Flags - Allentown / Asbury Park

Flags (Allentown) - Pennsylvania  2018

Flags (Asbury Park) - New Jersey  2018

Once again, as in past holidays, I found some older flag-themed pix on my external hard drive.

Cuchifrito

Cuchifrito Restaurant (Allentown) - Pennsylvania  2018

 We had to try it. Around the corner and across the street from our upscale Allentown hotel. Lots of takeout orders. Hali and I had rib stew (pork) which was quite good. Dan had tripe . . . by mistake. He didn't like it.

"Cuchifrito" refers to Puerto Rican cuisine. I don't think we knew that. "Aqui Me Quedo" translates as "Here I'll Stay."

Civil War Monuments

Towanda Memorial - Pennsylvania  2018

Towanda Memorial - Pennsylvania  2018

The memorial in Towanda was dedicated in 1901. Inscription at base:

"In memory of the soldiers and sailors of Bradford Co. who defended their country in the War of the Rebellion 1861 to 1865."

The one in Allentown was erected in 1899. 

"On June 26, 1899 the cornerstone was laid. Taking part in the services was Rev. Stephen Albion Repass, the pastor of Allentown's St. John's Lutheran Church, and a former Confederate veteran who had fought and was captured at Gettysburg. He was one of the few members of Picketts's charge to make it over the fabled stonewall, later known as the high water mark of the Confederacy."

Allentown Memorial AM - Pennsylvania  2018

Barnes Museum Exterior / Interior

Barnes Museum Exterior (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Barnes Museum Interior (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

The history of the Barnes Foundation is quite interesting, containing as it does stories of the eccentric founder, disputatious lawsuits and more.

The architecture is nicely minimalistic with a slightly Japanese esthetic. Again, like at the Corning Museum, Mike was more interested in the overall design of the museum than in the actual artworks being displayed, as probably should not have happened.

Barnes Museum Leaves (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Barnes Museum Visitor (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Philadelphia (Cheese Steaks)

Steve's (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Barry's (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

We took a day trip from Allentown to Philadelphia. Parked downtown and visited the Reading Market, a Pikes Place-type foodie destination. Spent some time walking around but didn’t get anything, other than some doughnuts that Dan bought.

Our two main goals were to sample a selection of Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches and to visit the famous Barnes Museum. So, first the sandwiches. We sampled three places: Steve’s, Barry’s, and Dalessandro’s. All the offerings were good, with perhaps a tie beween Barry’s and Dalessandro’s for first place. Third place goes to Steve’s, because they use pressed meat (we preferred chopped.)

[UPDATE:  But as Hali says (in the comments): "I do think the roll at Steve's was the best. Crunchy crust, soft interior."]

Dalessandro's (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Cheesesteak Condiments (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Stacks - 2

Abandoned Building (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

Brick Wall, Vines (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

The “Stacks” are now a popular entertainment venue! Also, there was a half-marathon being run when we were there, complete with loud announcements and rock ‘n roll music.

Another cold, windy morning, so we weren’t able to stay for long.

Stacks - 1

Blast Furnace (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

Number Six (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

Large abandoned industrial structures, left to rust away, trees and vines taking root here and there in the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces. A pathway complete with interpretive signs parallels the vacant factories. Quite impressive!

Allentown . . .

View from Hotel (Allentown) - Pennsylvania  2018

Street (Allentown) - Pennsylvania  2018

. . . had the nicest hotel of our trip (the Renaissance), but in a slightly dicey location. We had picked Allentown as a somewhat central spot, hoping to visit old steel mills, Philadelphia and possibly some rural areas. So, we didn’t spend that much time in Allentown, leaving in the morning and coming back at night.

New Year's Day - Pennsylvania Overlook

Farm, Susquehanna River - Pennsylvania  2018

Taken from the only scenic overlook of our trip.

Happy New Year!

Towanda

Main Street (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

Storefronts (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

Giveaway (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

As we were driving from Ithaca to Allentown, the next stop on our East Coast tour, a sudden attack of acute hunger led to a stop in Towanda, Pennsylvania. As we walked down the uncrowded main street of town we noticed quite a few vacant storefronts. Someone had spruced the blank windows up with Halloween art. News reports attribute the town’s economic plight to the local decline of the fracking industry.

We ended up eating at Vincents Pizza: the pizza was quite respectable!

Vincents Pizza (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum, Exterior - Pennsylvania  2018

Corning Museum, Interior - Pennsylvania  2018

We left Ithaca after visiting the local Farmers Market in heavy rain, then drove to Corning, Pennsylvania to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. For some reason, Mike was more interested in the architecture of the museum building than he was in the exhibits. Next time he’ll pay more attention to the art! There’s a nearby Norman Rockwell museum as well that might be worth seeing.

Also of interest: during a glass-blowing demonstration the narration was spoken by two ladies, one in English and the other in Mandarin.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows - Pennsylvania  2018

We spotted these cows while driving off the main highway down a random side road. I managed to find a spot to pull over and Dan and I got out to take some photos.

For some reason this was the first and last time during the trip to acquire any cow pix, or actual farm pix for that matter. I managed to take some from-the-car photos while speeding back to our Allentown hotel, though.

Barn, Milk's Got More - Pennsylvania  2018