All in one place

[elSicomoro]

Bear with me, as I might get long-winded here...

As many of you have probably seen, I moved to Philadelphia from Washington, DC in late September, where I lived for just over a year. Previous to that, I lived in St. Louis.

When I moved to DC, I did some of the "normal" things, like watch the local TV news and read the Washington Post. But the thing that really helped me learn about DC more than anything was just driving around town. I drove everywhere...Capitol Hill, Tenleytown, Bethesda, even Southeast...I just learned so much about the city and the area, just by driving around.

So, when I moved here, I did the same things--read the Inky and Daily News, watched the news, and started driving around. And I have to admit, the sheer size of this city is really overwhelming.

For example, today, my fiance and I started here in the Far Northeast...made our way through K&A, Port Richmond, Spring Garden, City Line...then into Overbrook, W. Philly, Kingsessing, Cobbs Creek, Eastwick, Yeadon, Darby, SW Philly, and University City.

I was just amazed at everything I saw--burnt out streets, quiet neighborhoods that seemed out of the way, old historical buildings, etc. The area I found most interesting was SW Philly, near the end of the 36 trolley line. It was just surreal...this pleasant little neighborhood out in the middle of freaking nowhere (although I could probably say the same of my own neighborhood). Little streets that lasted all of one block or disappeared into nothing.

I've been doing this on occasion during the past few months, but I just happened to see a lot today...and I'm always seeing something new. I haven't even hit the suburbs yet...