Trip Part 2.5: Philly's Spoke Problem

We were only in Philadelphia for a full day and some change by the time our late train (three hours late) got in and we had to catch our next one to Connecticut. We had a pleasant trip visiting Keith's cousins and staying with his aunt and uncle.

While in The City of Brotherly Love, we used the local rail system to get to and from the Amtrak station and downtown. It was pretty much like any other public rail system, but we found out from the cousins that they have a similar "wheel spokes" problem as the Cedar Rapids bus routes. They do have buses that help offset the problem and they allow full size bikes on the trains during off-peak hours. Folding bikes are always allowed!

The big negative was the cost. Off-peak, one-way rides from our "hotel" to the center of the city were $4.25 per person and peak, one-way rides were $5. Obviously people making this commute frequently would buy a month pass, but as a tourist it was more expensive than I had anticipated.

One of the great "green" things about our Philly trip was wandering around the downtown area and finding a great local ice cream shop, called Franklin Ice Cream or Franklin Fountain, that used bio-compostable spoons and garbage bags. They had really good ice cream and an untouristy, but historic appeal. I believe it is located on Market St. near the river. As we walked back from the river on Market St., we found The Big Green Earth Store and stopped in. They seemed relatively new and their website isn't quite up yet, but it would be great to see them grow and expand. The guy behind the counter was very friendly and informative. I loved that he wasn't overbearing with other customers that had stopped in to check out being green. The store had decorative and functional items including recycled glass bowls, recycled cardboard wall designs, bicycle chain frames and bowls, recycled dinnerware, cleaning supplies, home fragrances, solar backpacks, reusable bags, I could go on. They even had a laundry detergent refilling station which Keith dubbed The Vat. The idea is that you can bring in any container and fill it up with detergent, then pay for how much you take. You reuse containers and prevent more containers from entering the landfills.

Our Pennsylvania portion of the trip was short, but extremely fun and well worth the stop. Good luck to The Big Green Earth Store, and cheers for public transit that runs on time!