Yesterday was mostly spent dancing around socially, so no pictures. The reuniting of the different social groups from the different locations creates the need to have a lot of meets and catch-up conversations. But the food has been very decent thus far, for the most part. Although Heather is off cheesesteaks after a very disappointing one inside the Reading Terminal Market.
Our hotel is somewhat removed from the more tourist-oriented section closer to the river, where sites like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall sit, but surrounded by a number of restaurants and bars. Though I had wanted light drinking and light walking because of New York, I've still been walking and drinking, though at a much more relaxed pace than the days prior. Though it was cold and drizzly the whole day yesterday, I was in flip-flops. The blister started to get better, but then flared up again, so I gave me feet a break to an extent. The downside was that other muscles and parts of feet were clobbered by walking a couple of miles in flip-flops, so I've switched back today to my walking shoes.
We started off at a sports bar adjacent to the Reading Terminal Market that was being inundated by conference-goers. They had "select drafts" on happy hour special, so I ended up with a Yards, which was the best option. Yards is a Philadelphia brewery, located in a slowly gentrifying part of the city just upriver from Center City. I haven't been, but the beer is not really spectacular. It's fairly common in PA, NJ and DE, so I've tried several different kinds and have never gotten very excited. Last year, when I was in Tampa, at Cigar City (which is available here), I started talking to an older couple from the Philadelphia area, who insisted that a brewery close to their house was well worth visiting. I looked it up, and it was a random brewpub in the far suburbs, so I attributed it to what I consider to be a mostly Northeast "local" bias.
In other regions, people nothing of driving five miles past two pizza places to reach a third that they consider to be slightly better. But, in the Northeast, that's just not how it works. People eat the local pizza, drink at the local bar, and shop at the local market. So, as beer culture becomes more standard and mainstream, it's only natural that these "neighborhood brewpubs" sort of infiltrate. I've come across them in the Pittsburgh area before, but also in other parts of Northeast: Buffalo, Connecticut, and in Cleveland.
The remainder of today will be taking in some sites, though I don't know where. The weather has cleared up nicely, leaving a fairly warm, sunny afternoon. Then there's more social time, and then I have the night free due to Heather's social obligation, to which I'm not invited because of my gender. We had housekeeping bring up a microwave (how much should you tip for that?), so I can now eat the delicious leftovers that we've obtained over the past couple of days.
Pictures tomorrow.
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