Road Trip and Rites of Spring
Two things in my life are a sure sign that Spring is really, really here -- the trek to the Philadelphia Flower Show and the switch to Daylight Savings Time (why?). I can't be certain -- but I think that 2011 marks the first time the two have coincided. Maybe that's why the van ride with five friends felt so special this time.
Even though it's always the same.
We meet at someone's home at 8am for breakfast, pack food and reading material into the van for the drive north, stop at a Delaware welcome center for bathroom break and coffee, arrive at the Philadelphia Convention Center just before noon, tour the show, spend time in the cramped Reading Terminal Market and then lunch at Maggianos. And then drive south. (I-95 is a wonderful thing)
But this year felt different -- last year we were all in a sad state -- but trying hard to be cheerful -- because of the organizer's pancreatic cancer diagnosis. This year we were celebrating that she's still with us, a happy spirit and able to make the trip and looking as healthy as ever.
This year's flower show theme was Paris. I didn't exactly feel "Paris" coming from the exhibitions, but the flowers were more exquisite than last year. My discovery this year was not floral at all, but a frappe vino sample -- which was enough for me to buy something the vendor sold as "a party in a bag."
This year felt different -- because someone finally uttered the words that I'd been thinking for several years now. Why drive all the way to Philly to have a meal at Maggianos???
It wasn't always that way. The ritual meal used to be a steak and cheese from some famous joint on South Street. Somewhere along the way -- between the decades and the realization that greasy, cheesy sandwiches and fried onion rings were not really enhancing our physical well being -- we stopped.
The sandwich run was replaced by the late lunch-early dinner at the chain restaurant directly across the street from the market and just a block from the convention center. I suspect, though no one ever discussed it with me, that the change had something to do with the change in our own decades and an increasing desire for comfort and convenience. Why drive to another location and look for more parking and possibly encounter stuff that has to be dealt with when you can just park once and be done?
I'm ready for change again, next time instead of comfort I'd like to go for a really remarkable, memorable meal. I want to go to the Iron Chef guy's restaurant. A colleague highly recommends this tapas bar. I can picture my gal pals there sharing laughs and life over tapas and many glasses of wine and starting a new ritual.
 |
| 2011 Flower Show Crew |
Even though it's always the same.
We meet at someone's home at 8am for breakfast, pack food and reading material into the van for the drive north, stop at a Delaware welcome center for bathroom break and coffee, arrive at the Philadelphia Convention Center just before noon, tour the show, spend time in the cramped Reading Terminal Market and then lunch at Maggianos. And then drive south. (I-95 is a wonderful thing)
But this year felt different -- last year we were all in a sad state -- but trying hard to be cheerful -- because of the organizer's pancreatic cancer diagnosis. This year we were celebrating that she's still with us, a happy spirit and able to make the trip and looking as healthy as ever.
This year's flower show theme was Paris. I didn't exactly feel "Paris" coming from the exhibitions, but the flowers were more exquisite than last year. My discovery this year was not floral at all, but a frappe vino sample -- which was enough for me to buy something the vendor sold as "a party in a bag."
This year felt different -- because someone finally uttered the words that I'd been thinking for several years now. Why drive all the way to Philly to have a meal at Maggianos???
It wasn't always that way. The ritual meal used to be a steak and cheese from some famous joint on South Street. Somewhere along the way -- between the decades and the realization that greasy, cheesy sandwiches and fried onion rings were not really enhancing our physical well being -- we stopped.
 |
| Another meal at Maggiano's |
I'm ready for change again, next time instead of comfort I'd like to go for a really remarkable, memorable meal. I want to go to the Iron Chef guy's restaurant. A colleague highly recommends this tapas bar. I can picture my gal pals there sharing laughs and life over tapas and many glasses of wine and starting a new ritual.
Comments
Post a Comment