View of the City from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge
The Philadelphia Free Library
Authorized copy of The Thinker (Le Penseur) by Auguste Rodin
The Promenade and Gazebo at Fairmont Water Works
The Fairmont Water Works, a National Historic Landmark, at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
See the previous post for more about our 36 hours in Philadelphia
Years ago, in June of 2012 in fact, I started to blog in an effort to document my travels through life. But life, as you know, gets in the way of our best intentions and I shared just one post in 2023, and two in 2024. Now though, I am back and making a go of it. Years from now, when I can no longer journey, I want to be able to read about the places that I visited.
When elderly parent challenges had us canceling our long planned trip to Great Britain, we opted to take two long weekend trips instead. For one of those two weekends, we took the train from Roanoke VA to Philadelphia PA, and knowing that we only had 36 hours to explore, we got right to it!
Philadephia is flanked by two rivers: the Schuykill and the Delaware, and we calculated that we walked over 30 miles going from one to the other and everywhere in between. I particularly loved seeing the contrast of historic buildings set against new ones.
We started the day at Reading Terminal Market where we devoured our cajun breakfast.
We then walked the Benjamin Franklin Parkway past the JFK Love Park, the Barnes and Rodin Art Galleries, The Philadephia Free Library, through the Oval, and to the Philadephia Museum of Art.
We walked back down the other side of the Parkway, by the Dilworth Park Interactive Fountain, and strolled through the City Hall courtyard.
After a Philadelphia Cheese Steak lunch (what else?) we walked to the Old City. Visits to the National Constitution Center (oh how I wish more Americans would remember the Constitution) and Old City Hall reminded us of our country’s history.
As the day began to wind down, we walked to Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River.
After a stroll along the river, we took the pedestrian walkway on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware and halfway to New Jersey. The views of the city were remarkable, and the bridge itself was beautiful.
After an amazing day, we finally took an Uber back to the hotel.
We already know we will return … there are so many wonderful museums dedicated to art, history, and science, and we look forward to checking them out.
… and I could not be happier!
The first image with my Fuji XT3 and the second with my Samsung Galaxy s21
“The Skyline Drive runs 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park and is the only public road through the Park. It takes about three hours to travel the entire length of the Park on a clear day”
It was a perfect day to drive through Shenandoah National Park, located just 2 hours from our home.
We took the short, 2 mile hike to the highest point on the Drive (4050′) and enjoyed the views from Hawksbill Mountain.
And then it was time to head home after a day of fresh air, exercise, and gratitude for those before us who had the foresight to preserve these natural spaces.
The New River Trail is a 57 mile linear State Park in Virginia. Created from an abandoned railroad right of way, this bridge is one of 30 along the trail. I recently crossed this bridge on my fairly new gravel bicycle (not the one pictured in my header image) while training for an upcoming ride in October.
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After several false starts, I am determined to get back into blogging (I’ve certainly said that before!). After posting regularly for almost a decade, life, work, and caring for parents seemed to keep me from following through on my goal. Fingers crossed, this time I will succeed!
Life on the Bike started as a travel journal and a place to share photos from the road with friends and family. Sadly, there was a two year time span when I wasn’t able to ride either the motorcycle or the bicycle.
I had also not picked up my DSLR for a year! But two weeks ago, I took a photography class in DC and have been practicing / refreshing daily. When I started this blog back in 2012, I had little more than an eye and a “point and shoot”. I look back at those photos now, and see good intentions but not much more. Hopefully, I’ve improved since then!
I am going to commit to posting once weekly, most likely the same day that I post on Monochromia. If you are a fan of B&W Photography be sure to visit and see the work of some amazing photographers.
I look forward to catching up with the blogging community and friends who have been much more diligent than I in maintaining their blogs.
To see this image (and other excellent images by many other photographers), visit Monochromia.
To see this image in B&W, and for an explanation, visit Monochromia.
Before heading back to the mountains of Southwest Virginia, I took a short walk on the Virginia Capital Trail. The Cap Trail is a 51.7 multi-use, fully-paved trail that runs from the City of Richmond, Virginia to James City County, near Williamsburg, Virginia.
The goal is to add a 7 mile connector to the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg, as well as the College of William and Mary.
Part of the trail runs through a suburban wetland. Please follow the link for more information about the importance of preserving these spaces.
One of the most photographed sites along the Blue Ridge Parkway is Mabry Mill, a 1910 watermill run by the National Park Service and located at milepost 176.2. In addition to the Mill, there is a short trail around the mill which connects historical exhibits about life in rural Virginia. This day though … the tree stole the show!
When we knew that Greg had business in Pittsburgh in January, I immediately started researching “what to do in Pittsburgh in the winter”, and wow, did I find alot! So many things in fact, that we will have to return to this wonderful city since, on this trip, we only had one day.
We woke to a temperature of 5°F but it had warmed up to a walkable 15°F by the time we set out to explore. As you can see, the Allegheny River was iced over next to the shoreline. The City of Pittsburgh has created the Three Rivers Heritage Trail which is a multi‑use riverfront trail system. The “33‑mile nonlinear trail has segments on both banks of Pittsburgh’s three rivers with access to city neighborhoods, business districts, and local attractions”. The sun was shining brightly and once my fingertips adjusted to the freezing temps, we thoroughly enjoyed our time along the river.
Once we got back to the North side of the Allegheny, we enjoyed public art, a greenspace called Magnolia Park with gorgeous blooms contrasting with the snow on the ground, and a frozen fountain.
We also explored the outside of The Pennsylvanian which was constructed in 1900 for use as Pittsburgh’s Union Station. The website explains that “The Pennsylvanian is considered one of the city’s most architecturally significant buildings. The handcrafted, dome-shaped rotunda at its entrance – encapsulating the vision of Chicago architect Daniel Burnham – serves as a prominent symbol for Pittsburgh. The New Yorker art critic Brendan Gill proclaimed the building as “one of the great pieces of Beaux-Arts architecture in America”. The building is now a wedding venue and private apartments, so we were not able to explore the inside.
After all of this time outside in the really fresh, really cold air, we warmed up in a local brick oven restaurant with tap room. We were seated right by the brick oven which was the perfect antidote for freezing temps.
Pittsburgh has many museums to choose from and we chose The Clemente Museum. Our guide was a fabulous story teller, and while Greg, the baseball fan, already knew the story of Roberto Clemente, I was inspired by his humanitarian efforts and bravery in the face of racism. I highly recommend a visit to this museum which is located in the former Engine House No. 25, built in 1896, and located in the Lawrenceville section of the city.
After our tour, we walked over to the 11th Hour Brewing Company to quench our thirst. Pittsburgh is such a walkable city! My friend Ruth and I visited several years ago for a Virginia Tech / Pitt football game and we walked and explored for hours.
We ended the day with an incredibly delicious dinner at Casbah Mediterranean Kitchen and Wine Bar afterwhich we drove to the top of the Monogahela Incline for a nightime view of the city scape.
It was a jam packed 36 hours in this wonderful city, and we cannot wait to return!
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 