Any a2kers in Philly?

Im from the area (defined as a radius less than 100 mi). Ill be away from Nov 7th till about the 12th , so maybe I can get to meet you at the end of your stay time.

That would be great! I can put you on the calendar for the 13th, and you can tell me when would be best time for you on that day. We're staying at the Omni Hotel at Independence Park. Tel # 215-925-0000.

I hope others will come.

Not living there right now, but a good excuse to visit Philly in November.

Be certain to put this on your agenda: The University of Pennsylvania Museum. Wondrous!

Out of all museums I have ever visited, it remains my favorite. Perhaps it is similar to never forgetting your first love.

The permanent archeological settings seem to actually be able to pull me back into time. It has the second largest crystal ball in the world that is dazzling. The floor below ground, ancient Egypt with an authentic Sphinx of ??? tonnage.

Philadelphia has so many wonderful nuggets off the beaten paths of the tourist attractions!

<Hi! c.i.!>

WOW! Your name is ancient! It's really nice to hear from you, and I hope you can make it to Philly. I'm in the process of developing some sort of itinerary while in Philly, so your suggestion will be on our list. Our friend is also sending us some brochures tomorrow, because they just returned from Philly a few days ago.

Good to know you remember my ancient name!
While in college I took a course, 'Historical Philadelphia'. We went to so many places that are almost secret..unburied treasures. Some we visited that were not open to the public, or were very limited to how many visitors and the times available for viewing.

There was (still is, I believe) a Maxfield Parrish Mosaic in a public building. The tiles were made by Tiffany. Exquisite!

To my chagrain, I am planted where I am at this time.

The Philadelphia Musuem of Art is also worth a visit.

While I lived there, I always treated the city as a tourist. This is a suggestion made by a Professor. Great idea! I was always finding new and interesting points of interest.

Hey, I hope I didn't offend you by my "ancient" comment.

The museum of art is always of favorite of mine no matter what major city I happen to be in. The Art Institute in Chicago is one of my favorites in the US. I also like the National Gallery in London, but the cost of travel there have skyrocketed to obscene levels.

Please keep making your recommendations to put on our list.

Hope to still see you in Philly.

No offense intended, No offense taken
My name in cyber~land is Ancient
Perhaps much like Dog Years
It must be from the early 90's.....
I saw the smile on your face as you typed it......

Your intuition is intact.

Any more interest for a Philly a2k meet the week of November 9th? My wife and I will probably take a tour to Gettysburg on the 10th or 11th, but our other days are pretty much open in the Philly area. We have a couple of people who have shown interest, so everybody interested are welcome to join us.

It looks like the a2k meet will be on the 13th for dinner. The venue has not been selected, so any suggestion will be welcomed.

rjb, Any luck in attracting more people to come to Philly?

I just saw that you will be visiting Gettysburg . Its a wonderful piece of history and I go there sevreal times a year to get a dfeeling of the history imposed on the area. When you return you should make a detour to see the area of the Wrightsville Bridge, which was burned down to offer Lee no escape into the farmfields of Lancaster County.

The entire campaign inretrospect was stupid and the topography and drainage sho how Lee could have been thwarted with very little loss of life.

You should, as Fatima said, avail yourself of all the things that are aside the main ourist destinations (Liberty Bell,Carpenters, ) There is the Wyeth Museum in Chadds Ford, The hed of the Chesapeake Bay at the town of Northeast Md,
The leaves are officially off the trees and were down to b are bones so you wont be assaulted by the thing that shocks most Westerners (the masses of green). Were like a deciduous rain forest.

On your return from Gettysburg a small stop at the town of STarsburg and the surrounding low hilled farmlands is a treat. Youll actually be closer to my place when youre near STrasburg and thetown of Quarryville.

SOme other things that are an Applachian version of natural scenes that you see out in Cal.

Del WAter Gap.
Dingmans Falls
Cape MAy and the ferry to Lewes Del (Its a nice all day trip that takes you between two tourist towns that are really nice in the off season)
Turkey Point Lighthouse (easily gotten directions are on the websites for Turkey Point)
Princeton , University of Pa, University of DEL.(There are probably more colleges and universities within a 50 mile radius of Philly than anywhere else in the US)

____In case ya want to get creeped out, the Mutter Museum in Philly
The BArnes collection in Ft Washington (This collection is going to be moved in 3 yers when the new Barnes Museum is built on the ARtPArkway in Philly). Itll be next to the great Phila Museum of ARt.
(I dont think a visit to the Philly ARt museum is a worthwhile exercise because its another one of those art "Overloads" like MOMA, or the NAtional Museum, Boston, Chicago or Getty, or Orlando. Im kind of jaded by these huge mega collections with no theme. When the bArnes will be built, it will be dedicated to a major collection of modern art. PWRIOD.

The Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford is also a comfortably sized museum dedicated to the major students of Howard Pyle (prim focus being the entire WYeth Family)

WINTERTHUR-if youe into decorative arts and antiques , this is THE place in the whole US. Its a major antique furniture mueum and restoration research center for conservation of heritage artifacts.

HAWK Mountain A neat ridge of the Appalachians that collect the hawks on their annual flight SOuth (and North in the spring). Most hawks except buteos are already migrated but the views are spectacular from an APpalachian mountain sense.


ALL of the view sites are , of course contingent upon favorable weather. I recently took Thomas on a trip North to the Appalachians and it was a bleak rainy foggy day. HE still doesnt believe that this mountain range even exists.

If theres anything re: sites you want info on, I pwrehaps can help, and Id be happy to now that your trip is less than a week away.

Philly itself can keep you busy but remember, its just another big city with stuff hidden in nooks and crannies.

The hackney cab tours are under scrutint by the Philly Papers all the time. The Inquirer always has some investigative reporters out to see who's horse and buggy tour of old town is the most ridiculous (Apparently the tour guides have been caught dispensing really insane information to tourists and the papers want to have some accountability for guide qualifications) Theyd like tests or some exercise of proficiency be shown. IF PEOPLE ARE TOO STUPID TO NOT KNOW The BASIC HISTORY OF THE REVOLUTION, what the hell are they doing taking the horse and buggy tours anyway.

The naval yard has old WWII ships stashed . These are best seen from the highway and the bridge ferom the Airport, thye dont warrant a special trip anymore than does San Diegos shipyard or Groton Conn.

PM me and Ill give up anything else I can in the way of information so your days are a whirlwind of sites.

DRESS WARMLY, early November can be a bitch in the area.

Thanks for all that info; I've highlighted most, made a hard copy, and will surely take note about the cold climate. Us Californians have thin skins. We welcome any more suggestions you may have for our jaunt to the east coast. Looks like renting a car is a must, because there isn't any public transportation from Philly to Gettysburg. I'm looking at a two or three day rental at this point.

Philly to Gettysburg can be a hike, not because of the distance but because of the traffic. Probably the best way to Gettysburg is by the Pa turnpike. Go from Philly to the Schuylkill Expressway then pick up the turnpike west at KING OF PRUSSIA exit.
Head wst for about 75 miles to Harrisburg East (the exit is onto 283) Take 283 to 83 (head west) until you connect with rt 15. Take 15 South and it goes right into Gettysburg. The turnpike has no direct interchange at rt15 (although they were building one).
When you come back, try rt 30 , it goes right through Lancaster County and Lancaster City . Its slower but if you get wanderlust, you can wander around th Dutch Country without any trouble.

Thanks again; noted.

I made a hard copy of the SEPTA bus schedule to King of Prussia, and it takes about one hour from downtown.

Since it's not too far from Valley Forge National Park, we may make a day out of this trip.

I'm in.

Too bad you missed the Kutztown Fair.

Scrapple and shoofly pie all day and all night.

Didn't they change the names of Blue Balls and Intercourse, PA to something else?

Great; looking forward to seeing you again. T.

Sglass, How y'all doing in Paradise?