Philadelphia meet up in August

I'll spend two weeks with my parents in suburban Philadelphia in August, and Katherine (qebo) and I are interested in meeting up with LTers in and outside of the Delaware Valley on Saturday, August 23rd. We had talked previously about going to see exhibits at the Penn Museum, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (shown above), located on South Street near 33rd Street, just across the street from Franklin Field (Penn's football stadium), close to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and within walking distance of the Amtrak 30th Street Station.

I was thinking of having breakfast, possibly at Reading Terminal Market as we did last year, and then proceeding to the museum.

Please let us know if you're interested in joining us.

Definite attendees:

Darryl (kidzdoc): coming from Middletown Township, PA
Katherine (qebo): Lancaster, PA

Either Saturday or Sunday is OK with me. I take the train to Philadelphia, can get to 30th St station on Saturday a bit after 9 or 10 or 11, on Sunday a bit after 9 or 11, and from there either subway to Reading Terminal Market or walk to the Penn Museum. I'd definitely want to get to the Joseph Fox bookstore if it's a Saturday. I have a slight preference for _not_ August 16 since there's local field trip that I'm curious about if I'm around and the weather is decent.

I'd love to come but know that the weekend of the 23rd/24th will be cutting too close to the start of semester. But I could definitely make it the 16th/17th. Either Saturday or Sunday would be fine.

August 17th works for me. Should we shoot for that day?

August 17 is fine with me.

Good for me!

August 17th it is.

Wow, only three of us? What's the plan at this point? Last year I reserved a hotel room in the area, but I was thinking about just driving in for the day. It's almost a three-hour drive for me, however, so I don't think I'm likely to make it for breakfast.

The earliest I can get to 30th St is 9:05am, so 10:00am at Reading Terminal Market would be feasible. Alternatively, if it ends up being a less elaborate day, I can just walk over to the Penn Museum then or later.

I might look into Amtrak--might be faster and less hassle for me.

Any time works for me, assuming that I don't need surgery on my injured finger this week. I'll take SEPTA Regional Rail to Market East Station, which is just across the street from Reading Terminal Market.

I'm sorry, but I don't think that I can make it after all. I have been having issues with my eyes and had an opthalmology exam this morning. Apparently I have something called ocular rosacea--I didn't even know there was such a thing. It is causing a lot of blurring, burning, dryness, and sensitivity to light, so I think I had better avoid the long drive. (It's over an hour for me even to get to the Amtrak station.) I had hoped that the medications might kick in quickly, but when I went to pick them up, the pharmacy told me that they had to be special ordered and won't be in until tomorrow after 5 p.m.

Hopefully I will be able to make it next time.

Darryl, I hope you have better luck treating your finger!

I'm sorry to hear about your eyes, Deborah, and I completely understand and agree with your decision. I hope that they improve on the new medication.

I'm still willing to meet up on Sunday if you are, Katherine (assuming, of course, that I don't need to have surgery on my finger). However, if you would like to get together another time (either later this month or later in the year) that's fine with me, too.

Katherine and I have decided to change the date of the meet up to Saturday, August 23rd. If anyone is else is interested in going please let one of us know or post a message on this thread.

I just saw this. Wish I had known I would have tried to make it. Hope you guys had a good time.

Oh shoot. It actually did happen and I've just returned home. We convened at 30th Street Station and walked to the Penn Museum, and ended up staying there through a late lunch because after Darryl fiddled with his phone for several minutes trying to check the weather, we walked across the room and looked outside to pouring rain. Then oops, look at the time, and we both decided that we really didn’t need more books badly enough to dash through the continuing rain to Rittenhouse Square before the book store closed, so Joseph Fox will have to wait for another meetup. More people might've inspired grander adventures, but it was a pleasant day regardless.

> 16

I'm glad you had a good time at the museum. The Joseph Fox Book Store is well worth a visit.

I chose to go to the Hecklerfest (http://www.hecklerplains.org/) instead, and then it was postponed until today on account of drizzle!

Katherine (qebo) and I spent a pleasant day in Philadelphia yesterday, even though it rained nearly all day. We met at 30th Street Station, the city's main rail station, as we each traveled by train into Center City. The station opened in 1933 and after several decades of neglect it was rebuilt and restored to its former glory in 1989, with the installation of dozens of shops including cafés, restaurants and at least one bookstore. As Katherine said it's my favorite US train station as well (although I also like Grand Central Terminal in NYC, Union Station in Washington, and Union Station in Los Angeles):

  

After a two hour conversation over coffee at the station we walked to the nearby University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which is more commonly known as the Penn Museum. It opened in 1887, and it houses some of the best collections of materials from ancient, medieval and more modern societies throughout the world.



We spent most of our type in the Ancient Egypt, Africa and Human Evolution portions of the museum. Here are some photos I took with my smartphone:









We had planned to walk to Rittenhouse Square to have lunch and visit the Joseph Fox Bookshop, but we noticed that it was moderately raining. Fortunately the museum had a café, so we dined there, talked for another couple of hours, and shopped in the museum store instead. I bought gifts for family and friends, along with the book Native North American Art by Janet Catherine Berlo and Ruth B. Phillips for myself.

By that time it was nearly 4 pm and still raining, so we walked back to 30th Street Station and parted from there. It was a splendid day despite the rain, and hopefully we can have another Philadelphia LT meet up later this year with more attendees.

Sounds like you and Katherine had a splendid time despite the weather. I will try to keep an eye open for the next one.

Darryl the pictures are awesome. I don't remember ever visiting the Penn Museum.

Glad you both had fun. The Penn Museum brings back memories of when I drove my oldest son there when he was a kid to do research on ancient Egypt for a paper he was doing for school. I'm pretty sure that's the museum we visited. Aren't there mummies in that museum?

>20 SqueakyChu: Yes.

>20 SqueakyChu:

Our visit to the museum was preceded by a stop for a true Philly Cheese Steak first!