C&D CANAL TO THE DELAWARE RIVER AND UP TO PHILADELPHIA

We became somewhat familiar with the C&D Canal on our way to Chesapeake City, and we completed the transit on the way to Philadelphia.  This is a wonderful canal.  It is deep, wide, and tree lined.  When we left Chesapeake City early in the morning, there was an interesting, low fog on the water that made for a very serene look as we transited the mirror like canal on the way to the intersection with the Delaware River. 

The Delaware River is a wide river with a serious tidal flow.  We experienced flow rates up to three knots in either direction.  It was a rather long trip from Chesapeake City to Philadelphia.  First of all, the night before, our generator decided it was no longer cooperating.  This truly sucked because it was very hot and humid out and we were thus unable to run the A/C.  This soured both of our moods and neither of us slept hardly a wink all night.  I think I fell asleep for an hour or so, and woke up at grey light.  At that point, I figured I was not going to be sitting around all morning enjoying a leisurely pot of coffee, so I started the engine, pulled the hook, and boogied out of an otherwise perfect anchorage with no regard whatsoever for the tide or current on either the canal or the river.  So, we slogged along at between 4-5 knots for several very long, hot hours.  We didn't actually pick up speed until we were in sight of the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia under which our marina was located.  Oh well.

Fort Delaware

The river is also very very commercial and is lined with industry of all sorts, including ship building and decommissioning.

Notice how the tugs fit into the barge.

On the left, the USS John F. Kennedy.  On the right, the USS Forrestal.

When we got to the city, we checked into the marina.  Nice place.  Barb, the lady who worked in the office, could not have been more accomodating.  She had a whole folder of information for us and a marina bag.  We waited for only a short while before the mechanic I had called arrived.  He was terrific for agreeing on such short notice to come out and hopefully resolve our generator problem  He had it licked in less than a half hour.  I'm not even going to tell you what it was as I am totally embarrassed.  Nevertheless, the genny roared back to life and all was well with the world again.  Except for the fact that it has been so hot in Philly.  Even with the A/C on full blast, I don't think the cabin ever dropped below 95 degrees for the next two days.  Well, that's the cruising life. 

For almost the last year, we have been engrossed and immersed in American History.  However, and with all due respect to Washington DC, Williamsberg, Jamestown, etc., it is apparent to me that, the paths to understanding American history all converge in Philadelphia.  We did not plan to spend a lot of time here as we do not have a lot of time to spend here.  However, we wanted to make our stay here somewhat meaningful, so we took a self-guided Constitutional Tour of the City. 

First, however, we had to take Runway to the vet. 

It would seem that her often times overly exuberant physicality with the other cat, Tarmac, has finally taken its toll on her left ear.  Two days ago, we noticed a blood clot in her left ear lobe.  Over the next couple days, it seemed to be getting bigger.  We did some research to determine what the condition entails, and ultimately decided we had better have it looked at.  So, we let our fingers do the walking and discovered a great veterinary hospital in Philadelphia specializing in cats and called first thing in the morning.  Without delay, they had us bring her in and took a good look at her.  Fortunately, the news was not all bad.  The doctor told us that for now we should do nothing as it would probably absorb by itself.  However, if it did not, Runway would need surgery on the lobe to remove the blood mass and then to fix it so it won't happen again.   Fine.  I can live with that.  So we paid the lady and then went back to our visit to the City of Brotherly Love.

This is essentially the tour we took.  However, we enjoyed the services of the Phlash trolley that, for $10 we could get on and off wherever and whenever all day long.  The $10 fare was actually a deal.  Normally it would cost $6 per person for the all day deal.  However, having Hannah in tow made us look like a family, so we got the "family" deal, which was two adults and two kids for $10.  Ha ha.  That worked out great insofar as it started to rain really hard just as we got to the Liberty Bell.  So, we took shelter in a doughnut shop and waited.  The deluge still did not abate.  So, we ran for it in the rain and got on the first Phlash that came by and rode it for the next hour or so in circles around the city until the rain finally relaxed. We then got back to the tour. 

There really is no good way to experience a city such as Philadelphia in a couple short days.  However, she has left a lasting impression on me.  From an historical perspective, Philadelphia was, as you may know, a temporary capitol of this nation before DC.  As such, all the bigs were here at one point - Washington, Adams, Jefferson, etc.  The Constitutional walking tour takes you through America's most historic square mile - the birthplace of our nation - where The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution were created. Our journey featured many historic sites  including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center.

You remember Rocky ran up these steps?

From a social perspective, I think the city has wonderful colors, diversity and texture.  It has unique and exciting sounds, sights and smells.  The people and architecture are as diverse as they can get.  Folks were all fairly friendly, too.

Although we did not hit ALL the big sights, of huge importance, however, was our opportunity to enjoy two of the best cheese steaks in the city - Pat's King of Steaks and Jim's Steaks.  These were excellent. I know there are more places to try and I have heard of at least several, all of which are supposedly the best cheese steak in Philly.  I do have a little unique insight into the subject matter having worked in a place that specialized in Philadelphia Steak Sandwiches when I was 16.  So, for my taste, if you took the meat from Jim's and put it on the bread from Pat's, then it is possible one could find true cheese steak nirvana.

Did I mention that our niece, friend, and all around good egg, Hannah, has joined us for a couple weeks? 

She comes cruising with us every summer.  She flew in from San Francisco last night.  We are having a nice time together, the three of us. 

Unfortunately, we leave Philadelphia tomorrow morning and we will head back down the Delaware River and stop for the night at a small town called Delaware City.  I have no idea what it does or what it is for, but we will find out.

Philadelphia is a hard city to visit by boat.  However, it was worth it.  I know I would like to come back and spend some more time some day.