Thursday, August 12, 2010

Philly to Jersey to NYC

Day 7 of the Young & Stupid, YES! Road Trip:

We woke up at Terrence’s parents’ house, which apparently is in New Jersey and not Pennsylvania, feeling refreshed. Well, Sam had a rough night of puking and was a little bit hung over. Actually he had blown chunks in Amy’s Styrofoam longhorn cooler that we had to inevitably throw away. Terrence flew back to Austin before we had woken up so we didn’t want to stay too long. After we hung out with Terrence’s mom, we packed up the car and headed out to check out Philly’s tourist mustsees.

It was a nice day, maybe like 80 or 90 something but not too hot and cloudy. We headed in town towards the The Liberty Bell. Navigating through Philadelphia in the day light was a little easier. We did get a little lost in Camden which apparently is a bad neighborhood but we found our way. In the sunlight I noticed that the Ben Franklin/676 Bridge is actually really nice looking. Driving over it, I fantasized about how it would be to bike over it. I miss my bike. We found the Liberty Bell at Market and 6th but parked a couple blocks down at Washington Square park. As the boys and I were feeding the meter (we only had enough for a little over an hour) Amy managed to shut the car door on her boob. It was pretty funny, not that I take pleasure in her pain. I‘m sure it hurt, I’m just not sure how something like that actually happens.

We went to the Liberty Bell park which I was a little disappointed to know that it’s in a museum that you have to wait in line to go see. The boys really wanted get some food, specifically Philly Cheese Stakes, but Amy and I wanted to just see the bell. While we were talking about all this, one of Amy’s dad’s best friends walks by and stops Amy. It was delightfully strange coincidence for them to see each other. She shot the shit with him and his wife and then we went to check out the Liberty Bell. The line was long. The boys weren’t back from their Philly Cheese Stake stand by the time we got in there. It was a cute museum. I was disappointed to read the actual history of the Liberty Bell. See the boys have been asking Amy, who has a minor in history, and me all about American history while we’ve been on this trip. I thought the Liberty Bell got it’s crack after it’s first ring which became symbolic. Amy thought it was something else, like it was hurt in a battle or something but I think she agreed with me about it broke on the first ring. While in the museum we discover that it broke gradually over time and they kept repairing it. LAME. It was very crowded but we still wanted our Liberty Bell picture, which proved harder than I thought. People were constantly walking in front of each other’s shots. We finally catch up with the boys who were stuffing their faces with Cheese Stakes. We headed back to the park to continue eating and relax a little. It was the best Cheese Stake I’ve ever had and I don’t even like Cheese Stakes. Unfortunately, we were a minute or two late for the meter and got a $30 ticket! The worst part was we were right there the whole time. Philadelphia was not treating Amy well.

Amy flicks off Philadelphia

The last thing we had to do before we left the City of Brotherly Love, The Rocky Steps. Franco is actually a semi-professional boxer in Manchester, England, and LOVES the Rocky movies. The steps are actually apart of thePhiladelphia Museum of Art which I wish we would have actually gone and seen. We all ran up them. The boys were in bliss. They loved loved loved it. After sneaking into the museum for a quick restroom pit stop and a brief combing of the gift shop for postcards, we got back in the car and got on the road.

We were close to our final destination. So close. Our spirits were high. It was my turn to drive and everyone took this opportunity to take a nap. While the boys were nodding off, I end up getting lost in some small town, Bristol. Being lost wakes everyone up and then the ridiculousness began. Amy and Franco had a fight in the car. It’s hard to describe, other than Franco pushed Amy’s seat forward so that she couldn’t move and then rubbed his gross feet all over her. It begins to drizzle and after losing an hour or so of time, we get back in route, Amy drives, taking the New Jersey Turnpike (aka I-95) all the way up to Route 3 in Northern Jersey. Amy’s Polish Grandmother, who lives in Rutherford, was expecting us for dinner.

When we get there, we are exhausted. Thankfully Amy’s amazing grandmother and uncle had made us a wonderful homemade meal, a vegetable stir fry with rice – YUM. At dinner we recapped what had happened, and what we’d seen. Amy’s grandmother told us some stories about Amy as a kid. They were very warm towards us and wanted us to stay the night but we declined. After dinner, Amy and I took a cat nap on the bed in the office. I couldn’t tell you what the boys were doing during this because I was so tired I was dead to the world. I’m sure they entertained Amy’s uncle with their stories of foreign lands. We wake up after about 45 minutes of sleep and get going to the Big Apple.

As we get closer to the city, the boys and myself were pressed against the windows staring at all the lights. I start texting people for advice on things to do and places to go in NYC. My friend Ariel who was an actress in NYC and lived in Harlem overwhelmed my phone with options and advice. Thanks Ariel. We had vague plans to stay with a friend but After our friend didn’t answer his phone, Amy got us a hotel room off 28th and 7th Ave. Amy’s friend Steven met us at the hotel because we were going out!

Steven went to high school with Amy and had moved to New York a while back. He was a great tour guide and drinking buddy. He took us to a bar that really I don’t know how to describe. It was just a bar. We drank and laughed. Some man tried to pick me up while I was playing the the juke box. I gave him some silly bands and flirted but not enough to give him the idea that he could get any where with me. We drank until closing which was 4am then stumbled back to our hotel. We said our goodbyes to Steven. You will be missed.

Amy’s Philly post

Amy’s New Jersey post

Amy’s New york post

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