The Tuesday Tour Guide

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, my friend and former Penn State-University Park colleague visited my home in Bucks County, PA. Mark teaches 6th grade in the inner city of Rochester, NY and it was his 'spring break.' I LOVE when friends visit because I get the opportunity to play tour guide in and around the city! Plus, I value quality time with my friends.

On February 19th, we had breakfast at the BEST diner in the Sellersville-Perkasie area called the A&N Diner located on Main Street in Sellersville, PA. It was an excellent start to the day. Then, we were off to Manayunk to visit another friend and former PSU-UP colleague, Jennifer Doebler, who is currently working at a start-up company called BuLogics, Inc. She describes it as "an office of technologically superior engineers who are making products that save energy."

After visiting Jen, we walked "Downtown Manayunk" and grabbed a bite to eat at LeBus. Definitely good eats and SURPRISE Bam Margera and his wife were sitting two tables away from us. By the third time I looked at Bam, he knew I knew who he was. I can be such a dork!

Sure, I lived in the Greater Philadelphia area for 5 years but I never attended a professional hockey game before let alone a Philadelphia Flyers game. Mark ordered tickets through Stubhub.com for the Flyers v. Sabres game the same evening. I guess I was never interested because of all the unnecessary fighting. At least, that's all I saw on t.v. Well, the game flippin' ROCKED! Loved txting a personal msg on the Jumbotron hanging in the center of the court - my five seconds of fame! Patty, a member of the Wachovia staff and stationed at our 212 entrance, was FAB! She noticed my Gwen Stefani bag (1st ed) and we chatted up a storm. Apparantly, her daughter loves Gwen and she shared where she gets her secret deals on L.A.M.B. apparel. Whoo-hoo! I'm sending Wachovia a letter about Patty's hospitability and I hope they share it with her.

Pre-game we made friends with fellow Sabres fans because, as Mark says, "they travel well." Of course, there has to be one Flyers fan heckling. Let's just say it was the first and last time he heckled Mark. I never saw Mark get up so quickly from his seat and the hecklers girlfriend was mortified. Anyway, Mark schooled me in the ways of ice hockey - players, plays, penalties and the like. My adrenaline was pumping!

I must give a shout out to the big dude bustin' a move during one of the t.v. time-outs. We were told he attends every game - what a great spirit and great dancer! Sabres lost, Mark took the high road and squelched any haggling that Flyers fan had remaining by shaking his hand and saying "good game." Wicked!

Friday, February 20th, it was time to play tour guide in the city. Another reason I love when friends visit-I get to go into the City of Brotherly Love! We had a rough sketch of what we wanted to do and, since he is a teacher, we leaned towards the more educational. Mutter Museum, Liberty Bell Center, and National Constitution Center. The city has so much to offer and I think many of us who either live near or in the city don't take advantage of it. Despite what Philadelphia Magazine writes, it's not all about bars and restuarants!

Although, after a long day like the one we had, we had to grab some food and beverage. So, after failing to find an Irish pub I went to recently, we landed at the Society Hill Hotel for relatively decent food and people watching. After that, it was a $7.00 taxi ride to the parking garage (@ only $20 for the whole day) and the drive home on the Schuylkill Expressway to the NE Extension.

I look forward to doing it all over again with my friends from (Old Town) Alexandria, VA this upcoming weekend. Often times, I just wonder why I don't live in Center City Philly because I like it so much!