They charge for wireless internet at Cesar's Palace! I guess it should be obvious that nothing is free at a hotel with a casino, but really! After saying our goodbyes to Tami and the retirees by the slot machines, we head to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It worked in our favor to skip Brooklyn and take the night off. Eric's voice is doing better and we only have to back track an hour to Phili as opposed to several hours.
While Nic and Eric shoot another section of our Kickstarter video by the Liberty Bell competing with every tourist and school group for maybe 10 feet of sight line, I spend some time writing my reflections of the Liberty Bell experience. The Liberty Bell is significantly smaller than I ever imagined it to be, maybe 4 feet tall with a 7 or 8 foot circumference at the base of the bell. A replica of the bell was used as a symbol for the Suffragette movement at the beginning of the 20th Century and John Phillip Sousa composed the 'Liberty Bell March' which was then used as the theme song to 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'. Even visiting on a Monday afternoon, there are literally hundreds of people just within the hour we are there, tourists from all over the world wandering through the hall taking pictures of and with this important artifact.
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| Eric filming Nic by the Liberty Bell |
For the record, people in Philadelphia do not know how to drive, walk, or park. Pedestrians casually jaywalk in the street and through intersections when the light says stop constantly and drivers are more than happy to honk for the tiniest driving transgression. Also received our first parking ticket after returning from the Liberty Bell. We were 3 minutes late! Philadelphia seems to be a great city to travel through, by jet pack.
Lunch was at Jim's Steaks on South Street, one of many traditional Phili Cheese Steak eateries I'm sure. But we are not just here for a cheese steak sandwich, I have a personal connection to this place. Turns out that in the 1970's, my mother in law won several high profile eating competitions including one at Jim's Steaks in 1978 where she set a Guinness World Record by devouring 11 sandwiches in 1 ½ hours. It took almost decade for the record to be broken. I have been informed by her daughter that she participated in eating competitions as she was a poor college student in need of funds. A large frame including several pictures of her from this competition and another where she ate 23 bun-less hotdogs in 3 minutes and 10 seconds at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia hangs in the middle of framed autographs and pictures from notable film and sports celebrities. Feel free to follow this link if you think I am making this up. http://eatfeats.com/lynda-kuerth.html
The traditional sandwich features chopped steak, Cheese Whiz, and grilled onions on a sub bun. Needless to say, we were full after one.
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| Linda Kuerth Trophy Wall |
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| Half a sandwich to go |
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| Wearing a vintage Jim's Steaks T-shirt, hand-me-down from the victor herself |
We played at a tiny club called The Raven for a handful of people. An hour and half set for a beer and a venue t-shirt was not much compensation, but the bartender was incredibly nice and sympathetic to our situation. Finishing at 10:30pm, we promptly packed up and headed into Manhattan as the New Jersey Turnpike was finally non-congested.
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| Nic walking into The Raven Lounge |
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| Me soundchecking the banjo. |
