Philadelphia
Things I noticed that’s different here then in California.
1. The Amish Farmers Market in Newtown makes the best pretzels I’ve ever had. Also Pretzels are less of a snack or thing on the west coast. 
3 soft pretzels for $6 is a great deal for this west coaster.
2. These things are still around. California banned these about 5 years ago and made them all biodegradable. I somehow adapted to the change super easily and forgot they still exist and are in use in the USA.
it’s like going back in time 5 years.
3. you can bet on sports via the Fanduel or Draftkings app or apps by the local Indian Casinos. Even though sports betting has been legal for about 5 years the California legislature has yet to figure out how to make millions of dollars for Indian Casinos by legalizing sports betting. (In the fall CA Puritan nonsense shined through when they defeated a proposition that would have legalized sports betting. Even though the state was populated by degenerate greedy gamblers during the gold rush, enough east coast puritans have moved to the state and figured out how to demonizing a legal thing to continue make it an illegal thing. Much like the failure that was prohibition California remains a dry state for gamblers. A sad state of affairs)
4. The Amish also make better bratwursts then Johnsonville. Less fatty, less greasy, and less salty. 
5. You can experience 3 seasons in 24 hours. Yesterday it was 55 and sunny like a fall or early spring day. This morning it was raining and 45 and in the afternoon it is 25 and snowing. California isn’t like this.
Today in Bucks County PA.
Yesterday in Bucks County PA.
on the bright side at least I’m not in Cape May Delaware with 69 mph winds at 26 degrees.
6. The Amish also make better Bologna then Oscar Meyer and better American Cheese then Kraft. And Bologna Sandwiches (my first one in almost 30 years) taste better on a Martin’s Potato roll then two slices of Wonder Bread. 
7. The news reports bad news in a specific “This is where this happened” kind of way. A shooting or fire is reported with the specific neighborhood, street, and part of the street. As in “The 300 Block of …” and reporters who are in the suburbs mention the county and town. In Sacramento bad news is usually just reported on the news in a general way “in the Arden Arcade area” or “In Del Paso Heights” or reporters in the suburbs mention only the town like “In Marysville…” or “In Vacaville”… they leave out the Sutter and Solano county part.
8. the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is broadcast on television and is full of children dance groups and Irish based social organizations and the public appears to be full of families enjoying a Sunday morning. Unlike the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade which is a mix of Bay to Breakers shenanigans and LGBT pride parade but themed in everything Irish and by noon about a quarter the people in the crowd start suffering from alcohol poisoning.
9. Their historical sites are a little different. This is Washington’s Crossing in Bucks County PA where he and his men crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey to fight at the battle of Trenton a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
this restaurant is in a building that was built in 1778 which is pretty much older then every building in California except for a few missions.
What is true on both coasts is that the volunteer docents at historical sites are the secret keepers of American Government. I purchased this book because I’m a history nerd. And as I’m chit chatting with the checkout lady I ask if they were the ones that put this together, she said yes. I tell a little white lie about how California doesn’t really have a pre gold rush culinary history and that I thought this was cool because it predates the Virginia housewife and Amelia Simmons First American Cookbook. The lady corrects me and says “oh but they did they have the missions and as I was researching cookbooks for this I came across one named…” my jaw drops and I become astonished and quickly say “California Mission Cookery by a librarian from Sonoma State I have that one too and I found it in a thrift store years after I moved away from a mission town. I never thought I would find someone else who knew about that book especially all the way out here in Pennsylvania at Washington’s Crossing” I also have learned random awesome history by Docents in Solano/Napa/Sacramento counties. I met one who attended Shirley Temple’s 8th birthday at the Hanlan House in Benicia.
10. Philadelphia’s Market Street is the birthplace of Democracy featuring Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. San Francisco’s Market Street birthed the Liberty Bell Slot Machine in a mechanics workshop on Market. Philadelphia’s History is different and less degenerate than San Francisco or Seattle’s gold mining town history.
In between the Hall and the Liberty Bell is Market Street.
Again what is true you can learn something new from chatting with the rangers of the NPS.
I learned that this location of the Liberty Bell was built and opened in 2003 at the same time they filmed “National Treasure” featuring this location and the Bell. However, they did not film the scenes inside of Independence Hall across the street. They filmed it at the replica at Knotts Berry Farms in California. I also learned the last time the bell left PA was at the 1915 worlds fair in San Francisco. The ranger did not know that anarchists attempted to destroy the bell at the end of the fair. One anarchist turned himself in and gave up others in the group spoiling the plot to destroy the bell. Since then the Bell has not left PA.
Philadelphia is the home to a lot of “Firsts” like the first abolition act, first steamboat, first computer. They engraved at the bottom of park benches this cool timeline near Penn’s Landing.
What I found interesting is that it is mixed up and out of order and jumps around time. I think that’s the best way to learn history and is a secret to learning history, but I didn’t know this existed.
there’s over a dozen of these but this is just a sampling.
I also appreciate Philadelphia for making Ben Franklin’s grave available to the public even without the $5 admission to the graveyard you can still view his grave from the public sidewalk.
The “First American” Benjamin Franklin
This timeline is not mixed up and is in chronological order.
11. All Cheesesteaks taste roughly the same. There are some great ones and not so great ones but it’s pretty difficult to mess one up to the point of not eating it.
my “First” Philadelphia Cheesesteak was on Market in Old City cooked by an Asian family who ran a cheesesteak shop.
Thanks Glenn Hale for the Chimichangas in New Jersey and for letting me hang out at your place while I explore the east coast. My trip could not have been done without you. He’s also a wizard on the piano so check out slidewinder blues if you are in the tri state area.