Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

We spent the week of thanksgiving with the girls at Gatlinburg.  Brent made a new larger entrance for Cookie to exit onto the deck.  We also spent one (1) night at Blackbearry Ridge on December 10th.  We had planned on staying the entire weekend when we drove down to pick up the girls, but the forecast for heavy snow made us leave a day early.

This past weekend, we drove to Philadelphia (about 2 hours and $11 in tolls heading north on I-95) to see the Liberty Bell, right.  That was just an excuse for the real reason.  Jennifer has been asking Brent for several years about good cheese steak sandwiches.  So, we went to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Ben Franklin's grave and try an authentic Philly cheese steak.  Even Cookie put on a sweater and made the trip.

We decided to go to the most popular places, Geno's and Pats' which happen to be across the street from each other.  Brent decided it would be fun to judge the establishments, so we got two (2) sandwiches from each place and would split each for the taste test.  All the sandwiches were ordered, " Cheese whiz, wit".  These means the choice of cheese is cheese whiz and the "wit" means with onions.  After sampling both, the winner had a clear victory with a vote of 3-0-2.  Brent, Lynn and Jennifer all agreed that Pats was clearly better.  Jessica could not tell the difference between the two and Cookie thought both were great.   We have decided that history field trips taste pretty good.

Jennifer and Jessica at the Liberty Bell.  The crack was there before we arrived, I promise.

In front of Independence Hall.

Cookie viewed the Liberty Bell through the glass from outside.

Cookie was a little disappointed that Independence Hall was not open.

Cookie's favorite Founding Father is Benjamin Franklin.

Geno's.

Jennifer placing the order at Geno's.

Jessica and Jennifer looking at Pat's menu.  As you can see in the upper right, there are instructions on how to order.  Patience is not shown from either establishment at the order window.

Jennifer is the brave person stepping up to the window to order.  I hope she does not order fries at this window.

The exterior of Pat's.



Jennifer with the winning cheese steaks from Pat's.



Happy Veterans Day 2010.

Thanks to all the veterans who served and prayers to those currently serving and in harms way.

Heading to Blackbearry Ridge

We are going to Zelda on Thurday night and head over Blackbearry Ridge mid afternoon on Friday.  The twins will be meeting us there on Friday evening.  We will take pictures and upload the latest progress at Blackbearry Ridge.  I hope that we will be able to see some color in the mountains.

Its Football Time in Tennessee

We were at Blackbearry Ridge this past weekend for the labor day holiday weekend.  We met our twin daughters who attend the University of Tennessee and drove over to Gatlinburg from Knoxville.  We all went over to the campus on Saturday for the Volunteer football game.  The Vols won 50 to 0.

Jessica and Jennifer at the Vol walk

The band "Saluting the Hill" on the way to the stadium

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Heading to the stadium with 100,000 people clad in orange.

A view of Mt. LeConte from the deck of Blackbearry Ridge from this past winter.

A light snow dusting Mt. LeConte last fall.

Zelda on the Market

We just finished the inside work on our house in Kings Mountain, North Carolina and put it on the market August 15, 2010. Once sold, it will allow us to spend time at Blackbearry Ridge and work on the remodel.

We are currently commuting from Edgewater, MD. Our twin daughters are juniors at the University of Tennessee, so now our trips will be more frequent to Gatlinburg, especially during Vol football season.