PHL in photos

Well, I was nervous about the bleachers workout for nothing.

I got up Friday morning and left the hotel at 5:45, which should have given me ample time to run the few miles to meet the November Project group to run the bleachers. 

This map shows where my hotel was:

 

I basically had to run west to a river, across the bridge and then I'd be really close.  I got across the green space on the map and I turned around and went back to the hotel.  It was pouring outside.  I was fine with running a few miles in the rain, even though I didn't have a hat, but then I thought about the bleachers. 

 

I had texted two people about my plan to meet up with the group to run bleachers:  my husband, and one of my running buddies.  My running buddy's response was that it sounded awesome and tough and I needed to go for it.  My husband's response was to be careful. 

 

A couple minutes of running in the rain made me think that running wet bleachers had a high likelihood of a broken nose, a sprained ankle, massive bruising, or who knows what else.  I decided it wasn't worth it.  I wasn't sure if the group would meet in the rain anyway, so I headed back inside to the hotel gym.  I used the rowing machine to row 5k, then I hit the treadmill for a little while, then I did some random strength machines.  Overall, a disappointing morning workout, but in the end, if I'd fallen on the bleachers and gone to the settlement conference with a busted upper lip or something, I might have made the right decision. 

 

I have a feeling I'll be back in Philly before long (though fortunately not this week, as was on my calendar until Friday), and I'll have to commit to doing the bleachers then. 

 

My walk to the federal courthouse: 

 

In the courthouse where our (successful) settlement conference was held: 

 

After resolving our case, I went with defense counsel for lunch (long walk in heels, blisters, sweating in my suit, ugh, but good lunch).  Then back to the hotel to change into jeans, work a little, then head to the airport to see if I could get on an earlier flight. 

 

No luck, and then the night started its downhill slide. 

 

I had an awesome tofu burrito for dinner.  There's a new burrito place right by the gate where I fly out and I love it.  I got a tofu teriyaki burrito -- broccoli, carrots, brown rice, tofu.  Delicious. 

 

My gate area was fairly full -- with 8th graders.  70 of them.  School trip.  Shoot me now? 

Then, to make it more fun, this happened: 

 

I figured between the shrieking giggling and horseplay of the 8th graders, and the two-plus hour delay, it was worth a six minute walk to terminal C to get a double -- a double of pinkberry. 

 

In the end, the kids weren't really that bad.  They were very loud and crazy in the gate area, some playing cards, some running around pushing each other in airport wheelchairs, some playing on their phones.  I was thinking the entire evening would be miserable.  We were close to boarding time and the gate was completely trashed, but one of the teachers yelled at all of them to pick up the trash, even if it wasn't theirs, and they all did.  They actually seemed to be pretty good kids.  Even the bad ones that I encountered on my way to pinkberry, who were horsing around on the moving walkways and generally being fairly rude and obnoxious, weren't really that bad. 

 

I sat next to one of the kids on the plane.  He said about a third of their class had gone, including his identical twin brother, sitting right behind us, which was kind of funny.  There were 70 of them, plus teachers.  They went to DC first for a few days (where his favorite things were the Lincoln Memorial and the museums), and then took a bus to Philly (where he was burnt out on memorials so he opted to go to Eastern State Penitentiary instead of to the Liberty Bell).  They didn't have to fundraise, but their parents paid about $1,000 per kid for the trip, which he assessed to be completely worth it.  It was fun to talk to him.  I don't hang out with kids that much, so it was an interesting conversation.  Hearing about what he wants to do when he grows up (originally, helicopter pilot, then he decided veterinarian, now he thinks surgeon), what he plans to do for the summer (work on marching band stuff, something about a snare drum, and working out), etc. 

 

I was worried they'd be as chaotic on the plane as they were in the terminal (nightmare visions of those youtube clips where they all break out in song on the plane), but they were amazingly quiet.  Most listened to music or slept, so I was happy to sleep most of the way home.

 

I was glad in a way that traffic on the way to the airport had been insanely miserable and I'd been forced to valet my car.  It meant it was right there waiting for me when I landed!  I got home well after midnight, so I ended up blowing off the 5k I had registered to do Saturday morning, but the sleep was worth it. 

 

Did I mention I don't have to work in Philly today and tomorrow this week?  That's extra awesome because one of my favorite people in the world is coming to visit today and staying with us for the week.  Happy!