Philadelphia + Pennsylvania : To Lancaster we go

Ep.44

“Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!” - Albert Einstein.

JFK – New York, United States of America.

26^th-29^th April 2012.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Little Jade’s time! Remember my little cousin Jade? She just turned 8 at the 7^th of April and Cici Ella is going to come and celebrate with her this time. As soon as I got my roster out, I messaged my Aunt to jot out my visit’s itinerary (as always). It’s good to have family somewhere else in this world, especially if you got this job. So, here I am, ready for my family time in JFK flight.

My Nachos Cheese

It was rather a unique flight of mine. I was work in economy class and surprisingly, I was the only girl in the whole economy cabin, working along with 5 guys. Shortly, they helped me a lot in lifting and pushing the heavy carts and drawers. One of them was Indonesian senior (perfect!), and they really made my 16 hours flight felt easy. Most of any other crew would say that North American flight is too long and tiring, but in my opinion, I guess it could be managed by your mind set and devotion as well as motivation. After 16 hours, I arrived in New York at around 10 pm already. This flight number that I operate just changed the crew hotel into another hotel in downtown Manhattan. I checked in and proceed to my room. As I already well prepared for this trip for such a long time (I have been waiting my JFK roster), I was just cleaning up myself and go straight to bed after checking the earliest greyhound bus schedule to Philadelphia next morning. (Lucky me, I got no problem with fellow jet lag).

Go! Attack!

I woke up at 7am, contacting my Auntie to confirm my estimated time of arrival in Philadelphia Chinatown’s greyhound bus station, and it was set that my Uncle will pick me up as Jade would be still in school and my Aunt would be still at work. In my suitcase, I got few pieces of clothes and a big Teddy Bear! (recalling…flashback) I did asked my aunt about Jade’s preference for a birthday present. She said hat she would love a stuffed animal, as long as its not a characterized Doll (unique girl). So I bought her a BIG Teddy Bear for her. (back in track) I went down to the lobby with my big suitcase and asked for direction to Port Authority Station (where greyhound station would be located). The minutes I stepped out from the building was another story. Come on! it was April already, it was supposed to be spring! And what? It was 9-11°C! And (wait…the best part is yet to come) Philadelphia is 2°C colder than New York. Love it!

when virgin Mary got the message from angel

I walked to my left for a few blocks. 1…2…3…4… I guess it was 4 blocks to my left and I reached Port Authority Station at the 42^nd St. I went inside the building, down to the basement and there it was, the ticketing center of Greyhound. I dragged my suitcase and bought a one-way (USD 20) ticket to Philadelphia, which will depart at 8 am. Well, I will just queue up the line and wait, I decided. I bought myself a bag of tortilla chips and tried so hard to get wi fi connection within the station as I should inform my uncle about my ETA update. When the bus came (on time), I was just amazed and almost shriek out my excitement. The bus got free wi fi in it and a personal power socket in every seat. Well, how great was that? I plunged myself in the coziest seat (according me) and start my browsing time. Oops! Mail my uncle to pick me up at 10 am in Chinatown. It took 2 hours ride from NY to Phila. And within 2 hours, with browsing, it felt like 20 minutes only.

Indoor Japanese garden

I stepped out the bus and felt the urge to buy a box of Nachos with cheese dip for USD 4.5. (I am such a snackie person! No wonder I got Fat!) and by the time I sat down, my uncle was already there. It has been a long time since I got involved in a private conversation with my uncle like this. We talked about pretty much everything, he told me stories and history behind Phila and did I mention that the whole Tirtakusumas is a baseball lover and they got the tickets for us to go and watch it tonight. So pretty much it would be worth to look forward to. After filling my pampered tummy with a box of nachos, we went to visit a Chinese medicine store and bought some packs of medicine (gramp’s order) and as Ko Mike needed to submit something to the church so we went to the church and do the stuffs.

i'm Rocky wannabe

The morning itinerary was decided by Ko Mike that we were going to visit the Philadelphia Art Museum (admission fee USD 16). That month, they featured Van Gogh artworks. I love museum, it was just like traveling back to the past and wonder how, without technology, they could achieve more than us. The Museum itself divided into few sections, Asian, Soldiers and Artillery, Weapons, American History, Middle East and European. They also got Silverware, Statuette, Large Painting, Doors, and an indoor Japanese Garden, all in one place. I got my personal photographer here and it seems that my photographer is fond of taking even more and more picture as he directed where should I stand and why should I took that as my backdrop. Hehehe! There was always a reason behind a good picture, I guess. We stepped out from the Museum to take a picture of the whole building, walked to the side to take a picture of Rocky (old film by Sylvester Stallone). WOW! So it was in Philadelphia that Rocky took his routine jogging every morning.

don't eat a misteak

Got shivered by the cold, we went back and finished our tour around the museum. Stupid me, I was so into spring attire that I got my thin clothing all over me. To warm up my body, I need some food, some really good one. (FAT!) Ko Mike drove us to Pat’s Phili Steak. What about Phili Steak? It’s a traditional shredded beef served in a bun just like burgers with a lot of cheese and other toppings that you can choose by your own. There are two major competitive Phili Steak diner here in Philadelphia, Pat’s and Geno’s. One is owned by Italian family and another one by Americans. We decided to eat at the Pat’s and I hate that they don’t have indoors diner as it was damn cold outside. Aside from the Phili cheese steak (with extra cheese, topped with mustard and tomato ketchup…slurp!) that we ordered, Ko Mike also bought a cup of fries with cheese melt on top. He knows that cheese is my basic needs of food, I guess, at least I LOVE cheese to death and it was really touchy that he still remember.

baseball game!

Ko Mike droves back to home as he definitely rushed to pick me up this morning and left the house in hurry. He let me warmed up myself and rest a bit as he will just do his stuffs and we will pick my aunty and Jade at 3 pm. I decided to arrange the Big Teddy in Jade’s bed to surprise her when she got home. I did hope that she would find it fascinating. We picked my auntie in her working place few blocks from the house (not to forget to snatch my auntie’s jacket before I leave the house) and picked Jade up at the day care. She hugged me the minute she saw me and blabbed out her own arranged itinerary for us. For the time being, I will just follow the flow.

Jade and Tutti

Next thing to do was, monthly groceries shopping. So there was I, shopping for the monthly necessity of my auntie’s household (yeah! I feel like a local Americans). Trolleys and lots of stuffs, such as Jade’s breakfast, detergent, dairy product, vitamins, chocolate whipped cream, snacks, soap, shampoo and all of those kinds of things. After we threw (well, we fit it in properly) them all in the car trunk, we were ready for the baseball game on 7pm. We came back home and Jade found her Teddy on the bed and you can tell whether she’s happy or not by looking at the picture. Haha!

Baseball game tickets

We got ourselves in the car, ready for the Baseball game. It was the game of Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs that will took place in Citizen Bank Park. It took like 20 minutes by train to get there (as we don’t want to be trapped in the parking area looking for a free lot, we decided to take the train instead). As the matter of fact, I understand NOTHING, none, zero, nil about baseball. The only thing I know was that it was a game play by 9 people each team on a diamond shape field. Ha-ha! 

waiting for the game!

So, here it is, my aunt, Ii Patty and Ko Mike gave me a drill quick tutorial of baseball rules and game plan, and surprisingly, it was quite easy to understand. The aimThe main idea is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of the diamond. Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning and nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

super windy super chilly!

Surprisingly, I found it interesting to watch a baseball game. As Phillies losing, Jade’s got bored in the middle of the game and asked if we can leave early. I am quite curious about how the game would end, but considering the flow of the spectators after the game, I would be agree with little Jade. (Actually, it was God damned cold and chilly up there that I could stand it too long. We were at the tribune sitting and I could saw some people brought along their flannel quilt to watch a baseball game, what a view). We walked out the stadium after the 6^th inning, half-way through the game, and headed home. We got the family time dinner at home, chit chat and I got my pillow talk with my aunt. I slept in the room with my aunt and Jade (as she insist to sleep with me) and Ko Mike sleep at another bedroom.

let's ride on a train

The next day start our activity with a healthy breakfast, Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing (are you sure it was healthy?). What would we do for today’s itinerary? Road trip to Lancaster, the amish village. It was Jade’s itinerary. So we set off from the house at around 9 am. It was a nice 1.5 hour drive away from Philadelphia. Highway here in USA is much different from either Hong Kong or even Indonesia. Much more peaceful. Ha-ha! So here we are! Lancaster County are America's oldest Amish settlement, where thousands still live a centuries-old "Plain" lifestyle. Imagine, in the year of 2012, there were still people who lives their life in simplicity, the horse & buggy remains a primary form of transportation, and where windmills dot the landscape, providing power harnessed from nature. Not to mention, they do not use electricity and machine, the girls and woman stay make up-less and all of their clothing were hand made. They do carpentry and quilt sewing for living. Always a vital part of Lancaster County culture, the PA Amish are involved in agriculture as well as an array of businesses and cottage industries. It amazed me how in 2012 I got a chance to see it for real a tradition in the major BIG city like America.

Choo Choo Barn USA.

We made a stop to grab our lunch in a restaurant called Cracker and Barrel, an amish traditional restaurant. All the way, Ii Patty and Ko Mike keep telling me the stories of Amish people (I think they knew it right from the start that I am gonna love it, that’s why they brought me there…I am such a lucky girl!). I ordered myself a pan seared fish with one carbo side and three (repeat: THREE) veggie side dish. Oh I’m a fatso! We set of to the train station, as train is the most reputable transportation here in Lancaster. Unfortunately, we missed the train and since I didn’t want to waste any minute, I decided to proceed to the next destination on Jade’s list. She wants to take me to the Choo Choo Barn. Choo Choo Barn features more than 1,700 square feet of special model train displays with more than 150 hand-built animated figures & vehicles, and 22 operating trains. The layout represents many Lancaster sights and sounds, such as an authentic Amish barn raising, Dutch Wonderland and the Strasburg Rail Road. From the baseball game to the circus, from the zoo to the operating quarry, I guarantee you've never seen anything like the Choo Choo Barn!

Amazing toy-train

It might looks like a place for kids, but remember that I am a BIG kid. And I love it! It was just a huge diorama of a countryside with its life style capture in it. Such a piece of art. The admission fee was USD 7 for adult and USD 4 for kids. It was only Jade and me that enters the place and we had a great time together. She was just adorable. After spending sometime in the barn, it’s shopping time. Weather? Still chilly! I even borrowed Ii’s winter coat. We went to a mall (the mall here is not in a form of building, mark it down), where hundreds of shops and outlets open. And as always, time flies while you were shopping. Around 4-5pm, we were back in the car already, heading to Jade’s next to do list. (Here’s the best part) She wants to brought me to D&B Game Arcade Center. Splendid! You even know that your big cousins love to play in a gaming arcade. Ha-ha!

Baseball girls

D&B located not so far from the Citizen Banks Park (last night stadium). It was a building where you cant hang out, play and have some fun. Restaurant, Arcade games and Pool game tables were there. I guess it was a really cool place for young Americans to hang out. Frankly speaking, it was more like Timezone in Jakarta, just much more cool. We charged up our powercard and start to play. Jade was like any other kids, jump around from one machine to another, Ko Mike was always by her side. As me and Ii Patty? We got our concentration fully attached to this coin machine, the one in which you have to lide in your coins and make it jammed with other coins and when those coins in the edge fell down, you got the tickets. Well, look who’s the kid here and who enjoys more, and I think it was in our blood anyway. Hahaha. In the end, we weight our tickets, 2 big cups of them, and we could choose the prize. Jade gave me a D&B tumbler and she got herself a stuffed sheep (she named it Sandy) some toys and a lip gloss. Oh my God! After all, she was just a kid.

me + laura bunny

Tired, we got back to home and rest as soon as possible as the next day afternoon I have to be in New York already and operate back to Hong Kong. What a life! The next day, at 8 am, Ii Patty, Ko Mike and Jade drove me back to NY. We made a stop in the highway to get some coffee and by the time of 10 am, we were there back in my crew hotel in NY. There was a touchy moment when Jade said that she will miss me and doesn’t want me to leave yet. But she is a smart girl, I explained to her that I got something to do, I’ve got to work and will visit her soon and she understands. I just hope that every visit that I made would be memorable for her (in a good way of course).

Indian pose!

After a full itinerary of Philadelphia and Lancaster trip, I operate back to HK working like a zombie for the last few hours. Hahaha. Worth the trip. Anyway, I love to operate JFK flight, cause I got family there to visit. Those who will always back me up and hear my stories, those who took care of me when I was a child and taught me everything about how to become a good person (well, Ii Patty is my first English teacher). And in their eyes, I will always a little niece of them! Ah! Jade named the Teddy bear Tutti, from tutti fruity, she said. Haha. Be there again soon, Jade!

“I don’t care how poor a man is, if he has family, he’s rich.” – Me.