After leaving Annapolis, we went upriver one more time, to reach Philadelphia. It required us to go from the Chesapeake to the Delaware River- and we were able to go through the C&D canal, which was a cool experience that required us (mainly Paul, doing captain magic) to check our currents and tides. After a monumental, knee quaking, purple sky electromagnetic lightning storm that grounded flights at the Philly airport, we cruised up the muddy Delaware to Philly. It took us about 2 days to travel, and when we anchored, we realized we were anchoring on the New Jersey side of the river, and not the Pennsylvania side.
It was an interesting experience, one state on each side. Our primary goal was to visit Philadelphia, which we did in heart attack caloric amounts, but we also spent unexpected time in New Jersey, namely visiting a wonderful fitness and community center from the Salvation Army, and receiving generous and kind welcomes from the Farragut Sportsman’s Association (a boating club), who allowed us to trespass on their dock, jump their gate, and even invited us to their club BBQ.
Philadelphia was a warmer welcome than we planned on. It’s not a common destination for cruisers, so the infrastructure isn’t there, but Paul (and a little bit me) are intrepid explorers, and we were willing to show up with a “check and see” plan. We got lucky in so many ways, but Pier 3 marina offered the friendliest welcome for cruisers on the Philly side. Not only did they have a wonderful dock for us to use with our dinghy, but they were also responsive and welcoming to all our queries. No one else even bothered to answer our calls, so to receive an open armed welcome was a good feeling.
We thought Philadelphia would be about history, and in many ways it was. We did a historical walking tour, we saw the Liberty Bell, and Betsy Ross’s house, and Ben Franklin’s grave, and Independence Hall, and we had a lovely speech from a theater major on a park bench about an old timey sailor, but what Philly also turned into was a glutinous food tour. We knew we’d be having Philly Cheese Steaks (a sandwich I knew existed, but composed of what?), but we didn’t plan on the Chinatown Festival, Reading Terminal Market, and 9th Street
I planned on writing in detail about each place we ate and the things we ate, but instead I’m going to make a list of the things I loved and make you drool a little
- Fresh spun Fairy Floss from Sparrow Market
- Hot Chocolate at Rene Rim Café
- Philly Cheesesteaks from Angelo’s Pizza and Sandwiches (BTW do you know what a Cheese Steak is? ribeye steak that’s sliced into thin slices, and topped with melted provolone cheese, white American cheese, or Cheez Whiz, as well as fried onions, all on a toasted hoagie roll
- Dim Sum at Chinatown’s Dim Sum Garden
- Breakfast Gumbo and French Toast at Beck’s Cajun Café in Reading Terminal.
- Whoopie Pies at Flying Monkey Bakery
- Cocktails at Tattooed Mom
- Freshly filled Cannoli at Isgro’s Pastries. It costs less to have them filled fresh, and tasted 1000X better (I assume, we didn’t eat the old ones)
- Tacos at Casa Mexico (Yes, very good Philly tacos and we don’t say that lightly), we tried one of every flavor. The staff is also super friendly here.
Note. We did not eat at the original or the perfected Philly Cheese steak places- as they have turned into tourist traps, but we did walk past and look at them. (Pat’s vs Geno’s…read about it here https://gastronomyblog.com/2007/05/04/pats-king-of-steaks-vs-genos-steaks/
New Jersey and Philadelphia are connected by two bridges (the Ben Franklin and the Walt Whitman), and people we met in Camden who lived and worked in Philly, and vice versa. People on both sides of the river called the other side dangerous, loud, unsafe. But Paul and I found both sides to be similar in so many ways, and equally hospitable. In a way, being separated by the river, by state and distance seems to have convinced people they are very different “over there,” but the warmness we experienced, I’d say that they are closer than they realize.
After we rolled our bodies out of Philly, it was time to plan our long overdue return to the ocean- so we prepared for our 2-day sail to Cape May, New Jersey, and from there, onto the great state of New York- where Paul and I currently sit at anchor next to Ellis Island. More to come from the BlueBelle’s in the Empire State.
Love, Lindsay
PS If I can add one more food stop onto this post it would be Original Giuseppe’s Pizza, where I finally got a slice of white pizza that I’ve been craving since we up anchored in Saint Martin 2.5 years ago. Amen. And bless Staten Island.
TIBURON MARINO 