Post COVID Conference in Philadelphia

During 2020 & 2021 most big gatherings were changed to virtual due to the pandemic. With improved COVID conditions, Ray decided to attend an in-person medical conference organized by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Neither Ray nor Traci had ever visited Philadelphia before and looked forward to learning more about America’s political birthplace.

After flying from Seattle to Philadelphia on Alaska Airlines, Ray and Traci boarded the SEPTA rail car at the airport and 5 stops later found themselves at the Jefferson Station in downtown Philadelphia, less than a block away from their hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. Their hotel was located above the Philadelphia Convention Center parking garage, was centrally located for tourists, and provided a spacious well furnished and organized clean room. The biggest deficiency was the lack of an in-room safe – Ray couldn’t remember the last time he was in a hotel without room safes. Like many similar class hotels, housekeeping was limited and didn’t service the room until after Ray and Traci departed Philadelphia. With a microwave, small refrigerator, and lots of storage areas, the Garden Inn was a great place to stay.

After settling in, Ray and Traci ventured into the neighboring Chinatown to a ramen shop called Terakawa Ramen. Although the online waiting list projected a 30 minute wait, Ray and Traci ended up waiting an hour to dine. In the intervening time, they walked to nearby Franklin Square – one of Philadelphia’s original five squares. This park held a carousel, a collection of colorful art, and a water fountain much like a miniature version of Las Vegas’ Fountains of Bellagio. Every thirty minutes music accompanies a show of shooting water from moving jets. 

The travelers left the beautiful park and entered Terakawa Ramen for dinner – the restaurant was tiny, but you could see even on a Sunday night that there were many take out orders being prepared by the 6 cooks working on the opposite side of the counter. Ray enjoyed shrimp tempura udon and a side of chicken karaage while Traci had Hiyashi Chyuka (cold ramen) with an appetizer of chicken served on a bun. The food was excellent as a crowded restaurant at 9:30 on a Sunday night would suggest.

Walking around Philadelphia, one sees the usual social problems of big cities including homeless living on the streets. Philadelphia has its share of violent crime – a mass shooting of 15 people occurred the evening before Ray and Traci arrived. The grittiness is balanced with the deep history embedded in the city – the birthplace of the United States.

The conference started on Tuesday so Ray planned on touring Philadelphia Monday. He purchased Go City Philadelphia 3 day passes in advance for $91 each which covered entry fees to most of the attractions in Philadelphia – the passes turned out to be a great deal for Ray and Traci. They started out with a 2 hour guided tour by a very knowledgeable history teacher named Bill organized by the company Grimphilly.com – the walking tour covered the Independence Hall National Park.

Philadelphia was the center of American government before Washington D.C. was even imagined, and Bill led everyone back in time when the rebellion against the British was first organized, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the creation of the Constitution and the first Federal Government. The remarkable career of Ben Franklin was also highlighted. Ray was especially intrigued by the story of Robert Morris who was a self made tycoon who personally financed Washington’s army but later went bankrupt from real estate speculation and ended up in debtors prison. Clearly he was man who lived before his time – now days one can go from real estate bankruptcy to the White House. After the organized tour, Ray and Traci explored many of the attractions in and around the park – Independence Hall, where a park ranger showed off the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed followed in a few years by the Constitution. The Liberty Bell with is legendary crack has its own exhibition housing nearby. 

The first Supreme Court, the first Congress, the first Pentagon are all located in the park. Nearby, the Museum of the American Revolution showed off many artifacts including George Washington’s Tent. The National Constitution Center (NCC) has many historical and current day exhibits giving perspective on the American Constitution – its aspirational goals and the times it falls short. One of the more popular attractions in the NCC is Signers’ Hall where life size bronze statues of James Madison, George Washington and the other founding fathers are captured in action drafting the Constitution. 

Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market (pronounced redding) is found a block from the convention center/Garden Inn Hilton and is a great place to pick up lunch and treats. The hungry can find a huge range of foods from cheesesteaks to pizza, deli food to many ethnic selections, and many bakeries serving donuts and all sorts of cookies, cakes and pies. Bassetts Ice Cream established in 1861 and Famous 4^th Street Cookie Company are notable places to get dessert. The eateries have extremely limited seating so on the go items are popular.

As part of the Go City Philadelphia pass, tourists get to ride on the tour buses that circle the city. Ray and Traci boarded the double decker bus and rode it to the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. The structure looks quite odd – think Tower of London in the middle of an upscale neighborhood. While vastly overshadowed by the younger prison Alcatraz, Eastern State Penitentiary which opened in 1829 is the world’s first true penitentiary which put prisoners in isolation as a form of rehabilitation. Each prisoner had a tiny room with a small individual outdoor exercise yard surrounded by high walls making communication with neighbors impossible. Al Capone was once imprisoned in Eastern State although it isn’t clear if he was being punished or was using the secure prison as refuge from his rivals.

Near Eastern State is the Art Museum of Philadelphia, otherwise known as the Rocky Steps forever in Hollywood lore. While the Museum would most likely rather be known for its rich collection of works from Rodin, Cezanne, Picasso, and Monet among many others, it has the stairs climbed by the fictional Rocky Balboa that inspired many an Instagram selfie. The statue from the third Rocky movie was relocated from the top of the steps to a much less conspicuous location to the bottom the stairs on the right and has lines all day from photograph seekers. Ray and Traci both enjoyed the museum and took photos on the ‘Rocky Steps’.

Running in the middle of any large city is a challenge, fortunately Philadelphia has the Schuylkill River which has a paved boardwalk providing a great place for runners and cyclists to exercise free of traffic concerns. Brownish slow moving water filled the river. Occasionally, people fishing were seen along the banks.

 

Ray’s conference was at the Union League of Philadelphia, a private club originally founded to support President Lincoln and the Union during the Civil War. The beautiful ornate building was elegantly furnished giving attendees a feel for its rich history. During the lunch break, Ray walked down the marble steps, slipped and took a nasty fall landing flat on his back. Although quite painful, he believed he avoided any fractures and returned to the Hilton, attending the rest of the conference virtually.

Ray and Traci were scheduled to take a night tour of Philadelphia focusing on ghosts, criminals, and other sordid details in Philadelphia’s past but cancelled after Ray’s fall. Fortunately, the injury seemed more of a contusion rather than something more serious and although it made the long flight home more uncomfortable, it hopefully will resolve over time. After the second day of the conference they took the train back from Jefferson station and had a smooth flight home having learned a great deal about the founding of America’s government.

Reunion with Chicago

Due to Coronavirus, many social events were cancelled – Ray’s 30^th medical school reunion in 2020 was one of those events. While the pandemic was not technically over and cases of the latest variant were on the rise, Northwestern scheduled a “multiyear” 30^th reunion in April 2022. So Ray and Traci decided to travel to Chicago, the couple’s first trip east since the pandemic started. Making things a little more interesting was the end of the Federal mask requirement on airplanes a week before their trip. It was refreshing to walk around the Seattle airport and fly for four hours without having to wear a mask.

Ray and Traci’s flight was an uneventful 4 hours although the plane had to wait 45 minutes on the tarmac behind 22 other planes before departing Seattle. At O’Hare, they took the airport tram to the rental car facility to pick up their rental car. At the rental counter, they found out Dollar didn’t have their car ready and, along with a handful of other customers, Ray and Traci waited 40 minutes before being assigned their car. As with their fellow car renters, Ray and Traci could not recall ever having to wait for a car to be prepared – some felt Dollar was short of cars and probably overbooked their rentals. In any case, their Nissan Versa was finally ready to enter the Thursday evening rush hour traffic of Chicago.

It took about 75 minutes to travel the 16 miles from O’Hare to downtown Chicago in mostly stop and go traffic – Google Maps navigated a route on many side streets before finally getting on I-90 into the loop. Ray and Traci arrived at the Water Tower Place in Chicago’s North Loop, at the heart of the “Miracle Mile.” Ray used spothero.com to reserve a parking spot at a next door garage which charged $20 a night rather than $75 at the Water Tower Place. The Ritz Carlton, located in the middle portion of the very tall Water Tower Place, had a reunion group rate so the couple decided to take advantage of it and booked a room at the hotel. After checking in at the 12^th floor lobby, Ray and Traci found that their new Chicago home on the 25^th floor was located right across the park from Northwestern’s Lurie Childrens Hospital and had a nice view of Navy Pier and the Chicago waterfront. 

Their room was quite spacious with a combination chaise lounge/couch, a nice sized dining table and chairs and a well-equipped bathroom complete with double sinks. Since the Northwestern rate was half of the typical room price found on the internet, the couple was quite impressed with the deal.

Ray figured since they would still be on west coast time, he booked a late dinner reservation at Gibson’s Steakhouse on Rush Street. Gibson’s is a well-known Chicago institution – despite arriving at 8:30pm, the place was packed with people waiting for tables and hanging out in the bar. The décor was very similar to Seattle’s Metropolitan Grill – and the lively atmosphere with very professional wait staff served some amazing food. After sharing a Caesar salad, Ray had their Australian Grass Fed Rib Eye steak and Traci had Chilean Sea Bass – both were excellent! They ordered a side of mashed potatoes and received 1 lb of the buttery treat which made Ray glad there would be a lot of cardiologists at the reunion. With no appetite left for dessert, they walked back to their hotel.

Friday morning brought the start of the reunion activities – Ray went to register and attend a presentation on Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital – built in 2012, the prestigious facility is nationally ranked as a center of excellence for Pediatric Care. Unfortunately, an in person tour was not offered so attendees had to settle for a video presentation. Afterwards, Ray and Traci decided to have brunch at Wildberry Cafe, a popular breakfast/brunch spot next door to the Ritz Carlton. The restaurant is typically quite busy especially in the late morning, but they only had to wait 20 minutes for a table in the packed restaurant. While waiting, Ray and Traci noted some people lined up behind a rope barrier set up by the Ritz Carlton staff. They realized a sports team was staying at their hotel. Soon it became clear the Los Angeles Angels were leaving for their game against the White Sox – to Traci’s disappointment, they did not get to see MLB’s latest phenom – Shohei Ohtani, but they did see Ryan Tepara get on the team bus and Mike Trout get into his private SUV. Hopefully the small crowd of fans managed to get some autographs. Once seated, Ray ordered a ham, egg and cheddar cheese breakfast and Traci had French toast. Both were excellent, making the couple 2 for 2 in outstanding meals. Service at Wildberry Cafe was very fast and professional. After leaving Wildberry Cafe, the couple walked down the famous Michigan Avenue. Lately downtown Chicago has made the news for roving gangs of thieves that smash windows and doors to steal high end goods. Evidence of this was clear – jewelry stores along the “Miracle Mile” had signs stating their storefront displays had replicas of items like Rolex watches and if you peek into the store, the display cases were often empty. On the other hand, unlike Seattle, Ray and Traci did not encounter any tent dwellings and found the area to be very clean. After crossing the short bridge over the Chicago River, they entered the Art Institute of Chicago. The famed art museum has a large collection of a wide range of art including ancient Chinese and Egyptian artifacts to some “interesting” modern art. The displayed art is housed in a 3 story spacious complex – one could spend days looking at the different things but it is well organized and the map handout gives one a short list of exceptional items to see in a limited time. Ray didn’t know Claude Monet painted 250 works of water lilies – he saw individual paintings in places like the Met in New York, but in this museum they had 3 water lilies paintings side by side. Traci enjoyed seeing Van Gogh’s “The Bedroom” which she once sketched many years ago. From a more recent era, large stained glass windows titled “America Windows” by Marc Chagall were very impressive. 

From the Art Institute, Ray and Traci walked across the street to Millennium Park – a beautiful expansive area in the heart of the city and a definite Chicago highlight. At the Chicago River, they took the stairs down to the Chicago Riverwalk – a long pedestrian path along the South side of the river. Restaurants, shops, and especially the many boat tour companies are found along this very popular walking and running path that extends from the river outlet in Lake Michigan well into downtown. 

From the Riverwalk they went back to the Northwestern Chicago Campus and attended a dinner held at the school atrium. Fortunately the dinner was catered by Gibson’s so they got another chance to sample delicious food including salmon, beef and chicken. This night, the highlight was the desserts – Traci loved their carrot cake and Ray thought their chocolate mousse cake was excellent. After returning to their hotel room, Ray received a notification on his phone from Alaska Airlines that their flight home on Sunday was cancelled. The notification stated they would be rebooked on a different flight and to watch for an email with the details. Ray called Alaska Airlines and found out their automatic rebooking was for Tuesday, 48 hours after originally scheduled. Ray told them that was unacceptable, and the helpful Alaska reservation agent managed to get the couple on a United Airlines non-stop flight leaving 1 hour after their original Alaska flight. Alaska has been troubled with flight cancellations due to pilot shortages, and the lesson learned is to immediately call the airline for rebooking as you will likely get an automatic rebooking that you don’t want.

After feasting for two days, Ray decided to start Saturday morning by running along his favorite path during med school – north along Lake Michigan and into the Lincoln Park Zoo. The cool morning was made colder by a strong breeze bringing waves up along the concrete wall separating the city from the lake. The zoo was closed early in the morning so all Ray saw were some Canadian geese in a pond. On the way back, he stopped at Stan’s Donuts on Rush Street to pick up a morning donut treat. After the run, Ray and Traci attended a school luncheon, this time held at the Ritz Carlton. While they served the typical “rubber” chicken lunch, the Ritz’s rubber chicken was definitely better than most. They also had a nice selection of desserts including strawberry cheesecake, chocolate mousse, and purple (in honor of Northwestern) macarons. After the luncheon, Ray and Traci took their rental car up to Evanston, home of the Northwestern undergraduate campus. Ray had not been back “on campus” for over 30 years. He was amazed at all of the improvements – visitors center, performing arts theatre, new school buildings and especially the athletic facilities. Despite the new facilities and development which mostly occurred along the Lake Michigan waterfront, the grassy areas which gave the school its charm remained intact.  For whatever reason, the northern campus was attacked by clouds of gnats making Ray and Traci glad they had masks to wear. Ray asked some of the students why the bugs were taking over and they said it had something to do with the change to warmer weather. Ray and Traci visited the Grosse Pointe Lighthouse north of campus before returning to their car and driving back to Chicago.

During the 30 minute drive, dark clouds were visible in advance of expected thunderstorms. Ray and Traci decided to pick up food from Chicago’s celebrated pizza house, Gino’s East. An institution located next to the medical school, Ray remembered enjoying many great pizzas back in the day. Ray placed an online order and along with Traci, walked the three blocks to get their pie. Chicago deep dish pizza is legendary for having thick and tall crust surrounding heaping amounts of toppings, cheese and tomato sauce. Gino’s provided a crisp flaky thick crust, not oily. It was as good as Ray remembered it. Fortunately, the expected Chicago thunderstorm held off until Ray and Traci were back in their room to enjoy their pizza dinner. For 90 minutes, frequent lightning flashes illuminated the dark sky with thunder and rain also making an appearance. Nature put on quite a Saturday night show for the travelers.

On Sunday, Ray again traversed the waterfront and ran thru the zoo. The weather and lake were much calmer after the previous evening’s electrical storm. Back at the hotel, Ray and Traci packed up and made the hour long Sunday commute to O’Hare – even on a Sunday afternoon, the highways get quite congested in Chicago! After returning their car, they checked in on their new airline – United – and fortunately had an uneventful trip back to Seattle.