surprised happy to see roses still blooming.  I always associate them with spring/summer in our garden in California.

An awkward photo of what not to do with the person you love when that time comes.

Again, happy to see flowers blooming.

We walked into the green house and immediately saw the Thousand Blossom Chrysanthemum which is from a single plant.  And it is the largest of its kind in the world.  We were all amazed and the feeling never ebbed as I walked through the building.

Giant lily pads!!  I want to see the frogs on these so very much.  But only if there is something stopping the frog from jumping on me.

The perfect bonsai tree.

It was a really lovely trip to Philadelphia.  I'm looking forward to returning to see the garden in a different season and to eat district donuts.

A Masonic Temple That Blew Away My Expectations

It is taking me far too long to post all of my Philadelphia photos but I think it was this post that was intimidating me.  After our trip to Poe's house, we headed to the center of town to the Masonic Temple.  I had no idea about this place but a friend told Jenica and we put it on the list. 

There are a lot of photos because there are 8 different rooms - each with a different theme - that are incredible.  This is the one of the largest and most elaborate temples around the world. 

We waited in the library before the tour started and Jenica knows me well enough to point out this important fact about candy corn.  Thank you George for your contribution to society.

This first room reminded me so much of Alcazar when I walked in and that was the inspiration for the designers.  You get the idea that each room has the altar and throne-like area.

I was giddy when I saw the members of The Masonic Motorcycle Club.  I tried to get a better photo of the back of their coats but no luck.  I can't help but picture Sons of Anarchy in my head whenever I see a motorcycle club though I know that is not the same here.

Every single room and hallway was elaborate with detail.

Paul posing for me.

It was in the third room that I started trying to take group photos but Jared would never smile.  He couldn't shake off the feeling from Poe's house.

And there was a lot of time when this was the view I had.  I started finding this very funny.

Benjamin Franklin was a Mason.  They also mentioned Joseph Smith as a Mason during the run down of famous American members.

The temple is right across the street from Philadelphia City Hall and blends well in the city landscape.