Category Archives: Sean

Oct12

Spirit of 76 Ghost tour in Philly

Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 by Dianne

It’s really hard to take photos at night, but I hope you enjoy my efforts here.

Dr. Philip Syng Physick house, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Here’s a shot of Sean listening to Emma, the tour guide down in Philadelphia last night. We walked about 1.5 miles throughout the darkened streets of the Old City area, something neither of us had done before! Here we are at Dr. Philip Syng Physick’s elegant house and she was telling us about him being the father of surgery and how some gory stuff about waiting for bodies to be disposed. It was rough back then.

Where two thousand people are buried. It looks like a park and has sidewalks. Unfortunately some homeless guys were on the benches. It’s suppose to be really haunted here. I felt a bit weird walking around here. At the far end was the stump left from the ‘Moon tree’. It was grown from a seed that went to the moon and back and planted for the Bicentennial. There is a sapling from it planted now.

Pine Street Cemetery (pretty sure) where Nicholas Cage filmed a scene from the movie ‘National Treasure’.

A quaint home on Pine Street. Not sure what home, but a witch was suppose to reside on this street centuries ago.
A trip to Philly wouldn’t be complete without a visit to The Liberty Bell!

I don’t recall seeing it in this pavilion. We didn’t get to go in any buildings or cemeteries which would have been more interesting. Independence Hall is somewhat shrouded in the front as it goes through renovation

There are still cobblestone streets. Rubber against cobblestone sounds strange

The building where we were suppose to have dinner (grabbed a slice of pizza), but I forgot it closed at 6 pm. It would have been a great place to look around as there were some stores there too.

We did park right next door.
Suppose to be the most haunted street in Philly-Pine Street. Full apparitions were spotted here.

I did see a few pinpoints of light in the two upper window (left and middle) of Carpenter’s Hall. People say they have seen a face in the first window. A few people living here heard footsteps and pounding on the walls.

If you click and enlarge, you can see the lights too.
Awesome statues:

Commander John Barry-Father of the American Navy
and
The Signer-George Clymer-signed both the Constitution and Declaration of Independence

And finally-a graveyard you just don’t see every day-St. Mary’s

Sep5

Sunset and Sustenance

Posted on Monday, September 5, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

NatlHAlex 044, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Thanks to a lady for posting her own sunset photo on Pinterest, we found Sauciety( http://www.saucietyamericangrill.com/) right on the waterfront to get our own sunset photo, a good meal and a bit of a discount on the meal! It was the restaurant below the Westin Hotel. I booked an online reservation and mentioned a code word to get 20% off the bill. Anyway, we got a glass of wine (Brian and me) which shot the price up.

The three of us chose a three course, prefixed meal and that saved a bit too. We had huge bowls of spring mix salad with raspberry vinigrette dressing, crusty bread with olive oil and some with sun dried tomatoes for dipping. Brian had salmon and asparagus:

And Sean and I had lobster ravioli:

How do you like the dishes?
And we had a creme brulee type custard for dessert

and Bri had bread pudding (not shown).
The prefixed price was about $35 each.
Us at dusk on the boardwalk:

And my favorite guys:

Sep5

All you need is Love

Posted on Monday, September 5, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

First concert-Brit Beat doing the Sargent Pepper Years, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

English Garden in front of the hotel:

Brian, Sean and me had a nice weekend down off the Potomac River at the National Harbor (also known as Oxion Hill, MD). Sean didn’t go to the concerts, but explored the little ‘boardwalk’ town and took a water taxi to Alexandria, VA. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to, but he finally made up his mind to do just go! We went there by car on Sunday and ate, shopped and walked around there.
It was a bit muggy but there was an occasional breeze off the river. The group pictured here is called ‘Brit Beat’ from Chicago. They dress and perform in four different ‘Beatle phases’. This happened to be the Sargent Pepper era. They were great. It was awesome as there were bands from all over the world! We especially liked the band called ‘Old Brown Shoe’ (from a George Harrison song) from the Netherlands. Another cute band was ‘Jukebox’ from Puerto Rico. There were some issues with waiting for bands to set up and then this one band ‘Norwegian Beatles’ didn’t play as they had equipment issues. We mostly enjoyed seeing a new place and sitting and listening to some of best known songs in the world. Some didn’t just play Beatle songs-some Rolling Stones and a few others, even the band’s original songs were tossed in the mix.
And the place we stayed, The Gaylord is the biggest non-gaming hotel on the east coast! There are 2 thousand guest rooms and at least 5 restaurants (we ate breakfast in one). They have an Olympic size pool (Sean stuck his feet in the water). If he had sat in a lounge chair right outside the pool area, he could have heard the music for free! It’s kind of hard not to hear it anyway.

More later!
By the way-used a mesh back support thing I got in a Dollar Store which helped me most of the time, but the chairs provided were metal fold up chairs-ugh.

Aug28

We survived Hurricane Irene!

Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

It’s been a tense few days, but when we woke up with power and less rain we were very happy! According to the weather people, Hurricane Irene made landfall around 5:30 am in Little Egg Harbor, NJ, south from here, about 2 hours or so away. Unfortunately, my mom lost power around 10 pm or so and they think they heard a transmitter blow. Mom is more suburban than us. We do have a little water in a few places in our basement, but very manageable. Because it didn’t rain as much as they thought, that saved us. Also we put plastic around outside. Brian and I are dopey from nerves and achy from doing stuff outside. Thank goodness he cleaned the rain gutters out more as that probably helped too. Whew!

Now to look forward to the Bruce Hornsby concert on Tuesday and the Beatlemania trip on Saturday. No more hurricanes for my last hurrah of the summer. ; )

Update: 11:14 am is history-she’s a tropical storm now!

Aug24

Us in the audience!

Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

Us in the audience!, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Sean and I did get down to see the taping of a local Philly chat show. It was lots of fun to be part of the audience. We got up at 6:30 am, left at 7:50 am and got there at 9:20 a.m.-that was close! We were some of the last people to check in, but we got to sit in the second row behind women and their kids who won a Phillies photo contest. They had added that stip on to their Facebook page and I do have some good photos of us at that smoldering game last year and Sean standing in the parking lot of the stadium. Sean tries to go to a game a year with his dad, but couldn’t afford it this year as he purchased the car. So this was a fun thing to do and he got to see the ace pitcher Cliff Lee.

I photographed these off the tv when we got home as they re-broadcast the show at 5 pm.
Who we came to see: Cliff Lee

Author and cook Cynthia Goch was on and made a few dishes-one of which was Eggplant Pizza. Here’s the recipe:

Me outside the studio with our goodies-a towel, a photo and a Chester County Women’s booklet (Sean gave his to my mom).

Aug22

For the horses

Posted on Monday, August 22, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

Well how could I not talk more about Chincoteague Island, VA? It’s a quaint little town that I’ve (well all of us) have never seen before.
I’ve always been curious about the wild ponies and I shared one of the photos of a herd we saw on the way to the beach. But we got to get up close and personal to a group of horses near the hotel that ranged in age from foal to 30! The sign said they were for sale. The tourists could buy them treats of alfalfa pellets and corn and put it in a few feeding boxes. The horses loved that! The little ones even started to fall asleep with their heads in the boxes.

One of the old mares had lost an eye this past winter. We felt so sorry for him, but he still begged for food. I think he’s in the back.

Their backs are really sunk in!
We thought this group of Mallards were comical. They apparently hang out near the horses and get the tiny pieces of treats. They were laying here resting with their headed tucked under their wings-well of course I stirred them up when I came to take their photo!

This seagull was hanging around the sliding doors of our room. Since he was so persistent, I tossed him out a Pepperidge Farm goldfish.

When he didn’t get anymore, he walked away in defeat:

We checked out and headed to the Museum of Chincoteague which just opened in April of this year. That was an interesting place! I would have loved to have some of the photos for collage. We participated in a scavenger hut to be entered in a drawing. This was a fabulous idea because we really looked at all the exhibits many times. We also got help from other guests.
These were probably the first taxidermy ponies I’ve seen (but have seen other animals in other museums). It was a bit weird to see Misty, the pony from the M. Henry book called ‘Misty of Chincoteague’. I didn’t know Ms. Henry bought Misty and she lived in Illinois for 10 years and went around to schools, etc. The other pony (darker) is Misty’s baby Stormy(both have been deceased for over 30-40 yrs).

A quilt with citizens names dated 1918!

Taxidermy duck:

Leaving Chincoteague, you see all these huge white satellite dishes. NASA has a place there! We zoomed past the museum and turned to go back.

Some fun shots of Sean:

We stopped off in Ocean City for lunch and then headed to Seashell City/Shipwreck museum in Fenwick Island, DE. This is one of those beachy gift shops I would have gone ga-ga for as a 10 yr old. They have tons of everything. I’ll show you want I bought in a later post. We always go upstairs to the ‘free’ Shipwreck Museum. The displays are so nicely done and it’s amazing what the divers find. I think some must have gotten very weathy from their finds.

Little childrens’ cups and saucers.

Dishes encrusted with coral.
Remember riding these outside of the supermarket. The dolphin is so cute!

We stopped several more times-the Rehoboth Beach outlets-went in The Gap store and got a few things; also walked around the Atlantic Book warehouse which is slowly shrinking in size. I only bought 3 books which are very nice. We ate a deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Uno and headed home. Whew! That was a long day on Thursday!
~~~~~~~~~~
Today I had to go to the eye doctor to get my eyes, mostly my right eye checked out. Both have been red, but the right one was terrible this morning. It’s inflamed and I have to use steroid drops in it for 2 weeks! I think some hair product was getting in my eye when I was asleep as I have that little bang on the right.
Sean and I will try to get down to right outside of Philadelphia to see the live taping of a local show called The 10! Show on Wednesday. You have to get there by 9:30 a.m., no small task for us. It’s about a 90 minute trip one way. Sean thought it would be a fun thing to do and a bonus for him, ace Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee is one of the guests! They are having a contest on the show’s facebook page and will pick someone tomorrow to introduce Cliff on the show. I mentioned that Sean hasn’t been able to afford to go to a game (which is true) and it would be a treat for him. Crossing fingers.

Aug19

Whirlwind of activities-part one

Posted on Friday, August 19, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

We take short vacations but really jam pack a lot of activities into that time! From stopping at our favorite sandwich place in Rehoboth Beach to seeing something new-we keep ourselves busy. When we got to Rehoboth, the sky looked like this:

It did start to rain, so we wondered into an arcade where the guys were attracted to the baseball games:

Brian has a good pitching arm from being on a team at one of his jobs. : )
Here is a sign to tell you about Rehoboth. Both Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb have ties (Kathie Lee’s parents parents had an inn there and Hoda’s mom recently bought a place there-they just had an episode there a few weeks ago)

Of the various beaches we visit, I love the little stores that line this area the best. Isn’t this a pretty pavillion?

We then hopped in the car (the rain was steadier then) and headed to Ocean City. It’s about 30 miles just to get to the outskirts of Ocean City, Maryland. We were staying on 13th and it starts about block 150.
Sean picked out this place and paid for one night. It was a good location, but we had a small room with double beds. I judged from the bathroom tiles it was built in the 1950s (as was the first apartment we lived in that had similar ones) and I was right-1954!

BEACH PLAZA HOTEL– Built in 1954 by Ethel Griffin Kelley and her son Harry Kelley, a former mayor of Ocean City. Richard Nixon and his family spent many vacations here. Bryce and Shirley Phillips have owned and operated the hotel since 1970.

They are renovating it and the lobby and restaurant are very lovely.

I’m not sure what the story is behind these ostriches on the front porch. There were plenty of rocking chairs to enjoy the beach scene too.

How clever was it to make the porch tables out of old Singer sewing machine tables?

We went down to check out the beach. Right before this photo was taken, a big wave came up and splashed my newly changed pants. What a shock!

That night we walked about 10 blocks! Whew! We had a pizza dinner that wasn’t too great and then Brian and I stayed in and Sean went to the young people’s night club. He rolled in about 1:30 am as he had to take a bus to the place. We finally got to enjoy some beach time on Wednesday. I’ll continue in another post.

Jul19

Ina is mine!

Posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

Yes, we did purchase ‘Ina’ and brought her home last night. It’s such a fun car and a treat for me! I decided on Ina as she is ‘Inca Gold’ and there is a chef named Ina Garten on the Food Network. I have always liked her, so Ina it is! I just hope people don’t call her the ‘mustard mobile’ or as I read in an article from 2002 (on the web), the ‘line down the road’. It’s a lovely metallic gold. I decided to order a few needed items-like floor mats (the ‘original’ ones were gone), some cleaner that will get rid of the haze on the lights (I hope) and a novelty plate that says ‘PT Cruiser’ on the front. And a little gold PT cruiser on a keychain (thanks to eBay for the last two). : )

The PT Cruiser is and was more than a car, it was a testament to the history of the automobile brought back to life with all the amenities of a modern car with the retro look and styling of a car from the 1930’s. Customizable in almost any way conceivable these cars brought people all over the world together who loved the cars in groups all over the United States….How many modern vehicles are allowed into a classic car show? Only 1 I have ever seen is the PT and people in the car shows flock to them. By Brian Connelly-Facebook group

Sean’s car was owned by a 90 yr old name from the Manhattan area. Apparently ‘Gramps’ backed into a garage and did a number on his back bumper. Sean will probably get an estimate to get it fixed or maybe even replaced. It is in great shape other than that and only 42k miles on the odometer, can’t beat that.
A freaky thing happened last night-Brian decided to look at all the fluid levels under Ina’s hood and when he took off the power steering cap it slipped out of his hand to under the engine someplace. He could not see it and of course I’m not going the duct tape route forever! I called a Chrysler dealership about 45 minutes away and ordered one that will be in tomorrow ($22!). I’m thinking Bri should get it as he’s only 15 minutes away and I hate to go all the way there in this heat. We’ll see. I haven’t seen my mom for a few weeks now and we want to show my brother Sean’s car to see what he says about the bumper. His son may be able to sand it and paint it-he’s really good at that.
That’s my life these past few days-all centered around cars. I pray both cars will be fine as you never know when you buy a used car. Bri felt bad about his car being turned in (we had just paid $400+ for inspection, a fix and a new tire). Sean said he was ready to turn his in. That’s the car that took him back and worth to Penn State and I’ll always remember how glad I was when I heard him set the alarm (it was quite loud) when he came home for a visit. I’m feeling mushy right right.
Dinner is turkey meatloaf with honey bbq sauce and bacon (my own recipe), baby zucchini (bought-mine are not quite ready) and tator tots! Love those tots. : )

Jul16

I treated myself

Posted on Saturday, July 16, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

Longwood Gardens Perfume, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

When I walked around Longwood yesterday, I felt so good I decided to treat myself to their custom made perfume called ‘Always in Bloom’. I was pleased to have dropped a few pounds as I wasn’t all hot and tired like I usually am when I go. It is heavy with a Lily of the Valley scent.
Today we went to a car dealership in Delaware as Sean saw a Taurus he liked, so I went along too as they had a car I have loved since the first time I saw it. Sean test drove the car and even though the bumper is a bit scratched up, the mileage was low and he got it for a great price. My nephew is into detailing stuff and is redoing a vintage Ford Falcon, so maybe he can buff out the scratches.
Here he is with his new ride:

I took one look at the 2002 PT Cruiser and went gaga! It’s a metallic gold, white leather seats with gold trim, tinted windows and low mileage! It’s only 4 cylinder, but I don’t drive around that much. Brian would trade in his 2000 Taurus and use the Mariner. : ) It’s called a ‘Dream Cruiser’ and only 7,500 of this series. Do you like it?

It’s not set in stone that I am buying it. We have another car payment already, but I really like it. ; )

Jul1

Red as a rose and other things

Posted on Friday, July 1, 2011 by Dianne

Standard

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today I had lunch with my high school pal Heather. We get together now and then which is nice. I so enjoy talking to ladies my own age instead of just men or my mom. Goes to show that many of my good friends are around my age. I have friends in their late 30s and I tell them I’m kinda like an auntie, but we share many of the same interests. : )
Sean went along for the ride, dropped me off and Heather and I went in PF Chang’s for lunch. Afterwards, Sean and I strolled along in some high priced stores (I check out the sales or sale rooms-but got nothing today). We then went over to Home Goods and I got some new towels, tea and a few little things. That fancy shamancy gardening place had a sale-actually what the sale price is should be their real prices-lol. I got some hot pink phlox in a big pot. When I got home I noticed it had powdery mildew on it. I know that is common with phlox, but should I wipe it off? I let Sean pick it out while I waited at the register, so I didn’t see it until I got home-not a good move. I think the gardening is continuing all summer here. I am really pleased with how my gardens are coming along. I would like to mulch the veggie garden as it looks really dry.
No big plans for the 4th-my oldest brother is turning 57! Wow! ; )