The Problem With Philadelphia

At the risk of bringing attention to the obvious, there has once again been a significant dearth (which is clearly worse than a unquantified dearth) of updates since my return to Philadelphia. Part of that has been because there really hasn’t been very much blog-worthy activity … at least, not what I would consider blog-worthy material. And part of THAT is because I’m still in Philadelphia. And that brings us to the “problem” with Philadelphia.

No, the problem isn’t that there isn’t anything to do in Philadelphia. Hardly. Very hardly, in fact. Philadelphia is great and I think everyone should come for a visit at some point. (This blog update brought to you by visitphilly.com … okay, no it’s not. But it SHOULD be.) Have I mentioned it’s always sunny in Philadelphia? That said, the problem with Philadelphia, as best as I can tell, is that there appears to be some sort of vortex somewhere in the city … and by “somewhere” I mean somewhere near the Art Museum (aka. the Rocky steps). This vortex seems to be somewhat localized but very real nonetheless. Actually, one might even say it’s EXTREMELY localized as it only seems to affect me. I mean, when I go outside I frequently see planes flying high above the city and the people on those planes are clearly leaving Philadelphia … okay, yes … some are probably arriving as well. I see cars on the highways (MANY cars … not Nairobi quantities of cars but still … many cars) and many of them are clearly leaving Philadelphia – again, I can’t confirm how many of them are drawn back later. Hmmmm … maybe it’s not as localized as I initially thought.

Either way, all I know is that my attempts to leave Philadelphia are frequently challenged, delayed and eventually thwarted. Admittedly, one could argue that the amount of effort I put into said attempted exodi (yeah, I know, not a word but I like it better than exoduses … which I think is only barely a word) could be described as more than a little lackluster. But that could merely be a side effect of the vortex. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it … for now.

That said, there was a brief period about a week ago (that’s “a week ago” in Philadelphia time … in reality, I think it was three weeks ago) where I was actually planning my departure. I was looking at maps, accommodation options, routes, the whole deal. Fast forward one/three weeks later and, well … here I remain in the heart of the vortex.

Fortunately, I’m very much enjoying my time “trapped” in Philly which has included some cycling where I managed to pedal as far as Valley Forge (35 km) the other day before the vortex pulled me back again (also 35 km … uphill, both ways. Actually, it was all pretty flat.) Side note: the ride to Valley Forge was great. It was one of those days that was crazy hot and humid. You know, the days where the voices on the radio are warning you to stay inside and not overexert yourself. I took those “warnings” to mean, “Hey, you should go out for a longish bike ride … and hey, you should try to go fast too. Oh, and don’t take much water with you either!” Have I mentioned that I enjoy hot and humid weather? A lot? Well, I do. A lot.

For the record, I thought it was a bit cruel to have to face-off against a somewhat strong headwind while the vortex pulled me back into Philadelphia. Apparently the vortex has no impact on the wind.

Anyway, just to summarize the events since my last update, I’ve done some biking (so I’m not completely out of shape), done some work (so I’m not completely broke), eaten a fair bit (so I’m not THAT skinny). I’ve seen a couple of movies (Dunkirk and Atomic Blonde – both of which I liked, but for obviously different reasons). I also went to New York for a day where I found myself on one of the many double-decker bus tours on offer. It was fun. Definitely my preferred way to see New York. I know this isn’t popular to say but I really don’t “heart” NY. That said, I get why people do and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

And while I did escape to New York for a day, I returned to Philadelphia later that same day. And now, vortex or not, I’m sort of “stuck” here in Philly for a bit longer because I have some on-going freelance work to do and it’s somewhat easier to work from a set location rather than trying to do so while on the road. Although, working on the road (not literally) does have its charm – actually, I quite like it – but that charm is lost quickly when I don’t have access to a fast internet connection. So, as long as Gage and Jack don’t kick me out, I’ll be here for a little bit yet. That said, I’ll endeavour to be more fastidious about posting more regular updates … blog-worthy or not. In the event that anyone is still reading.

Oh, on the upside, trips to New York and delayed blog updates means there ends up being more than a few photos for the photo gallery.