Next Port of Call: Philly

I have an amazing group of friends from a study abroad program I did in college, Semester at Sea. Right after our voyage in 2001, we saw each other pretty often considering we were spread out all over the country. It's very special that we still have occasions that bring us back together!

The occasion for Port Philadelphia was Al and Beth's wedding. Conveniently, Beth's family is from the Philly area so the wedding was local for me. Four other shipmates were in town, and we had a wonderful visit!

L to R: Amy, me, Tom, Lesia, and Curry. Photo cred: Amy Butler

The wedding was in Kennett Square, Pa. at a beautiful venue called The Stone Barn. The ceremony was outside on a perfect October afternoon, and I think there were a lot of teary eyes!

And after the ceremony was a great reception inside the stone barn to celebrate the Rundle's new union.

Don't we all coordinate nicely? It wasn't planned

 

We're next in line to be married (unless someone surprises us)!

Congrats guys! We were so happy we could be there for your big day.

And I just have to give a final shout out to our friends who couldn't make it. A lot of them are busy having babies and such, and we understand! We missed you all and tried to represent you well. (Oh, and to our shipmate Charlie — we love you and we're thinking about you buddy!)

The Magic Gardens

Last Saturday Brad and I visited a Philly landmark that we've been meaning to see for the past 3 years...whoops! We went to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, a totally unique mosaic museum — except calling it a museum doesn't even scratch the surface. It covers half a city block in mosaic! It was a beautiful afternoon!

It's essentially an intricate, multi-level maze of mosaic from floor to ceiling. And we're not just talking tiles thrown around and cemented. We're talking words, phrases, paintings, bottles, portraits, stairs, chairs, walls, and archways.

 

As the website describes, "The installation, primarily consisting of found objects and contributions from the community ... A walk through the labyrinth will reveal sculptures from Latin America and Asia, bicycle wheels from local South Street shop Via Bicycles, Zagar's hand-made tiles, and mirrors of every shape and size."

We took over a hundred pictures! I chose some of our favorites to post.

It's a must-see in Philly, and it's only $5/person to get in. So all in all it's pretty affordable compared to a lot of the city's attractions!