On Thursday morning, we went to Little Egg Harbor to get Denice and then to Absecon to get the train for Philadelphia.
As you can see, it was a beautiful day with nary a cloud in the sky. I hesitate to admit how long it's been since I was in Philly. Let's just say I wasn't old enough to get a driver's license!
Our plan was to tour the museum district. Our first stop was the Franklin Institute. It's a wonderful museum in and of itself, but is now housing the traveling Cleopatra exhibit through January. Of course, we took the tour and found it stunning. We then toured other parts of the museum and ran into . . .
We stayed so long at the Franklin learning about the heart, electricity, etc. - it was just too much fun.
We decided we'd see the other museums at another time. We then headed to the Reading Terminal for a mind-boggling treat! When I was a child, my Mother and I used to take the train into Philly every week for classes and we'd get off in Center City at the Reading Terminal. On the street level is a "market" the likes of which I've never seen before. The Amish bring their goods in on Thursday so we were in luck. This place is huge and has any type of food you can imagine. Also, butchers, bakeries, candy makers, fresh beautiful local produce. And ice cream - Bassett's Ice Cream which has been there since the mid-1800s. Of course, we didn't have the ice cream until AFTER lunch. Vicki and I split a Philly Steak Sandwich [no cheese] and Denice had an amazing pork [not pulled] sandwich with provolone and broccoli rabe. WONDERFUL!!!
After spending a great deal of time there, we started walking back to the 30th Street Station. Vicki decided she NEEDED some Clinique so we went into Macy's. This Macy's is one of the oldest department stores on the east coast. It used to be a John Wannamaker's and that store was remarkable. When Macy's took over 20 or so years ago, they kept the grandeur of the store.
This is looking up 4 or 5 stories from the main floor. If you're ever in Philadelphia, it's definitely worth seeing.
So back to Long Beach Island for a quiet restful evening.
On Friday morning, we got up and walked to the Point. You can see Atlantic City from there but it's a long way across the water. We walked the beach for a couple of hours, collected shells and sea glass. Another beautiful day.
Vicki collected so many shells we had to run back to the house to get a couple of bags. I picked two for myself. The water was warm and of course, I had to roll up my jeans and get my feet wet. I truly could walk a beach every single day! It's good for the feet and does wonders for the calf muscles. Here's Vicki . . .
We had to leave to go get ready for the day. Annette and Denice were coming over to the Island and we were all going out to dinner. We ate at Stefano's. Yes, I took photos of all of us AND the food, but again, my camera or memory card did not comply with my wishes. More on that later. The food: we all OVER ordered. I had Steamed Littleneck Clams in a wonderful dipping sauce [YUM] - then a roasted beet and goat cheese on arugula salad [PERFECT] - then a wonderful flounder which I barely tasted [I finished it for dinner this evening and it was great]. All the food was terrific and the photos I took did it justice. I'm getting a bit frustrated with all the issues I'm having. Hopefully, it will be resolved before Vermont!
Anyway, back to the beach house! Annette and Denice were staying over and we had a wonderful time talking until all hours like kids.
Today, we drove up Route 9 along the ocean and stopped at a few places. We had a lovely salad in Sea Bright at a sidewalk cafe Should I be fortunate enough to win the lottery, there WILL be a house in Spring Lake, Deal or Bel Mar in my future!.
We're having a terrific time and the next two days will be packed with things to do - Nyack, NY and NYC. I sure hope the photo situation works itself out!
Ciao for now, mi amici!
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