49 by 29: July 20 - "Mountain" biking in Deleware

Coffee:

A mug of never-empty goodness at Honey's, a great eatery in Philadelphia that knows a full cup of coffee makes a happy customer.

From the journal:

Today was our Philly day. We ate breakfast at this hideaway eatery called Honey's that buys fresh, local, and organic and prepares as much in house as possible. It was one of Jeremy's favorite places to eat when he lived in Philadelphia, and I can see why. I had scrambled eggs, potato latke, challah toast with homemade blueberry jam, and the aforementioned never-empty coffee. I definitely recommend a trip to Honey's if you're ever in the Philly area.

We walked around Rittenhouse Square and went to Barnes and Noble to find books to assist Jeremy in his next adventure: eating plants and bugs. I learned a surprising amount about how much of our world is edible! Perhaps I'll try a few plants and bugs of my own...

We got lunch at Trader Joe's and walked along the river behind the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Waterworks Museum. It was kind of cool to see the location where the idea of pumping and moving water into individual houses came to fruition. Overall, it was a pleasant excursion. (What am I? Seventy? Such quaint speech.)

We then toured more of Philly Jer style: on the road. We hugged the Schuylkill River on Kelly Drive, wound up the fast and curvy Lincoln Drive, cruised through a quaint French section of town with cobblestone streets, and zipped down South Street, the trendy, hipster area of Philly.

After our whirlwind tour of Philadelphia, we joined Joel (Jer's brother-in-law) and his friend Duane and his son Luke for a gnarly (What am I? A '90s girl? Where's my flannel?) mountain biking adventure through some sweet single track with lots of rocks, roots, narrow passes through tree branches, and ups and downs. It was a great ride. I do wonder, though, why all my "mountain" biking adventures have occurred in Pennsylvania and Delaware? Hmmm, I better find some trails in Wyoming's REAL mountains. But first, I definitely need to learn to pop a wheelie.

Dark and early tomorrow morning I am off to Indianapolis for Ben and Sarah's wedding! I'm so excited to see my good friends again.

It's still hard to believe this part of the journey is at its end. But I have a feeling Jer and I will meet up again...somewhere down the road. That's what travelers do.

Breakfast at Honey's. Yum.

Schuylkill River behind Waterworks Museum in Philadelphia.

Waterworks Museum interprets stories from one of the nation's first metropolitan water systems.

Luke, Duane, Joel, Jer, and me before our biking adventure. Jer said the helmet DID NOT make the headstand hurt his head less. It actually made it more painful. Now you know in case you were plotting to try a headstand in a bike helmet.

Jessica, Jared, Joel, and Jolene. Jeremy's sister and her family were fun, helpful, hospitable hosts. Thanks!