John Fischer's Philadelphia
Vol. 1 - Number 15 - 06/28/99
I don't know about you, but it was non-stop for me this weekend. My wife's sisters Chris and Ann and Ann's twins Nico and Isa came to visit.
"Isa" - photo by John Fischer
Ann lives in El Paso, Texas and is visiting the family in Connecticut for a few weeks. Chris and Ann decided to drive down to Philly for the weekend.
Our guests were not expecting to arrive until late Saturday, so I was able to attend the 3rd round of the LPGA yesterday in Wilmington. The heat and humidity were oppressive all weekend, but nowhere more than on the golf course. I have never been so hot in my life. After about 5 hours, I was thoroughly cooked, so it was time for me to head home. Our guests had just arrived when I walked in the house at around 4:30 p.m..
"Nico" - photo by John Fischer
After dinner we watched the Drew Barrymore film, Ever After. For any of you who have doubts that Drew Barrymore is a really good actress, you should see this film. It is a new look at the Cinderella story but done in a very refreshing and romantic way.
Sunday was our really busy day. In the morning the whole gang went to the Philadelphia Zoo. Ann belongs to the El Paso Zoo and has a pass that allows her, a guest and her twins into the Philadelphia Zoo as part of the zoo reciprocal program. My wife, Eileen and I, are members of the Philadelphia Zoo, so we were all able to get into the Peco Primate Preserve before the official opening on Wednesday.
We'll be doing a feature on the new Primate Reserve on Wednesday to mark the official opening. We'll have lots of photos, so be sure to check back on Wednesday. If you're not a member of the Philadelphia Zoo, you really should consider membership. It allows you to visit some of the best zoos in the country for free when you travel, including the National Zoo in Washington, D.C..
After a morning at the zoo, the rest of the family headed off to do some shopping, while I headed downtown to catch some of the day's Suncoco Welcome America! celebration. Today was the Native American Ceremony & Celebration on Chestnut Street.
I arrived in time to watch the hand drum contest, which I enjoyed quite a bit. The turnout was less than I would have expected.
It seems like the big crowds had gathered at Penn's Landing for the Irish Festival. There was a really big showing of the green on Penn's Landing with lots of great Irish music, food and plenty to drink.
I was there in time to hear the band Hooligans perform. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay long enough to hear the local favorite Irish band, Blackthorn, perform.
After dinner on Sunday, my wife's other sister Joan and her friend Greg stopped by for a bit. They are on their way to Corpus Christi, Texas for a vacation.
It's really a shame that the heat and humidity on Sunday were even worse than on Saturday and the forecast for the next few days is not much better.
Well, that was my weekend. I hope that yours was great! Let me hear from you.You can join me in our chat room almost every evening - Phalli Chat - or drop me a note at Philadelphia.guide@about.com. Also, be sure to check out our new Philadelphia Forum where you can share your comments and feelings, ask questions, post classifieds and much more.
If you missed any of our recent columns you can still catch them:
John Fischer's
Philadelphia 06/16/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 06/18/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 06/21/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 06/23/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 06/25/99
