Happy new year!
Hello again! We're back for the new year and ready to rumble.
With much ground to cover since our last update, I'll start with The Nutcracker. Maria had a great time performing this year, and we were fortunate to benefit from some very generous carpool coverage, which meant we were down in the city quite a bit less often than 13 performances in 18 days would suggest. Even so, we did have to venture into town a few times to get our girl. Anna and I made the trip one day by train, and that seems like a fine place to start reviewing how we spent our winter vacation.
Anna loves taking the train. Absolutely loves it. On this occasion, we barely made our train because it came in on the wrong side of the tracks; evidently there was some construction nearby and the inbound trains were arriving on the outbound side of the station. We had to run through the tunnel beneath the tracks and clamber aboard with only a moment to spare. Anna and I then passed the time by taking lots of pictures of her making funny faces:
When we arrived in town, we exited the train at Market East and started walking through the underground concourse toward the Academy of Music. Did you know that you can in fact get from 11th and Market to Broad and Locust without going aboveground? The wayfinding signs are a little scattershot, and the tunnels could use a little freshening up, to say the least, but it's an easy way to get around when there is snow and rain up top.
We found Maria in the green room at the Academy and went back underground to return to Market East. Along the way, we stopped in the SEPTA Transit Museum and checked out the restored vintage streetcar trolley they have on display:
We had to wait a while at Market East for a train:
And when we got aboard, we found it was standing room only, though we were able to sneak into a seat:
The girls passed the time by playing a game on my Blackberry. Look at all that blonde hair... and it's not even summertime:
Gentle readers, we have so very many photos to share with you in the days ahead - snowstorm, Christmas, New Year's, and everything in between. I want to thank you again for your continued interest. It's great fun writing and snapping photos for you. Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2010.
With much ground to cover since our last update, I'll start with The Nutcracker. Maria had a great time performing this year, and we were fortunate to benefit from some very generous carpool coverage, which meant we were down in the city quite a bit less often than 13 performances in 18 days would suggest. Even so, we did have to venture into town a few times to get our girl. Anna and I made the trip one day by train, and that seems like a fine place to start reviewing how we spent our winter vacation.
Anna loves taking the train. Absolutely loves it. On this occasion, we barely made our train because it came in on the wrong side of the tracks; evidently there was some construction nearby and the inbound trains were arriving on the outbound side of the station. We had to run through the tunnel beneath the tracks and clamber aboard with only a moment to spare. Anna and I then passed the time by taking lots of pictures of her making funny faces:
When we arrived in town, we exited the train at Market East and started walking through the underground concourse toward the Academy of Music. Did you know that you can in fact get from 11th and Market to Broad and Locust without going aboveground? The wayfinding signs are a little scattershot, and the tunnels could use a little freshening up, to say the least, but it's an easy way to get around when there is snow and rain up top.
We found Maria in the green room at the Academy and went back underground to return to Market East. Along the way, we stopped in the SEPTA Transit Museum and checked out the restored vintage streetcar trolley they have on display:
We had to wait a while at Market East for a train:
And when we got aboard, we found it was standing room only, though we were able to sneak into a seat:
The girls passed the time by playing a game on my Blackberry. Look at all that blonde hair... and it's not even summertime:
Gentle readers, we have so very many photos to share with you in the days ahead - snowstorm, Christmas, New Year's, and everything in between. I want to thank you again for your continued interest. It's great fun writing and snapping photos for you. Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2010.
