Philly & Atlantic City

A good friend and I trekked out over Thanksgiving weekend to Philadelphia to see an Aimee Mann concert. For regulars of this blog, you’ll know the friend as JT Alfons.

We arrived to the hotel on Friday evening, headed out to Harrisburg for the concert that night. It was pouring rain and visibility on the roads was terrible. That was a frightening two hours. We were a little behind arriving, but we found the street the venue was on – Walnut St.

Turns out, Harrisburg has two Walnut Streets. Not just “East” and “West”, but two entirely independent roads with the same name. We found the correct one, came in and missed just a few minutes of the opening act. The concert was really enjoyable.

The following morning, we hit up Philly. We ate a Philly Cheesesteak, which I was informed uses Cheese Whiz for the real thing. JT found a spot with a good reputation and we dined. I have to say, I tasted the Whiz. It was pretty disgusting – but it was an experience and I’m glad I had it. We walked around, stumbing on the Philly Trans March. That was really cool. We visited historical sites, many of which were closed due to the government shutdown that’s currently in effect in the US. We hit up the art museum famous for where Stallone’s character from “Rocky” climbed up the steps then made our way back.

That night, we watched FOX News, which was educational. The ads were clearly aimed at elderly viewers and the content was all highly ideological right-wing stuff. They had a show on “Victimhood” in which it was alleged that black people were to blame for racism. In a separate show, they took aim at recipients of food assistance programs, who receive about $4 a day for food. Then against those who were seeking to raise minimum wage from $7 an hour. Watching it, the station seemed to base its spin on its existing spin, further removing itself from predominant perceptions on the ground. Little wonder the outcome of the 2012 election left them baffled.

On Sunday, we went to Atlantic City. What a city of contrasts – a block away from the board walk and its casinos is absolute poverty. We had a sandwich there in a shack called White House, which was the best sub I’ve ever had. The half-size one was still over a foot long, had more meat than a packed deli display, and was all of $6.

There wasn’t much to do in Atlantic City, so after a very pleasant walk we made our way back home.