Dreams… they are a powerful thing. Dreams can keep you going. They can push you. They can let you imagine something that isn’t yet here. Dreams can also paralyze you without coming to fruition, or be just plain heartbreaking….like I said, dreams are a powerful thing.
My son had a dream to climb some stairs made famous by another dreamer. A man in the late 70’s, who wrote a story, about a dream to win. A dream of a girl. A dream of conquering all fears. And this story became a movie….. one of the most recognizable of all time. And the boxer’s legend, his song…. is an anthem to this city. And while you run the stairs in the morning, all alone, or in the afternoon with all the hundreds of other people, you hear his anthem coming from all directions. And while watching… I thought to myself how wonderful was it to be a mostly unknown person…. and then become a symbol of a city. Right there along Ben Franklin.
Philadelphia… the city of brotherly love. It’s difficult not to feel patriotic here. To walk the same streets that housed the founders. To look up at buildings in the night knowing that so long ago there were men in there signing documents and what they believed to keep our country fair and safe. It began there. Dreams began there. Dreams of a beautiful country. It’s humbling to see a bell, that has brought hope and been a symbol of liberty not only to us, but to countries all over.
I walked nearly 135 city blocks. I saw 32 statues with naked buns (we counted) I had my morning coffee next to the Delaware river. I fought pouring, torrential rain to have one last delicious meal in the Reading Terminal. I tiptoed over thousands of cobblestones, in front of quaint homes with window boxes full of fall flowers. I saw the most awesome art exhibit I think I have ever seen. Created by a man in his late 70’s, with a will and part of the city that will be forever different because of him (Magic Gardens)
I promised my son adventures when he was born. I promised adventures with just he and I. Because I felt it was important. And it’s hunting season, so it’s a perfect time to go. And I have a list……..that I need to get things checked off of.
I was asked right before I left, why we were going there, my only answer…. “Those stairs…. they are on my list.” I got the look of “that’s it??”
Do I need any other reason? I’ve never needed a reason to meander, so having just one seemed perfectly reasonable to me.
And so we saw it. We climbed them. We meandered city streets. Ate WAY WAY too much food (including dessert made with nitrogen oxide, and pizza and cheesesteak, and……) And we checked that dream off the list.
(And on a side note…. I found an awesome app before this trip. Tripcipe. It’s fantastic. You can look at where others have gone and then make your own map. It was perfect for us. This was our trip…..
https://www.tripcipe.com/trips/11121/
Check it out! )
