January 1, 2010. Paddy and I decided to go out for lunch around 1:30 PM and after lunch we took a drive and ended up in Philadelphia !
The American Hotel in Freehold, NJ was recently refurbished so we stopped there for lunch at the new Market Yard Grille. The pretty hostess seated us at a comfortable booth and we had excellent food and service.
Arriving Philadelphia in late afternoon, we realized that the famous Mummers Day Parade was just finishing up, so we bypassed the parade area and checked out the activity on South Street. The large scale murals on the side of buildings were awesome, even at night they looked great.
There were many places selling Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, but the line at Jim's Steaks, starting inside and trailing outside and around the corner, told us that Jim's was the best.
Larry Fine, one of the famous Three Stooges, lived in Philly and a restaurant stands at his place of birth. Also, New Jersey's finest singer had his mug shot in the window of a memorabilia shop.
There were many undergarment shops on South Street and the eye appealing mannequins were quite different than those in Monmouth County NJ.
We found this marquee to be puzzling. Guess is was some kind of rock band, or several rock bands?
As we walked around, it was clear that after the parade, lots of Mummers ended up on South Street to unwind. Some were still winding.... and enjoying themselves.
Tattoo parlors and bling shops were easily spotted.
Back in the car we took a couple of photos by the Seaport and saw the Sailing Ship Moshulu, where we had dinner on board two years ago.
Next to the Moshulu was the Spirit of Philadelphia and across the Delaware River, on the New Jersey side was the Battleship NJ which we toured two years ago.
Great trip, very unexpected.
