Blizzard 2010

Listening to the weather all week, they have been forecasting a severe snowstorm to come in Friday afternoon and to continue until Saturday.

Here's a picture of what we saw Friday at dusk. just a light dusting of snow.

Then it began snowing more heavily as the night progressed .

This is what we saw on my last walk before going to bed Friday night. The weatherman predicted that we will be getting an 1-2 inches of snow per hour throughout the evening.

Then, we woke up to this snow piled up against the door.
(We live on the second floor of the apartment complex!)

Don't fall and break a hip going down these stairs. I bet Mom will be busy in the next few weeks as she will have patients who fell out in the snow.

According to the news, we got an accumulation of 20 inches.

But, of course, Dad had to see for himself. Having limited tools, since we pack light these days, he used his ice pick as his measuring device.

Mom helped me get dressed for the snow, putting on my sweater, jacket and snow boots.

Too bad that I did not have snow pants!

But, we had fun anyway, taking in this winter wonderland.

Can you believe all of the snow in the trees?

Some of the snow drifts were up to Dad's chest in places!

Now, Dad is in deep thought. He is up to something.

Here's a picture of an Amish farm across the street.

This is where my sitter, Verna, lives. She takes me for walks when Mom and Dad are exploring some of the local sites on weekends.

Here's the swans in the frozen pond in front of our apartment complex. Mom and Dad wanted to check on them and see how they were doing in this blizzard.

Dad is really having a good time, enjoying the snow. I know he looks mad in the above picture but is just concentrating on quickly taking this picture so that he can put his glove back on and put his hands back in his jacket pockets.

Dad just goofing around!

Now, the snow really is not to Dad's waist. (He is on his knees but don't tell him that I told you.)

However, you can see the snow went up passed Mom's knees.

Although the snow is pretty to look at and Mom and Dad enjoyed playing around in, it adds challenges to everyday tasks, such as taking the trash out. Have you ever tried lifting a dumpster lid that is covered by snow? Mom can tell you that it is not fun and that you end up COVERED in snow.

Also, how do you get in your car when it is surrounded by snow?

Again, we travel light these days so Dad resorted to using a broom to dig the cars out. Luckily, a kind man felt sorry for him and lent Dad his snow shovel.

Have no worries, we are camped out here until Monday with plenty of food.

I think that I will stay put on the couch.

Philadelphia Autoshow

Mom and Dad went back to Philadelphia yesterday.

One of their friends suggested eating at the famous Geno's restaurant in South Philly. Unfortunately, there is no inside eating area. The twenty degree weather did not hurt business. As you can see, people were eating outside bundled up and watching the snow fall.

Mom and Dad read online the "correct" way to order your Philly cheese steaks, kind of like the "Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld. Mom was a little hesitant to take this picture, afraid that she would hear "No cheese steak for you!". Instead, it was welcomed with a smile from the staff.

I must say that Dad has been a good sport going to various gardens and parks with Mom. So, she reluctantly agreed to go to a car show with him. The Philadelphia automotive show was not your average car show. There were some high dollar cars, along with some not so glamorous, run-of-the-mill cars. But, you will not see pictures of the latter.

The flashy red Ferrari pictured above will set you back around $300,000.

The Lamborghini and Rolls Royce are in the 400 thousand dollar price range.

Dad was impressed with the cars that cost the same as a nice home

and Mom fell in love with this 1960 Fiat, which costs around $13,000.

Although Mom and Dad are like night and day, they both dreaded getting back out in the cold and driving home in the snow. But, overall, they had a fun day.

Visiting Philadelphia

Mom and Dad decided to do some of the touristy things in Philadelphia. After paying around $20 for parking, their first stop was the Liberty Bell Center. Here they learned some interesting facts that I would like to share with you. The Liberty Bell was casted in 1753 and used to gather the people together for public announcements. A small crack was noticed and then sent for repair in 1846. The Liberty Bell rang again on George Washington's birthday and the "repaired" crack lengthened, silencing this famous bell forever.

I know that it looks like a small child is up inside the Liberty Bell but it is not so. Don't worry. This historical bell is heavily guarded.

Here's Independence Hall where the Sentinel Bell, the Liberty Bell's replacement, is now housed.

Mom hanging out with George Washington.

While waiting in line for a tour of the Independence Hall, Mom and Dad heard a mother explain to her child that Independence Hall is not George Washington's home. He just spent a lot of time here, hence, the statue of him out front.

The construction of Independence Hall began in 1732 and was completed in 1753. Andrew Hamilton was this building's architect.

Below is the Assembly Room, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the Constitution of the United States was debated, drafted and signed.

The chair in the center of the room is the original chair in which George Washington sat during these historical moments. Also, after peeling back approximately 86 layers of paint, historians believe that the walls were painted this color during that particular time period. Wouldn't you hate to have that job of CAREFULLY removing that many layers of paint?

Mom and Dad went to Congress Hall next and saw where the first Congress met.

Upstairs, the first Senate gathered in this room pictured below.

After taking in all of this history, Mom and Dad had worked up an appetite. What else is there to eat in Philadelphia besides cheese steaks, which were delicious!

Then, Mom and Dad visited Christ Church, known as the "Nation's Church". Many of the Revolutionary leaders attended services here, including Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and William Penn just to name a few.

Several church members are buried inside and outside of this famous church, which still holds services today. Seven signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here as well as 5 signers of the Constitution of the United States

including Jacob Broom.

Any relation?

Across the street from the church is a rather large cemetery

where Benjamin Franklin and his wife are buried.

Visitors toss pennies of his grave for luck.

Next to his grave is a rather long list of all of Benjamin Franklin's accomplishments. His chronology inspires me to do something with my life, instead of lying around all of the time.

I'll just take me a little nap and then get started on my life accomplishments.

Listening to Mom and Dad's adventures in Philadelphia and all of that history wore me out.

And just think, Mom said she would like to go back to learn more details about our nation's history.