Day 20

October 23, 2021:

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and otherwise cleaned myself up. I folded my bedsheets, leaned the airmattress back up against the wall, and moved my electronics to the kitchen table. I don’t want to make too much of a mess. When Kyle got up, we cooked eggs for breakfast and used hot sauce to add some spice. He re-taught me how to play Tiny Towns, a board game about creating a village by placing resources in order to score the most points. In the game, players are given a private goal card called a Monument, which if achieved, lends you a special power for the rest of the game. My monument was exceptionally good, and after making a beeline from the start of the game to build it, I handily won, building a slew of taverns.

After playing the game, he and I went to the grocery store to pick up meals for the next few days. I bought potatoes, eggs, bell peppers, hummus, a sweet potato, as well as little containers in which to store salt, pepper, and oil. On the way back, Kyle introduced me to Wawa: a Philadelphia institution, and gas station that also serves made-to-order food, like hoagies and other sandwiches. Wawa also has an accompanying app that gives you discounts and other rewards that can accumulate over time. Kyle figured out the app while I figured out what to order. I was very suspicious of the Wawa Gobbler. It looked simply terrible. Kind of like a sub that instead has turkey, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Thanksgiving dinner in a sandwich. I decided to risk it. Why not try something that tests the limits of what a sandwich can be? Kyle used the app, and was awarded a free soft drink, which he offered me. I got Dr. Pepper. We carried the food to the car, remarked on the outrageous petroleum prices, and returned home to eat. The Wawa Gobbler was surprisingly good. It looks, and kind of sounds atrocious, but it actually kind of works. Kyle and I traded halves of our sandwiches so he could try it to. He took a bite and we gave each other the same surprised look.

It was past noon, and we felt the day slipping away from beneath our feet. I wanted an easy day given that my thighs were still sore from the previous riding. We decided to walk around the city, wind shopping, if you will. Kyle wanted to explore a new sector of Philadelphia, and we used the opportunity to also figure out the bus system, just making the first leg. We rushed out of the apartment, down and across the street, and I waved down the driver of the bus that would take us into the city.

Kyle wanted to check out Point Breeze and Devil’s Pocket. The bus dropped us off in a little bit of a sketchy neighborhood. The kind of place with corner convenience markets that have metal bars to protect the windows, faded signs, and peeling paint. The park we walked through was otherwise relatively clean though, and a few boys were on bikes, hanging out. Walking the streets, I mentioned Toffifay to Kyle, and I went into one of the shops to look for the candy. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it. I also mentioned Geocaching, and how trying to find one might lead us to interesting places we never would have otherwise found. We went in the direction of a few geocaches, but were always distracted by a particularly interesting side street to check out instead.

On one such side street – which was quite narrow and decorated with hanging plants and sidewalk greenery but otherwise somewhat shaded – we found a house cat resting idly on a doormat. We looked around, but couldn’t see the owner and wondered if the cat was alright being outside. I leaned over petted it, stroking its furry head and scratching under an ear. The door opened, and a neighbor who must have heard us talking peeked out to see who it was. She explained the cat’s name is George, and he’s the other neighbor’s cat. We gave him a few more cuddles and I got a picture before moving on.

We ended up walking South St, where I insisted we enter a store called ‘Doggie Style’ because I was too curious what it was (ended up being a pet store). We wandered through Rittenhouse Square, and saw a small protest demanding an end to violence against Bangladeshi Hindus – following recent events abroad that has left that community living in fear of mob justice. We walked under high rises in the city center, went to a discount store to look for Eagles clothing, went past city hall, and entered Reading Terminal Market. Reading Market is a bustling indoor market much the same way Over The Rhein is for Cincinnati, except much larger. There were delis and barbeque joints, diners and smoothie places, cheese and spice shops, candy stores and bars. I ended up getting a gyro and later a carameled apple, while Kyle went for a smoothie. While we were there, it started to rain pretty hard outside, and we decided to take the bus home. We waited a few minutes in the rain while several other buses went past.

On the way back, we got off a few stops early to see what a small gathering of tents was in a church parking lot and the adjoining cemetery. It ended up being an event held by a local trapeze school, with shows performed by students. The tents were local vendors and craftsmen who came to sell their wares in support of the event. I got some cotton candy and looked at some quaint sky paintings.

Walking home, we then passed a lively bar that had set up outdoor tables in an alley with colorful murals painted on both adjoining walls. I waited in line to get a pilsner, and we waded through the crowd of people to find a table for ourselves. Nearby, a small gray bulldog on a pink leash was extremely cute, and ended up being fiendishly cuddleable. I got a pic.

When we finally did get home, it was mid-evening, and after a short rest, I challenged Kyle to a rematch of Tiny Towns. We removed the absurdly powerful monument that I had had before, but I was nevertheless able to win with a large margin. It’s a good game.

For dinner, we crossed the street to a diner called Daiva’s, but they were closed. Instead, we went down the street for Tony Roni’s a pizza joint that sells by the slice. I got a vegi-spinach slice and a margherita slice. We took the slices to go, and ate them on the walk back to the apartment. We ended the evening with a few episodes of Seinfeld.