November 21, 2005

On Saturday night, Earl and I decided to take a drive into Center City Philadelphia to take a look around. We were in town visiting the family for the weekend and the family activities had come to a lull so we figured it was a good time to get out and about.

I’m not super familiar with Philadelphia. Earl is a native of the area, so I let him do the navigating while I drove the myriad of streets in the “gay area” near Antique Row. I always find that area so charming. I particularly enjoy the narrow streets that are barely wide enough for two bicycles to fit between the sidewalks, let alone a vehicle of any size. Walking amongst the centuries old houses in this area is so peaceful. As soon as you enter one of these streets, the sounds of the city seem to fall right away, and there you are in your own little historical paradise, walking down a sidewalk with no traffic coming by. You can almost feel the history as you pass by the homes, a psychic sense of the clap-clop of horses from days gone by, the smell of wood smoke. There are times when I wishe we lived in such a house in Philadelphia. Something off the beaten path, a home rich with history where the doors aren’t particularly square and the glass in the windows is a little wavy. The stairs creak, the plumbing bangs (though is still quite functional of course). A location where I rely on nothing but my feet or mass transit to move about the area, whether its off to work, picking up groceries or meeting friends at the corner pub.

Of course, we haven’t hit the Lotto yet, so I don’t see that coming to fruition any time soon. But it’s always fun to dream.