Independence

I left work early (what i thought was early) around 3 and fought torrential rain spurs off hurricane Whateveritsnamewas up the whole of i81. I found W at the bar when I arrived to PA, and a much-needed mediocre (but strong) Belgian beer was just the ticket. 

We were in PA to go to W’s boss’s cookout on the 4th, with the intention of returning to MD for the weekend afterwards… though no real plans. 

We left the next day (July 4) to basically toodle around and kill a few hours before the pm cookout. Had a very heavy breakfast in a diner that looked like it had been vomited out of my grandmother’s bathroom (teal and pink, pink and teal, mirrors, mirrors, mirrors!) … then started driving toward Philly because what the heck. It was Independence Day. 

We found a centrally-located parking garage and i figured we’d walk around for a few minutes and then leave downtown. We walked toward Constitution Center… or Independence Center… or Liberty International… or The Bell Place Thing … or whatver it’s called… it was raining and there weren’t a lot of people around, though it soon became clear we must’ve parked near a parade (FORESHADOWING) because so many folks were alongside the road in their rain gear and jackets and long pants. (It is the 4th of July, I will reiterate.) 

Joe's back there, somewhere.

So we rounded the corner toward the Freedom Dome and Will says, “Hey, it’s Joe Biden!” … or something similarly benign but completely and utterly unexpected. Lo and behold, giving a speech to a tiny crowd in rain gear, is Joe Biden. And Secret Service all over the place. We arrived right at the end of his speech and the crowd broke up… we walked around a bit, started to head back to the car, and HOLY CRAP realized were about to be stuck because the parade was about to start and the car was parked in the center in a million-dollar-an-hour lot. Looking at our closed street, we asked a cop if there was another way we’d be able to get our car out. “Sure,” he says, looking at us like we’re idiots, “try the other side. But better hurry, the parade’s about to start.” (If might’ve occurred to us now—but it didn’t—that if his route was closed, the other route, closer to parade start, would most certainly also be closed. FORESHADOWING. Or is it now just shadowing?) 

So we pull the car out of the million dollar lot and try one… two… three exits. Each cop says, “Try the other side. But hurry up, the parade’s about to start.” … until the final cop just laughs and says “you’re stuck.” 

And That’s How We Watched The Independence Day Parade With Front Row Seats From the Comfort Of Our Dry and Warm Volkswagen Jetta.

Parade watchin'

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Folks mostly looked at us like they were confused, or jealous, and the cops were pretty nice about it. One was chuckling about it pretty regularly (which I appreciated). We were pretty much the luckiest SOBs in Philly. That is, until Secret Service came by, sweeping to clear the road for JOE BIDEN to open the parade. We missed JB’s passing entirely because it is HIGHLY DISTRACTING to have a beer-gutted slick-looking gentleman with an earpiece (flanked by an innocuous-but-fit-looking lady with a bigger earpiece) staring intently at your license plate and patently avoiding eye contact. He stood directly in front of our car, avoiding eye contact except for looking dead center at our license plate, until all of the black SUVs had passed. (Only then did I realize that this meant one of them held Joe Biden.) He left us to enjoy our plotting and parade-watching in private.

Secret Service
(...ok but that part also really happened)

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After the parade we wound our way down to the Cheese Steak district and compared the fare. (W had never been and, of course, neither had I.) We’re Pat’s people now and I’ll shut your face if you say any different. (Just practicing—it’ s my understanding that this is pretty much Pennsylvanian for, “Love ya, ma.”)

Geno's

Pat's

The Verdict

We attended Will’s work-related cookout that evening… a very nice affair, outdoors (long pants and jackets), with a pretty yard and good people. Uneventful, but pleasant. Dog. Babies. S’mores. The usual. 

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When we got back to the hotel we realized we could (partially) see 3 different fireworks displays from our hotel window… so that wasn’t too shabby. We dreamt dreams of beef. 

The next morning we woke up and Will said something like, “I’d like to take a ferry.” And i said, “hmmmnnhh”. 45 minutes later, he tried again, “I’d like to take a ferry.” And I said, “hmmmmnnn ok.” We returned W’s rental car, stopped by Acme Grocery, Fireplaces, Video, and Anvils for breakfast and fruit (blueberries from NJ’s apparently-prolific blueberry district… FORESHADOWING) and started heading toward the shore. (The Shore?) The Shore. The Jersey Shore. 

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Traffic traffic traffic, yadda yadda yadda. Beautiful cool day, windows down. On the way: passed through miles and miles and miles of what is apparently New Jersian Big Blueberry. Ate our blueberries from Acme. 

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Made it to Cape May! Drove around looking for W’s grandfather’s old place… may have found it? Probably not. But we got close. It was a beautiful place, I absolutely can imagine going there for a week… parking the car, biking everywhere. ($4/hr grocery store parking! … Use the bikes.) It was quiet, despite people being everywhere. And not at all what I expected, having previously seen Ocean City, NJ, and Atlantic City. It was quiet, and lovely, with nature preserves. 

Wind on the high seas

We took the ferry from Cape May to Delaware and started the final part of the drive… realizing, almost immediately, that we were but moments (MOMENTS) away from the amazing Dogfishhead Brewery. MOMENTS, that is, if not for beach traffic. An hour and a half later, we were having wonderful food and beer in Rehobeth. It’s a shame there’s not much…. anything?… else appealing in Rehobeth, the brewery was wonderful. 

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We drove back to MD through sunset, with little traffic and a cool breeze in the open windows. 

Costs: Gas, food (a lot of food)

Payout: Incredible unexpected surprises, the satisfaction of last-minute adventure decisions, brief beach living, delicious foods, days that felt like weeks in the best of ways. A sense of togetherness that it is sometimes hard for us to find.