The "Lesley Davies" Purse!

Maker Happy won the Lesley Davies purse Sunday, August 15th at Emerald Downs! It was 90 degrees, blue skies, the snow on Mt Rainier was twinkling...a great day with friends and family!

IronPigs, Coca-Cola Park

Many things impressed me about my visit to Coca-Cola park. First there was the fancy ticket! "Lesley Davies" felt very welcome! I was also impressed by the ticket price ($10) and the fact that I was 11 rows back right behind home plate! I was impressed that the people here are able to put "cheese sauce" on everything. I also witnessed a mom letting her little baby (that was to young to walk) drink coke, beer was only $5, and the people take the national anthem seriously. It was a charming evening.

Jim's

Once I made it to Philly proper I asked all of the locals "Pat's or Geno's?". The overwhelming response was "Neither!", instead I got a lot of recommendations for Jim's or Tony Luke's. Since I was closer to Jim's I decided to go there.

Bread: Amazing, soft, perfect

Inside: Meat was finely sliced, chopped, Cheese Whiz, peppers, grilled onions

Grease Factor: High! I had to walk about 8 blocks with it, but it soaked through the papers and the bag!

Rascals

After 9 months of no beef I decided to partake in one of Philadelphia's signature foods...the Cheese Steak. Not only was I off red meat, I don't particularly like sandwiches or cheese, but I figured when in Rome! My first encounter was at Rascals, a little steak shop connected to the Home Depot in Whitehall, PA. I have to say all things considered I was pleasantly surprised!

Bread: Fresh, slightly chewy

Inside: Meat was finely sliced and totally chopped up. American white cheese, hot peppers, and grilled onions

Grease Factor: Low

Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin, and Water Ice

I saved the Liberty Bell for my last day in Philly. The design of the building that houses the Bell is almost more interesting than the Bell itself. There were a ton of political activists outside trying to rally support for this or that as we stood in line to enter. A very kind-faced passionate young girl gave me a ribbon to "free the three hikers being held hostage in Iran"! Johnny is convinced that the hikers are spies so it was lucky that the young girl decided to move on and avoid a verbal altercation on the topic. After the Bell we made our way to an old cemetery where Ben Franklin and other colonial celebrities are burred. I have decided that I'm not a fan of graveyards, regardless of the time of day, they are just eerie! After the spooky cemetery we walked back down to South Street so I could get some Rita's Water Ice. Alex's Lemonade flavor was just what the doctor ordered to take my mind off the sticky east coast heat.